Why Can't You Buy 40 oz Beers in Florida?

I saw that quite a few people are reaching this page through Google, so I decided to double check the information I had here, as well as add a bit to it. The article I had found before indicated that the statute was enacted in 1965 at the behest of Anheuser-Busch, simply to help it edge out it's rival, Miller. While I have been unable to confirm whether this was the underlying reason for this statute's enactment, I was able to find some other information. First, the answer from the article I had previously found:

The law restricting sizes has been in effect since 1965, and wholesale distributors have successfully defeated bills to repeal the bottle size restriction in the past with arguments that such a change would boost beer prices. They argued more warehouse space and bigger trucks would be needed to handle the wider variety of cans and bottles.

More recently, I looked up the statute in question, which is Fla. Stat. § 563.06(6). The statute states:

(6) All malt beverages packaged in individual containers sold or offered for sale by vendors at retail in this state shall be in individual containers containing no more than 32 ounces of such malt beverages; provided, however, that nothing contained in this section shall affect malt beverages packaged in bulk or in kegs or in barrels or in any individual container containing 1 gallon or more of such malt beverage regardless of individual container type.

For those of you who are wondering, the statute uses the term "malt beverages" to refer to both malt liquor, and beer. Florida's Legislature did in fact amend the original statute in 2001, however it simply deleted previous language specifying acceptable bottle sizes, substituting instead the current ban on bottle sizes between 32 ounces and one gallon.

Although § 563.06 offers no justification for this statute, the preambles to several related statutes suggest that all this regulation is needed to ensure that relationships between beer manufacturers and beer distributors flow smoothly, so that ultimately, we all get the sweet sweet beer we so desperately need. It seems more likely that the statute was in fact pushed through by a congressman friendly to the beer corporation lobbyists.

We as a (Floridian) people need to stand up, and demand our 4o's.

Those last eight ounces symbolize the rift between our current state, and our freedom.

I plan on further researching whether modification of this statute would be possible through a ballot initiative or referendum. Check back soon for an update.