By Miranda Davis
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA – The Senate voted Tuesday to approve legislation doubling the capacity of microbreweries and granting permission to brew and distribute hard cider.
The measures were in separate bills, and the Senate passed both unanimously. The bills now go to the House.
Senate Bill 326 would double the current legal maximum capacity of microbreweries from 30,000 barrels to 60,000 per year.
“We do have some microbreweries in Kansas bumping up against the limit,” Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said.
The Kansas Craft Brewers Guild (KCBG) said the request to move to 60,000 barrels isn’t random, and it’s the division between microbreweries and large breweries set by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. One barrel of beer is equal to about 31 gallons.
“We believe these adjustments will only enhance the business climate of Kansas and are of no harm to the state or its citizens,” Guild spokesman Philip Bradley said.
Breweries in Kansas support the bill, and the KCBG supports the measure to allow for more production of beer. There are currently 33 microbrewery licenses issued in Kansas.
“We need this law change to remain strong and competitive with breweries in other states and continue our pattern of revenue growth and job creation in Kansas,” said Jeff Gill, founder of Tallgrass Brewing Company in Manhattan.
Senate Bill 277 would allow microbreweries to produce up to 100,000 gallons of hard cider annually. Under current Kansas law, microbreweries can only produce beer. Beer is produced from brewing and fermenting malted barley while cider is made from fermenting juice.
The bill would require that hard cider contain less than 8.5 percent alcohol by volume and less than 6.4 grams per liter of carbonation.
The bill would also mandate that 30 percent of fruit used in hard cider production be from Kansas, unless that amount is lowered by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. It would also change the legal definition of wine to include hard cider.
Holland said that the legislation could be beneficial for women particularly, whom he said like sweeter drinks.
“I think some gentlemen like sweet, too. This bill will help men and women,” Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, said.