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Growler bars could sell more beer, less wine under Gainesville proposal
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Clay Kelley, right, talks to Wrenched Bicycles owner Todd Berry on Monday at the bicycle shop. The shop began selling craft beer in June.
Growler bars would be able to sell more beer but less wine to sit-down customers if the Gainesville City Council approves a package of reforms on Tuesday. Amid the changes to local alcohol regulations are new regulations that allow growler bars — Downtown Drafts on the square and Tap It on Thompson Bridge Road — to bump up beer samples to 32 ounces per day per person while cutting wine sales back to 16 ounces. It’s part of a package of changes to local alcohol laws that includes some major policy changes for downtown and for local breweries. At the moment, breweries follow somewhat similar rules to growler bars; both are forced by the state to sell “samples” of beer at limited quantities. Breweries are due to see a significant unshackling in September, when state law will pare back regulations to allow direct sales at breweries.