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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 28, 2015 12:57 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Mark Mustio |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Revision of Definition of Alcoholic Cider - Alcohol by Volume (ABV) |
| Prior to Act 86 of 1998, hard cider or alcoholic cider was viewed as a type of fruit wine and sold exclusively in PA LCB stores. With the growth of the craft beer movement, there was an interest in making hard cider on a much wider scale and distributing it through beer channels. The definition of “alcoholic cider” has a maximum 5.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) was the result of a legislative compromise rather than any empirical evidence. Now the brewers’ state of the art has evolved and the 5.5% ABV cap is keeping a number of interesting and creative products out of PA and harming PA’s reputation as a top craft beer state. Therefore, in order to open our state to a greater abundance of ciders, my legislation would change the definition of “alcoholic cider” by increasing the ABV from the current 5.5% to 14%. This legislation will allow new products and in some cases new companies to enter the PA market and thereby expose the consumer to ciders that they currently cannot drink in the Commonwealth. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB483