While I don’t share Lew’s frothing hatred of taxation, I must say that I’ve reached my limit with the PLCB. What was the last straw, you ask? I have never had a good local distributor in my life. I had a flirtation with Society Hill Beverage, but even their superior selection (by PA standards) and reasonable prices aren’t enough to keep me from envying my friends in Jersey, or from relishing trips to Helen’s home state too much. (Little secret: Virginia is for beer lovers! Bet you didn’t know Dogfish Head has a string of brewpubs down there!)
No one retailer is perfect. I’ll accept that for all intents and purposes beer snobbery is the new record snobbery. You can read all about it, salivate over every boutique brew, but the the real challenge is to find it in the wild. Might not be so hard at the local taprooms, but try finding a bomber of Dogfish Head’s latest, Bitches Brew, anywhere around town. It’s pointless to try.
I’m not sure what the answer is. I’m not typically a fan of privatization. Sure, there’s malfeasance in the public sphere, but we can influence that. Look around at what’s happened in the free market in the past ten years and ask yourself if they’re doing much better. What I will grant is that folks in other states with more liberal alcohol sales laws tend to have a better overall experience. Would it kill someone to let me buy a mixed six pack, instead of having to buy a whole case of pumpkin ale?
As it stands now, plenty of Pennsylvanians become bootleggers rather than conform to local laws. It’s too tempting to sneak over the Jersey or Delaware border to pick up your favorite beer and wine in stores that are frankly much better than any state store or distributor. Why not just reform the laws and find a way to make that system work as it does in neighboring states?
I will say this: bootlegging is much easier now since the advent of E‑Z Pass. You don’t even have to wait in pesky toll lanes!
