Beer’s not what it was yesterday, at least in Maryland

The law has long had a strange relationship with beer here in the US, which is why some of my German brews are still labelled “malt liquor,” but the craft brew movement is slowly influencing how beer is regulated. Maryland recently expanded the definition of beer to include hard cider, various malt beverages which I wouldn’t consider beer, and grain-derived beverages which wouldn’t previously have been considered beers due to their alcohol content. If you’re curious enough to see the bill itself, it’s here. The real impact of this law is on where those beverages may be sold, but it also reflects a growing understanding that the beer of today is not the watered-down swill of the 1970s.

For an overview of some of the other strange and silly beer laws out there, check out this article from beerfestivals.com. As a Pennsylvanian, I can certainly attest to the strange nature of our beer supply chain.