Utah among few states with weak beer after Oklahoma vote

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is among a dwindling number of states banning full-strength beer sales at food markets after Oklahoma voters abandoned alcohol content limits on beer and wine sold in grocery stores and convenience stores.

The ballot measure approved Tuesday allows full-strength beer for the Oklahoma stores and comes after a similar change in Colorado, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

That leaves Utah, Kansas and Minnesota as the last three states limiting beer’s alcohol content to 3.2 percent by weight when the changes go into effect over the next few years.

The amount of lighter beer sold nationally would go from 1.8 percent of all beer brewed in the United States to .7 percent, said Jim Olsen, president of the Utah Beer Wholesalers Association.

It also narrows the national market for weaker booze to a trickle, raising questions about whether it would make financial sense for big beer companies such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors to keep making as many 3.2 beer styles.

“There won’t be that much beer consumed under the 3.2 label,” Olsen said.

Utah also limits beer on tap at bars, and restaurants to 3.2 percent and the selection there could be affected as well.

Anheuser-Busch, for one, said in a statement that it continue making lighter beer

The Beer Wholesalers Association said the solution is to change state law to allow for higher-alcohol beer in grocery stores. But Utah lawmakers, many of whom are Mormons, might not agree.

But if big beer makers pull back, it could open up potential opportunities for Utah’s craft beer brewers to fill the shelves instead with locally made product.

“If there’s less of it from big beer, it’s more opportunity for us to fill the void,” said Matthew Allred, spokesman for Salt Lake City’s Epic Brewing Co.

Bigger beer companies often offer stores incentives to stock prime grocery store space with their product, leaving smaller producers with less space in stores to catch customers’ eyes, he said

State liquor officials are monitoring national changes.

Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control spokesman Terry Wood said the department has been aware of the Oklahoma initiative for some time now and are analyzing the impact of the vote.