Before House Bill 829 was signed into law this week, Pennsylvania’s rules for buying alcohol were as follows: You could buy beer at a grocery store, but you couldn’t buy a case of beer there. To do that, you would have to go to a beer distributor, where you could also buy alcoholic seltzers, but not all alcoholic seltzers. To buy High Noons or Statesides, you’d have to go a state store, where you can’t buy beer.
While it might seem like you need a law degree to understand how to buy booze in Pennsylvania, all of the state’s rules about purchasing alcohol were simplified with a signature Monday from Gov. Josh Shapiro! … Well, not exactly. But at least now you can get an eight-pack of Surfside at your grocery store.
Thanks to the new law, businesses can sell ready-to-drink cocktails, which the legislation defines as any premixed drink of 16 ounces or less made with distilled liquor that has an ABV of no more than 12.5%. Previously, spirits-based seltzers (like High Noon and Stateside) were prohibited from being sold in grocery and convenience stores, but similar drinks that were made from fermented sugar or malted barley (like White Claw and Truly) were allowed.
While this law fixes one of the confusing alcohol purchasing restrictions in the state, there are plenty that still remain, including the limit of 192 fluid ounces of beer (equivalent to 12 16-ounce cans) per transaction at grocery and convenience stores.
To toast the latest update to the state’s complex laws (and encourage more to come), here’s a look back at five examples of Pennsylvania putting restrictions on buying booze:
1933: The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board was established by Gov. Gifford Pinchot, a Prohibition supporter who decided to give the state control over distribution and profits of alcohol. Pinchot partially created this system as a way to put bootleggers out of business. But it was also a money-maker for the state — and still is. According to the most recent PLCB report, wine and spirits sales from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, topped $3.15 billion, with a net income of $260.8 million for the state.
1971: With the 21st Amendment lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, many states changed their drinking ages to 18, 19 or 20. By 1975, every state on the East Coast had lowered the legal age for purchasing beer and wine except Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until 1984 when the national minimum age of 21 was set for purchasing alcohol.
2007: A Sheetz in Altoona became the first gas station in the Pennsylvania to sell beer, but the approval from the PLCB didn’t come easy. The convenience store chain, which had more than 100 locations in other states that sold alcohol at the time, had to agree to nine provisions that were not included in state’s statutes, including the installation of yellow speed bumps to separate the gas pumps from the store. The facility also had and meet the state restaurant-size requirements of being 300 square feet and having at least 30 seats. It took nearly a decade for the restrictions to relax. In 2016, Gov. Tom Wolf signed ACT 39, which allowed gas stations and grocery stores to sell beer and wine as long as they were approved by the PLCB.
2015-16: Over a two-year span, Wolf made the most sweeping reforms in the state since the end of Prohibition. Beer distributors could start selling 12-packs, six-packs, single bottles and growlers instead of just cases and kegs. Wine could be sold by-the-bottle at grocery stores. All of the state’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores were opened on Sundays (In February 2003, Pennsylvania first experimented with Sunday hours at state stores, opening about 10% of its 638 state-run locations. That number expand over the years until Wolf ended all Sunday restrictions). Wolf’s change’s also allowed Pennsylvania residents to have up to 36 cases of wine per year shipped to their homes from out-of-state wineries for personal use.
2020: While it’s well-known that Pennsylvania residents can find cheaper booze across the border in tax-free Delaware, it’s also illegal. If you’re caught, you be fined and have your whole order confiscated. While this seems like a law that would rarely be enforced, there have been reports of people being charged for making massive purchases in Delaware and trying to bring their haul back to Pennsylvania. And early during the pandemic in 2020, Delaware police officers were turning away Pennsylvania residents who were traveling to the Total Wine and Spirits off Interstate-95 in Claymont — although that was more because of strict COVID-19 travel restrictions and not for attempted bootlegging. At that time, liquor stores in Pennsylvania remained closed and online retailers were overwhelmed with orders, so state residents were flocking to Delaware to buy their booze.