Sounds like these buzzkill bastards have absolutely zero idea what the hell they're doing.

Yay, bureaucracy.

And people wonder why just about everyone in Pennsylvania not profiting off the system wants the whole distribution system thrown out.

\oh, and I'd bet the 60.9 gallons of beer confiscated that the "person who they would not name" would be a rival bar-owner whose selection doesn't go past Yuengling....
\\this thread is relevant to this story, but definitely not a repeat

FriarReb98:
\oh, and I'd bet the 60.9 gallons of beer confiscated that the "person who they would not name" would be a rival bar-owner whose selection doesn't go past Yuengling....


Someone was out to get Leigh Maida and her husband
It sucks when you can use the system like this to fark your competition. Just go with the old drive by shooting thing or fire bomb the place.

MaxxLarge: Sounds like these buzzkill bastards have absolutely zero idea what the hell they're doing.

No - they know EXACTLY what they are doing.

The alleged offense: Although the bar owners had bought the beer legally from licensed Pennsylvania distributors and had paid all the necessary taxes, the police claimed that nobody had registered the precise names of the beers with the state Liquor Control Board - a process that requires the brewers or their importers to pay a $75 registration fee for each product they want to sell in Pennsylvania.

Philly is getting desperate for money.

Thank you, Pennsylvania, for making me feel better about my state's blue laws.

And seriously, a "citizen complaint"? Someone called the cops and said "excuse me, but this establishment is just offering way too many varieties of beer to be legit, please check it out"? Yeah.

Also, Trappist ales >> Duvel.

Police are nothing more than the King's Thieves. fark em.

tallguywithglasseson: And seriously, a "citizen complaint"? Someone called the cops and said "excuse me, but this establishment is just offering way too many varieties of beer to be legit, please check it out"? Yeah.

that's an old cop trick - just make up an 'anonymous tip' and go ahead with the raid. almost nobody ever fights it.

albo: don't worry, as the best beer town in american, philly has that covered

I hear that place is not too hard, not too soft.

tallguywithglasseson: Thank you, Pennsylvania, for making me feel better about my state's blue laws.

And seriously, a "citizen complaint"? Someone called the cops and said "excuse me, but this establishment is just offering way too many varieties of beer to be legit, please check it out"? Yeah.

It was either a competitor or a disgruntled ex-employee, to be sure.

PA sucks when it comes to liquor laws.

If an administrative-law judge finds that the bars possessed unregistered brands, the State Police typically would seek a forfeiture order to destroy consume or sell the beer, he said

Lando Lincoln: It was either a competitor or a disgruntled ex-employee

Or a disgruntled current employee.

This is ridiculous. Rather than going after the distributors who didn't properly register the beer, they go after the little guy and cost them thousands in inventory.

albo: it's no doubt someone who knows that arcane rule on registering the beer with the LCB. would the average customer know that, or care?

Exactly. And here are the small business owners, who back in school used to dream about this every day, asking themselves "Could it really happen? Or do dreams just fade away?"

Ridiculous that they have to deal with this kind of ABC stuff.

Philadelphia. Where it's always sunny...

Was Paddy's one of them?

Oh.
Pennsylvania.
Yeah, they've got the dumbest booze laws in the country (excepting dry counties).

TFA: More than a dozen armed State Police officers conducted simultaneous raids

is there some reason the state police shouldn't be armed? I'm confused as to why the author included this.

You suck, PA.

/Maryland has slightly less retarded liquor laws.

albo: tallguywithglasseson: Also, Trappist ales >> Duvel.

don't worry, as the best beer town in american, philly has that covered
monk's (new window)

I'd put the NYC beer bar scene up against Philly, especially in the past few years, but monks is an awesome place.

They probably got snitched on by a competing bar or disgruntled customer/employee...

Bermuda59: More than a dozen armed State Police officers conducted simultaneous raids last week on three popular Philadelphia bars known for their wide beer selections. The cops confiscated hundreds of bottles of expensive ales and lagers, now in State Police custody at an undisclosed location party

Hmm. Boyfriend's uncle is a bartender at a Philly bar with a wide beer selection. That would suck.

Although it was great while we were visiting, since there were multiple varied 6 packs in the fridge for him to 'sample' and decide if the bar should start offering them.

I did not notice the draconian alcohol laws the entire time I was in Philly thanks to that awesomeness.

State_College_Arsonist: I hate the PLCB. The state stores suck, the selection sucks, and the arcane, outdated and protectionist rules suck the most. These shenanigans simply show that the PLCB can and should sustain a healthy budget cut in the service of fixing our state's looming budget deficits.

Around here it works a little different. I mean, NJ has its lame laws, but they are no where near as archaic as PA.

In NYC the problem bars are having now is the community boards, and the undue influence they are exerting on the state liquor authority when it comes to licensing. At some point, someone decided that the community board actually matters, when in reality they are just the local busy bodies from the neighborhood who in many cases don't even have elections.

So a restaurant or bar opens, and they go to fight the licensing of it. Even if it isn't a new place. One of my favorite bars relocated. They didn't have any licensing problems beforehand, moved a few blocks down, INTO AN EXISTING BAR, and had their license tied up for 18 months thanks to a community board. They eventually ditched hard alcohol all together to just get the license over and done with, which was a shame, because they used to have a badass scotch list.

Now the new thing they are doing is pushing back on closing times when licenses come up for renewal. Hardly anyone in the past few years that went for renewal has been able to keep their 4am closing. Sooner or later we will be lame like philly and boston and have to call it a night absurdly early.

I always though the distributors in philly were counter intuitive too.

It would be a saturday night, we would realize we were running low on beer, and need to race to the distributor to get more. Which we had to buy at least a case of. In our car.

Yea, that is going to lead to much more responsibility as opposed to me just strolling to the corner store for a 6 pack when I want it.

Another reason I'm glad I left that sorry state. I still remember when I first moved there and walked into the nearest gas station looking for some beer. The 15 minutes it took the clerk to explain how to buy booze with all their farking laws made me glad that I coiuld make the Maryland line in less than an hour.

For once... when it comes to beer laws....I can say I'm glad I live in SC.
/Oh.. and it was 66 and sunny here today!