"package store"

[Bruce Dykes]

-----Original Message-----
From: Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at NB.NET>
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Date: Friday, September 01, 2000 5:24 PM
Subject: Re: "package store"


>There are other [multi-?]regional expressions such as "ABC store" ("ABC" =
>"Alcoholic Beverage Commission"?) = "liquor store" IIRC.


I've been surprised in seeing how widespread 'ABC' is across the country.
The same abbreviation and name is used here in NJ, but you don't really see
it outside of licensing issues and discussions...

>A curiosum: in PA (unique in this respect among the US states?) you cannot
>generally get -- say -- your wine, beer, and macaroni in less than three
>stops. For the macaroni, one would go to a grocery store (which sells no
>alcoholic beverage). For the wine, one would go to a 'state' liquor store
>(which sells liquor, wine, and I think usually mixers, etc., but no beer).
>For the beer, one would go to a beer store (which sells beer, ale, stout,
>'wine coolers' [diluted wine packaged like beer], etc., and usually soft
>drinks [soda/pop], potato chips, etc., but no wine or stronger stuff and
>usually no general groceries). Beer (but not hard liquor or wine) is also
>available on 'package' or 'carryout' basis at bars/restaurants.


In the craft brewing industry, Pennsylvania's distribution laws are
considered draconian.

And to further confuse the liquor classification issue: cider is generally
viewed as ancillary to beer, like malt liquor. Malt liquor is a label for
beers that are stronger than the legal definition for beer, usually 6%. This
includes not only Billy Dees, but Carlsberg's Elephant beer, from Denmark.

And to further add to the confusion, there's a new class of booze that,
afaik, doesn't have any sort of label outside the industry (and I have no
idea what or even if the industry has a label for them). Basically, they're
flavored Zima. Zima is a flavorless, barely carbonated, fermented malt
beverage, that was test marketed, pulled, then brought back. And now it's
spawned a host of flavored counterparts, such as Mike's Hard Lemonade. But
these are all predated by coolers. Most of the products formerly known as
wine coolers (I'd love to say all, but maybe there are still some wine
coolers out there) have been flavored malt beverages since at least the
early nineties, if not earlier.

I'll check on the nature of Bacardi Breezes today. While Bacardi is known
mostly for their rum, they also brew beer, and I suspect that they're also
flavored malt, as opposed to prepackaged cocktails.

bkd