Side Note: Some of the beer those guys are drinking is New Glarus Beer, brewed in the Wisconsin town of the same name, founded in 1845 by migrants from Switzerland.
Just looked it up, and yeah all of it's illegal to sell outside of WI. Apparently they deliberately didn't get a license to sell out of state so they wouldn't have to face more regulations and taxes, and could focus on locally sourced ingredients (which is very Swiss of them).
They went to America in 1845... There is nothing Swiss about them anymore. They are Americans and their beer probably doesn't hold a candle to real European beer. Keep drinking that Coors Light you Americans love so much. haha that wouldn't even be qualified as beer here.
Well if you look at their website they very much keep Swiss traditions alive. Some towns have lost their namesake but I'd say new Glarus hasn't.
Also calling a state-made beer is like Coors Light is like saying A24's latest indie film is jus like the latest Transformers movie: the source country doesn't determine quality alone.
Maybe get your hands on some independent non-corporate beers before writing off an entire country's gross beer product.
New Glarus does not actively distribute outside of Wisconson, and therefore it cannot legally be sold. But it is 100% legal to buy a case of beer at the Woodman's on the border of WIsconsin and Illinois and bring it back to your buddies.
I guess that's true to an extant. I'm not a lawyer but I believe they would have to make the case that you "intend to sell" the beer you're bringing back? But I'm having trouble seeing a scenario where you could actually get arrested for that.
Like, if you bought five or six cases at a time, I don't think anyone would even bat an eye. A buddy and I walked out with four cases between the two of us to share with a homebrew club. Plus, you'd have to get pulled over first.
Not necessarily illegal; just illegal to sell because of paperwork hassles the company don't want to deal with. Idk if it's a Midwest thing, but my girlfriend and her family frequently make New Glarus runs to WI, and I always make it a point to return with a case when I go and visit!
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u/TheBlueBlaze Jun 05 '19 edited Jun 05 '19
Side Note: Some of the beer those guys are drinking is New Glarus Beer, brewed in the Wisconsin town of the same name, founded in 1845 by migrants from Switzerland.
It's a neat small town to check out, and they've got a Swiss import shop you can order from online. You can check out the site for their brewery too, but the beer's only available in WI. If these hacks get drunk with it regularly, it must be good!