It looks like the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has “freed the six-pack.”
The board has voted to begin allowing six-pack sales at gas stations by approving nine licenses that came before it during its meeting today. There were nine applications before the board, some from such businesses that sought to sell up to 192 ounces of malt or brewed beverages, including six-packs of beer.
Gov. Tom Wolf, who had been advocating for the approvals in an email campaign he called “Free the six-pack,” said it will make the state more inviting for consumers and business.
“I applaud the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for approving these applications and respectfully ask that they approve similar subsequent applications that otherwise meet PLCB standards in order to improve customer service and convenience for Pennsylvania,” Wolf said on his website.
Under the state’s existing liquor code, the board is required to refuse any application for a new or transferred license at a business where fuel or oil is sold.
Wolf said, however, that a new precedent was set when the board allowed a Weis Market, which had a gas station on site, to open a six-pack café within the store.
The argument was that the points of sale were suitably separate from each other.
The move is the latest in a series of approvals by the PLCB that make the state’s beer sale regulations more in line with codes in other states.
Grocery stores have been able to sell malt and brewed beverages up to the equivalent of a 12-pack of beer for about two years. Last year, the PLCB approved the home delivery of beer for restaurants with licenses to sell six-packs, such as pizza shops.
