NYC Bar In Trouble for Selling Wisconsin Beer
By ANDREW GREINER
Updated 12:38 PM CST, Wed, Nov 25, 2009
If there's one thing Wisconsinites know, it's cheese.
After that, it's beer.
So it should come as no shock that a New York City bar that's popular with University of Wisconsin alumni would sell a micro brew straight from the heartland.
The news did shock the brewers of Spotted Cow, however, because they're not licensed to sell outside of Wisconsin, and they're not quite sure how the Mad River Grille in Manhattan got their hands on the 50 cases of the Badger-state suds that were confiscated during a Nov. 6 raid.
"Somebody from the New York Liquor Control called us and asked us specifically if we sold beer in the state of New York, and we told them, 'No,'" said Dan Carey, brew master at New Glarus Brewery to Wisconsin's Channel 3000.
Liquor authority spokesman William Crowley tells the Wisconsin State Journal that businesses selling alcohol in New York need to purchase their alcohol through a wholesale distributor. He says Mad River Grille could have its liquor license revoked for selling the beer and for not paying the appropriate taxes.
Mad River Grille didn't return calls or emails to the AP.
Carey said he doesn't plan to expand his distribution operation outside of Wisconsin, but he's happy that Spotted Cow is in demand.
"I'm just extremely flattered that people in New York would want our beer. It's kind of cool for a little brewery, and I feel really bad for the ex-pats living in New York that can't get their Spotted Cow fix," said Carey.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Chicago
First Published: Nov 25, 2009 10:12 AM CST
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