Brew Pubs Can Now Sell Growlers in Sandy Springs

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SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The city of Sandy Springs will now allow certain establishments to sell alcoholic beverages in the form of a growler.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved amending its alcohol ordinance to allow brewpubs that hold package malt beverage licenses to sell growlers filled with beer that's produced on-site for off-premises consumption.

Similar ordinances have passed in cities such as Savannah and Alpharetta.

A growler is defined as a container, sealed with a tamper-proof cap, that can hold up to 68 ounces of a malt beverage drawn from a barrel, cask, tank or keg by a licensee.

City Attorney Wendell Willard said historically, there's been a limit on how brewpubs can sell their products -- they had to be sold and consumed solely on-premises.

However, the Georgia Department of Revenue recently interpreted existing state law as allowing brewpubs to sell growlers, and that it would defer to local communities to decide how they would want to proceed on the topic.

City Council member Gabriel Sterling, a big proponent of the amendment, commended Sandy Springs' legal team and his fellow elected officials in working to make the proposal a reality for the city.

He noted the change will help the city's "friends" at 5 Seasons Brewing and other small businesses, adding that he hopes the change could “entice some more to come to our city.”

For its part, 5 Seasons Brewing praised the city for its efforts on its Facebook page.

"Thank you to Mayor Rusty Paul, City Attorney Wendall Willard, Councilman Gabe Sterling, and the rest of the city council for the unanimous vote to allow us to more easily get our beer to you," the company said.

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