Utah: How bad can it be?

[Abominable]

What are the beer laws? I seem to remember having plenty of "good" beer? I think any place that can serve booze can serve whatever beer they want?

The only things I remember are:

you can get a six pack to go from the bar, and

at some places, you had to order food to get beer / booze.

I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about but I'm probably hopelessly misinformed and acting hammered after drinking O'douls.

 

[Jcb890]

I just said day 1 ...

I'm not even a big drinker. I still disagree with the law.

Seriously. It's absolutely moronic. It's not like beer is 80 proof whiskey to begin with.

All I know is if I lived there I'd make the 1 hour pilgrimage to Wyoming every 3 or 4 months and stock up on decent craft beer.

I don't drink much, but agree it is insane. I'm not sure what their laws are on liquor. I'd absolutely do the same though to get some craft beer. If they have limits on bourbon, then we have some issues. It sounds like no issues other than having to go to a State-run liquor store.

What are the beer laws? I seem to remember having plenty of "good" beer? I think any place that can serve booze can serve whatever beer they want?

The only things I remember are:

you can get a six pack to go from the bar, and

at some places, you had to order food to get beer / booze.

I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about but I'm probably hopelessly misinformed and acting hammered after drinking O'douls.

3.2 percent alcohol by weight (4 percent by volume) from any establishment which is NOT a state-run liquor store.
Sure, there is good session beer at 3.2%... but very few of the styles I like to drink are under 5%.

Personally, I'm not basing my decision to travel on alcohol, but I think that state mandate is insane.

 

[LasersInTheTaiga]

All I know is if I lived there I'd make the 1 hour pilgrimage to Wyoming every 3 or 4 months and stock up on decent craft beer.

Holy sacred golden tablets, apparently that is illegal.

https://sbi.utah.gov/alcohol-enforcement-team/frequently-asked-questions/
(see "Can I bring alcoholic beverages into Utah from another state?")

 

[Jcb890]

Holy sacred golden tablets, apparently that is illegal.

https://sbi.utah.gov/alcohol-enforcement-team/frequently-asked-questions/
(see "Can I bring alcoholic beverages into Utah from another state?")

I think just about everything good is illegal in Utah.

 

[Jully]

You used to have to have a membership to bars I think.

 

[thetrailboss]

You used to have to have a membership to bars I think.

Correct. Before the 2002 Olympics.

 

[thetrailboss]

Holy sacred golden tablets, apparently that is illegal.

https://sbi.utah.gov/alcohol-enforcement-team/frequently-asked-questions/
(see "Can I bring alcoholic beverages into Utah from another state?")

It is illegal in most states to import booze. But if you are buying for yourself you are usually fine. It is a law that is not often enforced. It is pretty much impossible to enforce unless you stopped every car.

 

[Jcb890]

You used to have to have a membership to bars I think.

Correct. Before the 2002 Olympics.

That's batshit crazy.

It is illegal in most states to import booze. But if you are buying for yourself you are usually fine. It is a law that is not often enforced. It is pretty much impossible to enforce unless you stopped every car.

Technically Massachusetts has similar rules/laws because people will drive up to New Hampshire to buy booze or cigarettes due to no sales tax or fireworks due to legal reasons.

 

[thetrailboss]

Seriously. It's absolutely moronic. It's not like beer is 80 proof whiskey to begin with.

All I know is if I lived there I'd make the 1 hour pilgrimage to Wyoming every 3 or 4 months and stock up on decent craft beer.

So when another state did away with their low-point beer, a couple major national brewers told Utah that low-point beer was going to go by the wayside. The Utah Legislature briefly considered the low-point category and getting rid of it. But they focused on more important things. Like making it optional to stop at red lights. I am completely serious. :roll: So, as of now, low-point beer remains a thing in Utah, but the selection may decrease.

The people who are appointed to the DABC have NO experience AT ALL with alcohol. Last year the board went to a liquor outlet. A senior member of the board said he had never drank, and had never even been in a liquor outlet. He was middle aged. Accordingly, the DABC has a lot of problems and is not well run.

The DABC went after a local theater for showing DEADPOOL and serving beer. THE HORROR. Serving a beer at an R-rated movie. But the strip club a few hundred feet down the road, with booze, is FINE. The DABC LOST THEIR SHIRTS in Court. Though I laugh, my taxes are paying that theater's legal costs now.

A certain major institution in Utah calls the shots...both explicitly and implicitly. And drinking is bad in their mind. All who seek to move up in said institution have to preach the party line. Those that make these ridiculous rules are promoted in said institution. Get it?

 

[Jcb890]

So when another state did away with their low-point beer, a couple major national brewers told Utah that low-point beer was going to go by the wayside. The Utah Legislature briefly considered the low-point category and getting rid of it. But they focused on more important things. Like making it optional to stop at red lights. I am completely serious. :roll: So, as of now, low-point beer remains a thing in Utah, but the selection may decrease.

The people who are appointed to the DABC have NO experience AT ALL with alcohol. Last year the board went to a liquor outlet. A senior member of the board said he had never drank, and had never even been in a liquor outlet. He was middle aged. Accordingly, the DABC has a lot of problems and is not well run.

The DABC went after a local theater for showing DEADPOOL and serving beer. THE HORROR. Serving a beer at an R-rated movie. But the strip club a few hundred feet down the road, with booze, is FINE. The DABC LOST THEIR SHIRTS in Court. Though I laugh, my taxes are paying that theater's legal costs now.

A certain major institution in Utah calls the shots...both explicitly and implicitly. And drinking is bad in their mind. All who seek to move up in said institution have to preach the party line. Those that make these ridiculous rules are promoted in said institution. Get it?

That sounds awful, to be honest.

 

[thetrailboss]

That sounds awful, to be honest.

It is. I am not a big drinker. The culture is changing faster than the views of the elected officialdom.

 

[Jcb890]

It is. I am not a big drinker. The culture is changing faster than the views of the elected officialdom.

I am not a big drinker either, but my tax money being wasted on things like that would drive me up the wall.

 

[Abominable]

3.2 percent alcohol by weight (4 percent by volume) from any establishment which is NOT a state-run liquor store.
Sure, there is good session beer at 3.2%... but very few of the styles I like to drink are under 5%.

Personally, I'm not basing my decision to travel on alcohol, but I think that state mandate is insane.

I'm not sure this is accurate. I think that's only if you're carrying out. I think any place with a full liquor license (i.e. the bar at the ski hill) can serve full beer.

No?

EDIT, googling it, I think you may be right in that all TAP beer at the mountain is limited to 4%. But they can still give you your IPA in a can.

 

[Abominable]

This is what the internet says:

Utah drinking laws you need to know
1. Shotskis are totally allowed
2. Grocery stores only sell 4% ABV beer (aka the mythical 3.2% ABW* beer)
3. Tap beers everywhere? Also only 4%.
4. Bottled beers at bars/restaurants can be whatever % they want (oontz, oontz, oontz)
5. Shotskis are TOTALLY allowed
6. If you're at a restaurant, you have to order some kind of food if you wanna drink
7. Cocktails can only have 1.5oz of their main booze, but you can get a sidecar provided it's not the same as the main booze. Basically get a shot of bourbon with your rye Old Fashioned.

 

[cdskier]

I don't consider myself a "big" drinker, but I do like my craft beer and some wine with dinner. Utah's laws would drive me insane. It is somewhat surprising that no one has yet found a way to challenge some of them in court when you consider the basis and driving force behind many of those laws.

 

[thetrailboss]

I don't consider myself a "big" drinker, but I do like my craft beer and some wine with dinner. Utah's laws would drive me insane. It is somewhat surprising that no one has yet found a way to challenge some of them in court when you consider the basis and driving force behind many of those laws.

I imagine that the DUI bill will be challenged for this reason. There was NO data to support a need for a .05 BAC limit. They just passed it because they felt like it and because the sponsor wanted to get kudos from a certain church.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Holy sacred golden tablets, apparently that is illegal.

https://sbi.utah.gov/alcohol-enforcement-team/frequently-asked-questions/
(see "Can I bring alcoholic beverages into Utah from another state?")

Pfffffttt...... Trust me. If I lived in Utah my Irish Catholic azz would make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs.

I am not a big drinker either, but my tax money being wasted on things like that would drive me up the wall.

Do you not live in Massachusetts anymore?

I imagine that the DUI bill will be challenged for this reason. There was NO data to support a need for a .05 BAC limit. They just passed it because they felt like it and because the sponsor wanted to get kudos from a certain church.

That's insane too. They're going to stain people forever with a DWI who only have 1 drink. A young girl under 130 pounds will likely be .05 after a glass of wine. That law will probably be repealed once some State Senator's daughter gets a DUI after having 1 martini.

 

[BenedictGomez]

This is what the internet says:

3. Tap beers everywhere? Also only 4%.

I dont believe this is the case.

I accidentally stumbled upon a brew pub in SLC called RedRock and I definitely recall having an IPA from tap, and you cant have a 4% abv IPA. I was at a brew pub at the top of Main Street in Park City and had tap IPAs too. Also, Uinta is located somewhere in Utah (good IPA if you've never had it) and they definitely make beer at > 4%, which I imagine they serve locally.

 

[Jcb890]

Do you not live in Massachusetts anymore?

Good point, sadly yes.

 

[thetrailboss]

Good point, sadly yes.

Not to continue on with politics, but at least my taxes are not driven up to ridiculous amounts in Utah as they were in VT. I could not stand the other extreme either.