News of a compromise that will likely allow state alcohol law revisions to pass the Alaska Legislature this year was met with indifference by local brewery and distillery owners.

In February, news outlets reported a potential ceasefire between the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association (CHARR), which represents bar owners, and the Brewers Guild of Alaska, representing breweries. The two organizations have reached a compromise in which licenses for brewery, distillery and winery tasting rooms will be limited by population: one of each type of business per every 12,000 people. In exchange, these establishments will be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. (instead of 8 p.m.).

“It’s not something we were pushing for or particularly interested in as a compromise,” Port Chilkoot Distillery owner Heather Shade said.

This feeling was shared by Haines Brewing Company owners Paul Wheeler and Jeanne Kitayama. “We built our business under current law. We didn’t ask for these changes,” Wheeler said.

“The whole compromise is because of larger breweries in Anchorage,” Wheeler said. Anchorage-based breweries like the Midnight Sun Brewing Company want to stay open to serve people doing late night activities in the summer, he said. Though under current law, the Haines brewery could stay open until 8 p.m., at present it closes at 7 p.m. “because we’re in Haines.”

Both Wheeler and Shade said they could see themselves taking advantage of an extension in hours on occasion to host special events like birthday parties. But “in general, our visitors stop by earlier in the evening,” Shade said.

The proposed population cap will not affect existing alcohol tasting rooms in Haines, Brewers Guild president Lee Ellis said.

In its current form, the rewrite will allow tasting rooms to host up to four music events throughout the year after obtaining the requisite permits. “We will likely take advantage of having music events… but I don’t think music should be restricted in any way, so I see that as not a great compromise,” Shade said.

In general, the rewrite is “not going to make any big changes to how we operate,” Shade said. The rewrite sets up a three-tiered system for alcohol licenses, distinguishing between alcohol manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. It gives license holders the ability to obtain secondary licenses and “endorsements” that allow for functions like tasting rooms and package stores associated with alcohol manufacturers. It will also give license holders the ability to obtain $50 permits for discrete, single-day events like catering or live music events.

“It’s mostly creating clarity about things that have been vague in the laws,” Shade said. In the past, the process of regulating breweries, distilleries and wineries has been contentious in part because of a lack of specificity in laws regulating alcohol manufacturers. Heather referenced past debates about the kinds of events allowed in tasting rooms associated with alcohol manufacturers as an example.

“It’s nice that they were able to compromise enough that (the rewrite) passed unanimously in the Senate,” Wheeler said.

However, the legislation in its current form does little to resolve underlying tension about the role of tasting rooms associated with alcohol manufacturers in relation to bars.

The rewrite of state alcohol law has been in the works for the past eight years. Most recently, it was derailed by a dispute between bars and alcohol manufacturers at the end of the 2018 legislative session. CHARR expressed concern that breweries, distilleries and wineries, growing industries in Alaska and throughout the country, were functioning too much like bars, taking customers away from bar owners who have more hefty licensing fees.

CHARR advocated for more restrictions in the alcohol law rewrite to keep breweries and other alcohol manufacturers from competing with bars, and the Brewers Guild pushed back. This dispute effectively killed the rewrite’s momentum in the legislature in 2018.

The current compromise neither adds to nor removes some of the more burdensome restrictions placed on tasting rooms.

At present, tasting rooms cannot serve customers seated at the bar. “I had a woman bring a stool over to the bar the other day to sit down,” Wheeler said. “I had to tell her, ‘I’m sorry, but it’s not legal; you can’t legally sit down at the bar.’”

Heather said she thinks a lot of the restrictions on tasting rooms are unnecessary. “What makes a bar a bar is that they can serve alcohol to anyone at any time,” she said. Tasting rooms “have restrictions on the amount we can serve, are only able to serve what we make and have to be connected to the manufacturing facility—that’s what makes it a tasting room,” she said. All the extra functions, like holding tours, classes and music events, have nothing to do with that essential function, she said.

At press time, bar owners in Haines had not responded to requests for comment.

Although the alcohol rewrite has been held up by disputes between the bar and brewing industries, it covers a much broader swath of topics ranging from regulation of online alcohol sales to restricting youth access to alcohol. It has incorporated input from a variety of stakeholders including local government, law enforcement, alcohol industry representatives, public health officials, nonprofits like the Rasmuson Foundation and state agencies like the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office.

It’s too soon to predict what a final version of the rewrite will look like, assuming it passes this year, Wheeler said. “A lot will depend on what happens to (the legislation) in the House.” In 2018, the rewrite passed the Senate unanimously and then collapsed as House members tried to add amendments to further regulate alcohol manufacturers.

The specific regulations the executive branch implements to carry out the rewrite the legislature passes will also impact businesses, Wheeler said. Any changes to existing alcohol law are unlikely to go into effect before next January at the earliest, he said.

“We’re not going to make any business plans until (the outcome of the legislation is) clearer,” Shade said.

Ellis said he’s hopeful the compromise will ensure the rewrite of the state’s 35-year-old alcohol laws will pass this year. He said he thinks the compromise will prevent another collapse like the one in 2018. “The agreement with CHARR is a huge deal. It shows that everyone has come to the table.” A solid agreement between the Brewers Guild and CHARR will, hopefully, encourage legislators to move the bill without too much tinkering, he said.

The alcohol law rewrite, which passed the Senate in late February, will now go before the House Labor and Commerce Committee for review.