Utah Bans Mini-Kegs Of Beer

It's not easy to have a drink in Utah. Already, restaurant bartenders must be hidden from public view and 70 percent of restaurant receipts must be for meals rather than alcohol. Now, mini-kegs are banned as well.

The "Chubby," a five-liter keg made by Squatters and Wasatch Brewery and just introduced in February, has already been pulled from most state-operated liquor stores. It will no longer be sold anywhere in the state as of October. All containers that hold more than five liters are now illegal. Regular beer kegs are already banned, except for authorized retailers.

Commenters on BeerAdvocate.com are calling keg bans "absolutely horrifying" and suggest 4.999 liter mini kegs as a legal replacement.

Comments

[mydangself]

04:54 PM on 08/23/2011

Nice to see the smaller government, less regulation, personal freedom, focus on jobs crowd really means by those words. Smaller government means small enough to fit inside a woman's uterus. Less regulation only means about things like doing away with clean drinking water or clean air. Personal freedom means only as long as you behave only how we want you and also buy lots of guns but don't try to drink, view porn,or have sex unless married and then only with the lights off in the missionary position. And jobs, well they'll get to it eventually.

[kmmhike]

04:55 PM on 08/22/2011

5 liters is about the same amount as 14 regular 12oz beers, so a twelve-pack and a couple of singles and you've got the same amount. Yes, it's silly to ban this particular packaging, but beer drinkers aren't going to be phased at all.

[aerofanbig]

11:16 AM on 08/26/2011

But you have to look at it from the brewers stance. It is VASTLY cheaper to clean, sterilize, fill and ship those mini-kegs to Utah's small, but growing, craft beer market. They already can't have anything on tap over 4%, and its only recently that full strength beers were even legal. Bottling, or canning, costs a lot more for the machinery, the time spent filling, packaging, labeling, and shipping, not to mention the actual higher cost of the containers due to the volume. Just another step Utards are making trying to again take up prohibition.

[rich3324]

12:33 PM on 08/22/2011

Utah a red state where the government wants to control every part of your life.

[Idnor]

09:12 AM on 08/24/2011

No. The legislature, etc. just want to you become Mormon. This way you will control yourselves into the Mormon way. And if you can't manage to do that, at least the good church members won't have to view their neighbors living contrary to Mormon teachings.

[Arashi]

10:47 AM on 08/22/2011

Utah. Orrin Hatch. Any questions?

[RomanM]

10:34 AM on 08/22/2011

Not at all unexpected. Utah has always had backward laws, and drives hypocracy home with a 5 lb hammer. Have to jump through hoops for a brew, but have multiple wives, no problem. Just think... Mitt Romney (a true LDS believer) may be the GOP's nominee. Prohibition is alive and well in the "great" state of Utah.

[ArtCarnage]

10:45 PM on 08/21/2011

Remember, it if can happen in Utah, it might also happen in the U.S. as well.

[blurredmolly]

02:20 PM on 08/23/2011

no chance

[Ayla McIntosh]

07:24 PM on 08/21/2011

Road trip!!!

[DurangoSteve]

07:12 PM on 08/21/2011

Latter Day Sh_itheads, as Ed Abbey so eloquently said.

[JackNasty]

05:31 PM on 08/21/2011

It's not just the beer kegs. The Mormon Church makes no secret of its intention to blur the line between church and state in Utah. The Mormon Church did the same in California when it created and sponsored Proposition 8. Those who believe that a candidate's religion shouldn't matter would do well to examine Mormon Church's history of the entanglement in politics.

[mf76]

11:38 PM on 08/21/2011

How can you blur a line when one doesn't exist? In Utah, the church IS the state and vice versa.

[JackNasty]

11:54 AM on 08/22/2011

Agreed. Fanned and marked a favorite.

[petey64]

01:20 PM on 08/23/2011

Check yourself on Prop 8, it was the black and latino vote that sent that crashing, not the Mormon vote and it really is not the end of the world with limiting booze, just go to the vid of the raider 49er game last saturday.

[Idnor]

09:20 AM on 08/24/2011

Don't kid yourself. The Mormon church called upon its members to mobilize for Prop 8 with time, money, and boots on the ground and they responded like the true followers of authority that they are.

I wouldn't make excuses for obnoxious public drunkenness, but it would be nice to be able to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner at the supermarket, instead of having to seek out the state liquor stores (few and far between) that are tucked into way out-of-the-way locations, like you're not even supposed to be able to find them.

[belovedreborn]

05:15 PM on 08/21/2011

But of course it is Utah.

[johnpet]

04:45 PM on 08/21/2011

The good news? 49 other states to pick from.

[SteveDenver]

04:28 PM on 08/21/2011

Utah: a prime example of theocracy where the local police do the bidding of the Mormon church and "conservative government principles" have tentacles that reach down to control minute personal practices, such as having a cocktail.

Still, it should be known that the attempted legislation of morality is a failure: there is a steady stream of pregnant or sexually abused foster care teen girls from Utah into Colorado.

[TiaLee]

04:21 PM on 08/21/2011

Just another example of religion's insidious takeover of government...

[SteveDenver]

04:29 PM on 08/21/2011

F&F

[varro]

06:18 PM on 08/21/2011

Utah, aka Saudi Arabia West.

[Jon Combs]

04:07 PM on 08/21/2011

I bet these are the same people making these laws and voting for these people that are complaining about big government and for it to stay out of _________.

[SteveDenver]

04:30 PM on 08/21/2011

Stay out of my MARTINI GLASS!
I wouldn't be surprised if the Mormon Church is somehow invested in breweries and/or distilleries, requiring the purchase of cans and bottles, instead of kegs.

[113]

03:29 PM on 08/21/2011

Utah blows

[blurredmolly]

02:21 PM on 08/23/2011

it's a beautiful place.

[aerofanbig]

11:20 AM on 08/26/2011

So is Colorado, looks almost the same (except our mountains are on the right side lol) and not only do we love beer, we LIVE beer! Hell our Gov is a former brewer lol