Forrest Chesvick, owner of Good Buzz Brewing in Centralia, testified at a public hearing at the state Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 11, in favor of House Bill 1719, which would allow breweries, wineries and distilleries to serve their product at 12 public events a year.
As the state law stands, breweries such as Good Buzz can sell their product by the glass on their business’s premises or at up to 12 private events a year using a special permit, but not at public events. When selling their product at public events breweries, wineries and distilleries are limited to small samples or sealed containers.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, would change the restriction and add a special permit that allows the businesses to serve their products by the glass at public events for up to three days. A similar permit is already available to nonprofits.
At the hearing in front of the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee, Chesvick joined 91 others, including representatives from the Washington Brewers Guild and the Washington Wine Institute, testifying in favor of the bill.
“In this industry, the government has a lot of restrictions that are harmful to use because our hands are tied if we try to promote ourselves in a way that could get us in trouble,” Chesvick said. “Being able to go to a place like the state fairgrounds, where there’s tens of thousands of people showing up, and say, ‘I’m a small Washington business,’ showcase our products and let people know who we are is a huge thing for small companies like ours.”
The Chronicle first reported on Chesvick back in December when he said he planned to petition the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to support a bill that would change the law.
He voiced frustration at being unable to serve his products at public events hosted by other businesses or venues in his community and the obstacles it creates.
“This is all about small businesses in our community,” Chesvick said after the hearing. “The majority of this craft alcohol industry are people like myself that had a hobby and wanted to share this passion with people around us.”
Despite support for the bill from small and local businesses, one party opposed to the bill, the Washington Beer and Wine Distributors Association, pointed out that the current draft has no language limiting use of the permit to Washington-based businesses and would permit both producers and retailers to take advantage of the new special permit.
Association representatives also testified at the hearing and cited concerns over enforcement, public safety and fairness.
“This massive expansion will overwhelm the Liquor and Cannabis Board, which lacks the resources to effectively license and regulate so many temporary locations,” Nora Burns said on behalf of the Washington Beer and Wine Distributors Association. “A $10 pop-up fee will not begin to cover the enforcement costs.”
Burns claimed during her testimony that opening up a new permit to “thousands of manufacturers” could create as many as 18,000 new temporary locations where alcohol is served.
The distributors also pointed to the fiscal note attached to the bill created by the Liquor and Cannabis Board that estimates the passage of the legislation would create an additional 40,000 event days per year.
Chesvick argued that many producers and distributors would attend events and locations that already serve alcohol by the glass through other means, mainly through permits given to nonprofits.
“As of 2024, the Liquor Board had issued 3,607 special occasion licenses to nonprofits,” Cheskvik said. “The alcohol is already at these events.”
Abbarno, a member of the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee, said his legislation is about fairness.
“I think … opening this permit up to public events is about fairness,” Abbarno said. “A lot of these are small businesses who have the opportunity, then, to sell their production, their beer, wines and spirits to the public … These producers and retailers know their products better than anyone. Their reputations are very important to them. As a small business owner, they’re going to make sure that they protect their brand and make sure to serve in a responsible and safe way.”
