I just returned from a weekend in Pennsylvania. More memorable than the rolling mountains, green forests or gushing rivers were the state’s convoluted liquor laws.
Before this trip, I assumed that a state famous for its craft brew (home to both the Troegs and Victory breweries) would have a plentiful selection of beer — and maybe even a few things we couldn’t get back in DC. Instead, we found ourselves driving from convenient store to gas station to supermarket and emerging from all empty-handed.
Finally, we got to a small shop in the center of Ohiopyle. The owner was used to tourists from the surrounding states being baffled by PA’s dry mini-marts. When I asked her where we could find beer, she replied with a question I’ve never been asked before: “Exactly how much beer are you looking for?” I shrugged, and she laid out our options:
a) Purchase a six pack from a nearby bar with an “off-license.” However, you will be charges the same rate for the carryout drinks as you would pay to sit at bar and drink them.
b) Drive to the other side of the mountain and buy an entire case from a beer distributor.
With time to kill, we went with choice (b) The distributor turned out to be a garage with a walk-in freezer attached to someone’s house. It was $31 for 24 bottles of Sierra Nevada, a decent price by DC standards. I know what I’ll be drinking for the next month.
Frustrated with PA’s baffling beer laws
I just returned from a weekend in Pennsylvania. More memorable than the rolling mountains, green forests or gushing rivers were the state’s convoluted liquor laws.
Before this trip, I assumed that a state famous for its craft brew (home to both the Troegs and Victory breweries) would have a plentiful selection of beer — and maybe even a few things we couldn’t get back in DC. Instead, we found ourselves driving from convenient store to gas station to supermarket and emerging from all empty-handed.
Finally, we got to a small shop in the center of Ohiopyle. The owner was used to tourists from the surrounding states being baffled by PA’s dry mini-marts. When I asked her where we could find beer, she replied with a question I’ve never been asked before: “Exactly how much beer are you looking for?” I shrugged, and she laid out our options:
a) Purchase a six pack from a nearby bar with an “off-license.” However, you will be charges the same rate for the carryout drinks as you would pay to sit at bar and drink them.
b) Drive to the other side of the mountain and buy an entire case from a beer distributor.
With time to kill, we went with choice (b) The distributor turned out to be a garage with a walk-in freezer attached to someone’s house. It was $31 for 24 bottles of Sierra Nevada, a decent price by DC standards. I know what I’ll be drinking for the next month.
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