You Can Now Buy Six-Packs and Growlers From Pennsylvania Beer Distributors

And you can drink in bars at 9 a.m. on Sundays. And you can order mixed drinks from sporting venues.

Six packs of Victory beers

Six packs of Victory beer at the Old Nelson at 19th and JFK. | Photo: Dan McQuade

Act. No. 166 is officially in effect: starting today, you can buy six-packs and growlers from Pennsylvania beer distributors.

The legislation, which was signed by Governor Tom Wolf in November, makes buying drinks in Pennsylvania a whole lot easier. In addition to no longer having to carry 24-packs and kegs out of beer distributors (previously the required minimum sale quantity), you can start drinking at bars at the ripe hour of 9 a.m. on Sundays (even if those bars don’t sell food) and buy mixed drinks from sporting venues. Oh, and breweries without pub licenses can sell the products of other breweries – which is a boon for local distillers, winemakers and brewers.

For consumers, it’s a win-win-win – win. And it’s another step in the direction of looser state laws surrounding alcohol sales, especially after Wolf signed a liquor reform law this past summer that allowed customers to buy on-the-go wine from restaurants, hotels and grocery stores or get it shipped directly to their home. And before that, Wolf pushed the Liquor Control Board this spring to more quickly approve licenses at Pennsylvania gas stations looking to sell six-packs, like Sheetz.

Pennsylvania beer distributors – like Tanczos Beverages in Bethlehem – are already making room in their businesses for growler-fill stations and additional sales racks, The Morning Call reports.

Some retailers in Pennsylvania are pushing for further privatization. Following the passage of Act. No. 166, the Pennsylvania Tavern Association wants state legislators to further “free the beer” and level the playing field between retailers and distributors by allowing taverns to sell larger quantities of beer.

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