No state is more anti-drinking than Utah. The idiosyncrasies of the Beehive State's liquor laws are enough to fill a book, like this one. You can't sell beer or spirits on an election day. There's no such things as bars, just private clubs with membership fees. One person can't order a pitcher of beer due to the "slammin' law," which prevents people from having more than one drink in front of them. To order a pitcher, three people have to go up to the bar together.
And like Kansas, Utah serves beer that contains 3.2 alcohol or less.
But Utah is close to changing its 3.2 percent law. The Utah House, which is not exactly known as a bastion of liberalism or reform, voted overwhelmingly to move to full-strength beer. The vote was 58-2.
Granted, this bill is not a complete rejection of 3.2 percent beer. It would simply make draft beer full-strength, or as the Utes call it, "heavy beer." And while this bill just passed the House, a bill in the Senate would require that "cocktails be mixed behind
10-foot-high walls in restaurants, in an effort to keep children from
being tempted to take up drinking."
So, even though it hasn't had a complete change of heart about alcohol, the Utah House realizes the idiocy of 3.2 percent beer. Kansas, meanwhile, is still stuck at 3.2 percent despite some recent efforts to change that. As I wrote last month, Utah loves its weak brine. I just didn't realize Kansas likes its weak brine more.
Other weird Utah liquor laws:
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Whomever wrote this article did not do their homework. Does not show a lot of intelligence for Kansas City. Yes Utah does have a lot of weird laws but no more than anywhere else. First off, Utah is one of five states, which includes Colorado (home of Coors Beer) that sells 3.2 by Weight beer. You can order a drink without food if you're in a bar. No you cant buy kegs unless you're a restaurant or bar. Home brewing IS LEGAL.....there are stores all over Salt Lake City that sell the materials to do so. Also, laws were passed in January 09 that went into effect July 1, 09 removing the "Zion Curtain" and "Private Clubs". You can drink just as easily here as you can anywhere. What a sad situation to have to show a small, narrow-minded news organization that their facts are wrong and only makes KS look like a poorly educated backwards state.
I completely agree JJs. You can't always get drunk off of hard stuff in Kansas but you can always get buzzed off something Sundays.
Gene, I saw that proposal but at first thought it was a joke. After your post went back and looked and nope, no joke. Utah is trying to keep track of its dangerous drinkers.
The best part I thought was the language of the partition bill about keeping kids from being tempted to take up drinking. Other states don't have problems with toddler drunks. If anything, by making drinks so secret, they're going to make kids curious.
In all fairness, Im not sure theres anywhere less appealing than Kansas. I'd rather go for a 2 week vacation in Kabul than Kansas.
DD - The change proposed in KS affects only those places with a 3.2% license - grocery stores, gas stations, and a few establishments that want to sell the occasional can of beer. Owen wrote a piece about it last month, so he is aware.
Chimpo - My head might literally explode if I had to live in Utah. The 3.2 thing is silly, but all things considered it's not that hard to drink in KS, especially now that we have Sunday liquor sales.
In Lenexa, I don't have to buy a membership to drink at a bar like you to in Salt Lake City.
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