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| Small Breweries Again Able to Distribute Own Beer |
(IRN)-Small craft breweries around the state are once again able to do what they haven't been able to for the past few months, distribute their products by themselves.
Governor Pat Quinn recently signed legislation to allow breweries that produce up to 15,000 barrels a year to distribute half of their product without a distributor. The courts put the practice on hold for several months due to a pending lawsuit.
The law is good news for Rolling Meadows, a Springfield brewery that got started shortly after the stay was implemented. Chris Trudeau, the brewery's founder, says now he'll finally be able to get his name out there.
"It's really nice to at least let the smaller breweries bring their beer directly to bars, that way there's no middle man and they can retain the profits from their sales," says Trudeau.
Rolling Meadows sits on Trudeau's family farm, and so far has no employees outside of the founders and their families. They grow their own hops, and soon hope to plant wheat and barley. With the increased distribution demands, Trudeau says he'll undoubtedly have to expand.
He says a gaggle of Springfield bars and restaurants have expressed a healthy interest in his product, which at present offers only three beers.
"I think that we're going to be, since we're such a small brewery and we do small batches, we're probably going to work overtime to keep up with the demand," he says.
The governor signed the law Wednesday, and it went into effect immediately.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 06 06 11 by Newsroom |
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