Cheering new law
New law allows craft brewers’ customers to buy and drink full-strength beer where it is brewed, sold
Mike Mullins and others raise a glass to a new law that allows breweries to sell and serve fullstrength beer on premises.
Across the state, craft brewers raised their glasses at 4:24 p.m. Friday to toast the enactment of Senate Bill 424, which allows people to buy and drink full-strength beer at Oklahoma breweries for the first time since statehood. The law went into effect Friday. At Anthem Brewing Co. in Oklahoma City, taproom manager Ben Childers stood on a table to toast the new law in front of a crowd of revelers.
“Let’s get our glasses up,” Childers said as the crowd erupted into cheers. “This is for the fullstrength beer in Oklahoma and full-strength beer by the pint.”
There was a line at the bar in the Anthem’s taproom by 4 p.m. as beer enthusiasts began pouring in.
Alan Musser, CEO of Anthem Brewing Co.,
said he had goose bumps when he saw customers begin to crowd into the taproom on Friday.
“It’s a great opportunity to brand our product and allow our customers to actually taste our beer that we sell,” Musser said.
“People are happy and are enjoying the history of the day. There’s not a lot of times when we get to be part of history.”
Shaun and Victoria Eller-Moore visited Anthem Brewing on Friday afternoon to celebrate the new law.
“It’s nice to see highpoint beer become normal,” Victoria Eller-Moore said. “I think it’s positive and it modernizes the state.”
Micah Andrews, owner of the craft beer bar and restaurant Oak and Ore in the Plaza District, partnered with The Spy FM and OKC Party Bus to organize a daylong Oklahoma Tap Liberation Day celebration on Friday.
It included bus tours to local breweries.
The party bus tours were completely booked with 140 reservations in advance of the event, Andrews said.
“There’s been a great response, and there even may be some opportunity to something like this on a more consistent basis,” he said.
“People are pumped.”