Expert: Ed Westemeier - 11/5/2004

Question
Hi there, I live in Chicago and have recently discovered Rogue ales... I have only found 1 bar that carries Rogue on tap (which is fine with me because its close to my house).  However, my question for you is, I went to Rogues website in hopes of getting purchasing some and having it shipped to me, but it says that they are temporarily unable to ship beer at this time.  Sierra Nevada's website said the same thing.  I was wondering is this just because they're simply not shipping beer at this time, or is it some kind of legal issue?

Answer
As you suspected, it's a legal issue.
The problem is that most states have what is called a "three tier system."
That is, there are breweries (or importers). distributors, and retailers. Each of the three levels has to get their hands on the product and collect their piece of the action. So, for example, you wouldn't be able to go to the main Goose Island brewery and buy a case or a keg of their beer under normal circumstances. Obviously, you can buy their beer directly, because they have a brewpub license, which is a different thing, but when they send out the "packaged" product, it has to go through the system.

Places like Rogue or Sierra Nevada get requests from all over, but the laws in each state are slightly different, and it would be a nightmare for them to try to deal with them all. For starters, they have the problem that selling directly to a consumer in another state would violate that state's law (in most states).

Consequently, in order to buy their beers, you have to go to a local retailer that carries them (like Sam's in Chicago, maybe). That retailer has to deal with whichever distributor in Illinois carries the brand. It's a mess, but the distributors have a very strong lobby and there's not much chance of getting the law changed any time soon.

Glad you're enjoying Rogue's good beer. Try to get out to Newport, Oregon some time. They have a brewpub where they serve as many as 20 different Rogue ales on tap at a time. Awesome experience!

Cheers!
Ed