It’s Super Bowl time again, the day when we’re either hosting a house party or bringing our favorite beverages over to a neighbor’s or friend’s home to enjoy the big game. But it’s also the week when we have to do the “beer shopper’s two-stop” to get beer and food — an experience that’s anything but super. It’s time that Colorado throws our old, antiquated beer laws out of the game and scores a touchdown for consumers.
I’m going to have a house full of fans, and they want a broad selection of beer. They know what they like, and they’re not going to be happy if I put out the 3.2 percent beer that I can get in the grocery stores.
At the same time, I would much rather stock up at the grocery store while I am buying all the food, soft drinks and party supplies that I need for Sunday. One trip. One stop. One word: convenient.
That, however, would be too easy.
So we will do what our out-of-date state laws require: make two stops. These silly laws force us to get our groceries, load them (and the kids) in the car, drive over to the liquor store, get the kids out of the car, and start shopping again.
Why? It seems like it’s only to protect special interests, and surely not for the convenience of average Coloradans.
There is no reason why Colorado continues to require the sale of 3.2 beers. The drinking age is 21 and the days when 18-year-olds were legal and it made sense to limit them to “near beer” are long gone. Worse, the law limits grocery stores to selling only beer at 3.2 percent or below, and liquor stores to beer above 3.2. Not only does that mean grocery stores can’t sell popular Colorado craft beers and microbrews, it also means that liquor stores, bars and restaurants aren’t allowed to sell a number of light beers that consumers want. Currently there’s a state testing program to check what alcohol levels are being sold in which stores. Wouldn’t those dollars serve a better purpose in fighting underage drinking?
Again, consumers lose.
I also think it is a good idea that grocery store “self checkout” systems shut down until I present my ID to a clerk. While my 21st birthday is long past, I think it’s great that customers have to produce a valid ID or the transaction just won’t go forward. While some liquor stores may be trying to catch up to grocery stores in this regard, I’ve never seen such a system in any liquor store, and I don’t know anybody who has.
What’s the alternative?
To me, as a mom, grandma and a consumer, the solution is to put consumers first and let us decide where to shop for beer. I am an adult and want to have the choice. Whether it’s a liquor store, grocery store or convenience store, anyone who is licensed to sell beer should sell whatever they want to sell. Some people will want to continue to shop in liquor stores, while others can have the convenience of picking up the beer we want in the grocery store. Everybody wins.
Maybe by the next Super Bowl, Colorado will be like the 45 other states that trust adults to make basic decisions about where to shop for beer. Let’s hope our state lawmakers put modern beer laws into the end zone this year, and don’t fumble the ball. I am rooting for them.
Ginny Williams lives in Littleton.
