Bill aims to bring equity for Iowa distilleries among breweries and wineries

SWISHER - Jeff Quint, co-owner of Swisher's Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery, for years has been asking lawmakers to ease regulations on Iowa distilleries, to bring them closer to rules on breweries and wineries in the state.

Iowa law, for example, prohibits the sale of alcohol by the glass at distilleries - but allows the same practice in breweries and wineries.

'Really, only distilleries in Iowa have not been given that privilege, so really we just see that as a way to make us more competitive,” Quint said Thursday.

And this might be the year, Quint said.

A bill working through the Iowa Statehouse would make several changes to Iowa Code 123 - the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Control Act - to eliminate the 50,000-gallon production cap for distilleries, expand how much alcohol distilleries could sell to individual customers from two bottles to a case and allow those establishments to serve alcohol by the glass.

While past attempts at similar changes have failed, this year's bill comes with the stamp of approval from a working group of stakeholders tasked by Gov. Terry Branstad last year to find ways to streamline and update Iowa's alcohol laws.

'The difference this year is the Governor's Office is supportive of these changes. In the past they were silent,” Quint said. 'I think that's going to put us over the top.”

Steve Larson, administrator with Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, said the proposed changes would bring regulations on distilleries to a comparable level of those on other alcohol manufacturers in the state.

'If you don't have a production limit for breweries or wineries, why would you have that for a native distillery?” Larson said.

Robert Bailey, Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division communications director, said the bill aims to update a number of Iowa's alcohol rules - some of which date back to Prohibition.

'We can't just continue to work with this antiquated aging system with these patchwork solutions,” Bailey said. 'It's like if you had an inner tube on a bicycle and you keep putting patches on it, pretty soon you're going to have to replace the whole inner tube.”

In August, the Governor's Office announced a study of state laws governing regulation of alcohol production and sales.

Larson and Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, were tasked with facilitating a working group to analyze Iowa Code 123 and make recommendations for changes to better position the state for growth in winemaking, brewing and distilling industries.

One of the group's recommendations was to create greater parity among Iowa beer, wine and spirits manufacturers,

'We have granted privileges that allow both wineries and breweries to really take off in the state, we gave them a runway in which to run,” Durham said. 'Unfortunately, at that point the door was kind of shut on (distilleries).”

Other recommendations, which could be addressed in coming years, include more streamlined licensing for Iowa beer manufacturers and wholesalers and limited expansion of off-premise retail privileges.

Iowa ABD's Bailey said reducing regulations on breweries, wineries and distilleries also has the potential to boost growth in the industry.

'They're huge tourism magnets,” Bailey said. 'Why would we want to create barriers for the people who visit these places?”

But at the same time, any changes are carefully vetted with all stakeholders, including those in public health and safety, Durham said.

'How do we meet the needs of consumers, but at the same time grow an industry in a responsible way? To make sure we're sensitive to the health and safety of Iowans,” Durham said.

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