Random facts about booze in the US ..

"mr_gofast" (jake_berenshteyn)
08/28/2014 at 09:31 • Filed to: notes

a fun list of various liquor laws around the US - you guys are weird and this coming from a Canadian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_l…

DISCUSSION (17)

Tohru > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 09:38

Just another reminder that living in Wisconsin is good.

SDKR > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 09:40

As a dane all american alcohol regulation is weird. Buy and drink beer at age 16, go to USA at age 20, and suddenly no beer allowed.

mr_gofast > SDKR
08/28/2014 at 09:50

lol...

Cé hé sin > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 09:53

Yes, the US is weird when it comes to drink. I hear strange stories about adults being unable to buy booze until they're 21 and about vigilante groups going around picking up people of that age who might have been partaking of the demon drink..

Small children can go and learn with varying degrees of success how to fire automatic weapons though so there's that.

mr_gofast > Cé hé sin
08/28/2014 at 09:56

as bitter as that sounds its true...it is retarded...you have to be 9yrs old to fire a uzi but 21 to drink?

Cé hé sin > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 09:59

I don't think there's any age limit for using a gun in the US.

mr_gofast > Cé hé sin
08/28/2014 at 10:06

thats even worse...

Anon > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 10:17

Louisana has the world's laxest alcohol laws. You can buy it 24/7. It's legal for a parent to buy alcohol for their under age minor. You can carry alcoholic beverages into the street in new orleans. If it wasn't federal law I'm sure we'd have a minimum drinking age of 13.

As Du Volant > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 10:18

PA's laws are so fucked. I miss living in states where you could buy alcohol pretty much anywhere/anytime.

Wine and spirits can only be sold at State-operated stores . All persons must be at least 21 years of age to enter a state-operated liquor store alone. Beer is not sold at state-operated liquor stores.

Beer can be purchased at beverage outlets (cases only), or restaurants (six-packs/restricted quantities) with Liquor Control Board –issued licenses, but not supermarkets. Non-alcoholic beer is an exception, and may be sold in supermarkets, but persons buying it still must be at least 21 years of age.

Sunday sales were prohibited in LCB stores until 2003 (selected locations) and beverage outlets (owner's option) until 2005.

There are currently seven state liquor stores located within supermarkets.

In 2010, a trial was initiated to test selling wine in grocery stores using vending machines. The buyer must present identification, look into a camera to allow an offsite PLCB employee to verify the identification, and blow into a breathalyzer to authorize the sale. [74] This practice was ended in September 2011. [75]

As of 2007, some convenience stores and grocery stores were trying to fight Pennsylvania's strict laws on the sale of alcohol. [76] [77] [78] Since 2009, beer sales have been approved in multiple Western Pennsylvania locations of the grocery chains Giant Eagle and Wegmans. Additionally, as of 2006, some gas stations have found a way to sell beer, such as Sheetz, by taking advantage of a loophole where they can classify themselves as restaurants, though this is rare throughout the state. [79] [80] [81] [82]

Special permits may be purchased for certain organizations for fundraisers once per calendar year, and are valid for a total of six days under the same rules governing restaurants. [83] Grain alcohol prohibited as a beverage.

Anon > Cé hé sin
08/28/2014 at 10:23

That is true. I started hunting when I was 8. However I was always with my dad. However most people do not fire automatic weapons (as they're very difficult to get ahold of legally). Also most people are more resposible than to let their 9 YO fire an assult weapon.

ihm96 > As Du Volant
08/28/2014 at 11:36

I absolutely despise the PA laws

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > Tohru
08/28/2014 at 11:36

As long as you remember to buy it before 9pm...

Two Drink Minimum > SDKR
08/28/2014 at 12:13

It gets better. Only 12 countries have drinking ages higher than 18. Five of those are set at either 19 or 20. The seven countries with a 21 drinking age?

Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Sri Lanka and, yes, the United States of America.

One of these (Palau) is a Pacific island with a population of 18,000. And outside of Sri Lanka, the rest are either majority Islamic populations or Islamic states.

Textured Soy Protein > mr_gofast
08/28/2014 at 12:40

I live in Wisconsin, one of the most free-wheeling states when it comes to alcohol, and grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland where there are lots of silly alcohol laws.

In Wisconsin, you can buy alcohol at liquor stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, superstores, pharmacies, gas stations, and pretty much any other kind of store with the right liquor license. The only restriction is they can't sell after 9 pm.

In Montgomery County, MD there are the following liquor laws:

No alcohol sales of any kind outside of a dedicated store. There is a small exception to this: 4 grocery store chains are each allowed to operate 1 location that sells beer & wine. So there are 4 total grocery stores in a county of 1 million people that are allowed to sell alcohol.

Liquor can only be sold in county-operated stores, but beer & wine can only be sold in privately operated beer & wine stores. If you're having a party that involves both liquor and beer/wine, you have to make at least 2 stops.

No standalone bars. A restaurant can operate a bar if it derives a certain % of its revenue from food (rather than alcohol) sales.

Many restaurants have liquor licenses that only allow them to serve beer & wine, no liquor.

ranwhenparked > As Du Volant
08/28/2014 at 20:35

Yep, and they'll likely never change due to complacency. Pennsylvanians that don't spend much time outside Pennsylvania have never experienced anything else and don't understand why the system sucks and needs change. Also, there's still a hidden tax on all liquor to help Johnstown recover from a flood in the early '40s. It's not itemized and is just included into the retail price, so nobody really cares about the "temporary" tax that's still around 75 years later.

dr861 > mr_gofast
08/29/2014 at 00:12

You're just not used to all the severely constricting laws that free countries are supposed to have. Being free really means being told what you can and can't do. That's REAL freedom.

As Du Volant > ranwhenparked
08/29/2014 at 07:56

Did not know that about the flood tax.

I've lived in PA almost 7 years now and I've gotten so used to it that I'm actually surprised when I go out of state and see beer at a gas station. Sucks that it's come to that point.