by KYW's John McDevitt
In an effort to promote fair competition, there are strict guidelines in Pennsylvania for beer distribution, from manufacturer all the way to the tap at your corner bar.
When you walk into restaurant or tavern like Fergie's Pub in center city Philadelphia and pull up a stool to order a beer, you probably don't think of the rules imposed by the state on how that frothy beverage made it into your glass.
Center city attorney Edward Taraskus specializes in liquor laws. He says there is a special class of licenses for distributors, known as wholesale licenses:
"They include both the 'importing' distributors, which are the distributors who have a contract to bring into the state, let's say Heineken, exclusively. And then there is also the distributor which doesn't have the importing authority, but can sell Heineken that it obtains from the importing distributor."
He says that in Philadelphia County there are 128 distributors, eight of which are import distributors.
"An owner of a distributor license cannot be involved in a restaurant license -- it's strictly prohibited. The owner of the distributor can not even make a loan to the owner of the restaurant license, and that is to prevent what is known as the 'tied' houses, which is seen in England, where, for example, Bass is the manufacturer and is also the distributor and is also the owner of the retail outlet."
Taraskus says the idea of Pennsylvania's guidelines is to give the little guys a chance to open up a business.
(Photo by KYW's John McDevitt)
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