For anyone who’s a small-business owner, becoming involved with the local community to help generate name and product recognition can mean making it or breaking it.
However, it is currently illegal for the owner of a brewery, distillery or winery to sample, serve and sell the products they make at local public events ranging from festivals and car shows to other business- and nonprofit-hosted events, even if the event has a beer garden.
State law is inconsistent on this issue, according to Good Buzz Brewing Co. co-owner Forrest Chesvick, who spoke with The Chronicle about the issue earlier this month.
“Washington state allows wineries and breweries to sell at farmers markets,” Chesvick said. “We can sample up to 2 ounces of alcohol that we produce and can sell sealed bottles at these markets. We cannot serve, by the glass, anywhere else other than our taprooms.”
This is why Chesvick is pursuing two separate solutions to this issue. The first is a proposal to change the law allowing breweries, distilleries and wineries to get permits to sample and sell their products at local public events, submitted to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.
Should the Liquor and Cannabis Board decide it does not have the authority to make the proposed law changes Chesvick is asking for, he is also working with state legislators to draft a bill amending state law to be introduced in the upcoming 2025 legislative session.
“The intention here is to allow wineries, breweries and distilleries here within Washington state to work with our communities and local businesses to do events,” Chesvick said.
Despite not being a winery or distillery, Chesvick included those businesses with his request as he says when the Liquor and Cannabis Board makes a law change it’s often just exclusive to one of the groups.
“Typically they change the law for one, wineries, distilleries or breweries,” Chesvick said. “One gets a really cool new privilege, and everyone else is left in the dust wondering, ‘Why can they do that but not me?’”
With the way state law is currently set up, despite Good Buzz Brewing Co. being located on South Gold Street across the road from the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Chesvick cannot work with fair organizers to set up a beer garden selling his mead at the fair.
“Dick’s Brewing (Company) can’t set up there, either,” he added.
What Chesvick is asking for would not only allow him and other alcohol-based business owners to participate in local events, but also allow them to partner with other local businesses and nonprofits, helping fuel growth in the local economy.
“For example, Happy Teriyaki (located next to Good Buzz Brewing) wants to do an event. They want us to come and serve alcohol for their event because they feel it's going to help bring in more people to the event and help spread awareness about our product,” Chesvick said. “It benefits both of us, and most people think we should be able to do a beer garden-type setup with them … But there is no legal way for us to do that right now.”
Chesvick also mentioned he had recently been approached by the year-round Point Ruston Farmers Market in Tacoma about a potential business opportunity he was forced to turn down.
While he can sell his product at the farmers market itself, market organizers were trying to host a non-market event.
“They were wanting to do an adult game night. Basically, 21 and over, just people playing board games, socializing or maybe D&D, whatever else, and they wanted us to be able to showcase our product and serve it there for the event. I had to decline the offer because there’s no legal way to do that,” Chesvick said.
Another benefit Chesvick sees in his proposal to change the law is cutting advertising costs for local business owners. Currently, Chesvick does advertise locally on a digital billboard in Chehalis, but it isn’t cheap to do so.
“That billboard is a couple thousand dollars for four months. We’re up there every two minutes for seven seconds. It’s very expensive for small businesses to advertise and get out there,” Chesvick said.
He’s lucky enough to have grant funding to help pay for the billboard, but many other local small-business owners simply cannot afford the cost.
When it comes to advertising, Chesvick has also had to deal with attempted vehicle theft as four people this year have tried to steal the classic Ford pickup truck he has with Good Buzz Brewing’s logo on it.
“The first time someone just stole the battery, and then two people tried to steal it without the battery in it,” he added.
He used to leave the truck parked alongside South Gold Street to let drivers know his business was there but no longer brings the truck with him to work due to the repeated theft attempts.
Chesvick has submitted his proposal to the Liquor and Cannabis Board and is expecting to receive a ruling on this issue by the end of January.
“If they determine they have the authority to make the decision, then we proceed with them. We help them see why this is good for the community,” he said.
To aid in that process, Chesvick has started a change.org petition to gather signatures showing there is community support for the rule change he’s proposing.
“That petition is gonna benefit us. Because as we go, whether it's before the liquor board, or if they can’t do it, we have to go through state legislation and work with one of our state representatives, we’re gonna use this list of people to say, ‘Hey, there are people in our community that would love to be able to support businesses in this capacity,’” Chesvick said.
Those interested in signing the petition can do so at https://www.change.org/p/help-us-change-washington-s-liquor-laws.
For more information on the state law changes Chesvick is proposing, visit Good Buzz Brewing Co.’s website at https://goodbuzzbrewingco.com/rule-changes.
A U.S. Army veteran formerly stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Chesvick first began making mead as a hobby while in the Army. After leaving the service, he began producing mead commercially in 2022 before opening up the Good Buzz Brewing Co. taproom with his wife toward the end of 2023.
Mead is an alcoholic beverage brewed by fermenting honey along with other ingredients, such as fruit, herbs and spices, which some believe to be the oldest alcoholic beverage, predating even ancient wines. Archeologists have discovered evidence of mead consumption in ancient China dating back to 7,000 BC.
To learn more about Good Buzz Brewing Co., visit https://goodbuzzbrewingco.com/.
