State Rep. Dan Ramos challenges Ohio’s ABV laws again

Ohio has been trying to raise its ABV limit on beer for some time. Currently, a 12 percent alcohol-by-volume cap doesn’t allow beer above that limit to be sold in Ohio. We reported in January about State Rep. Dan Ramos, D-Lorain, and his plans to unveil a proposal to raise the legal limit on the amount of alcohol allowed in beers sold in the state — all the way up to 21 percent. Last year the bill didn’t move through Ohio’s Congress, so Ramos (being a hard-working friend of the craft beer industry), re-introduced the legislation on Monday. According to an article on Fox Cleveland:

“With other higher-proof options already available on Ohio’s store shelves, often at a cheaper cost to the consumer, this archaic government regulation just doesn’t make sense,” Ramos said. “It needlessly holds back Ohio brewers from having the freedom to experiment with new products, a restriction not faced by brewers in neighboring states.”

According to the article, fewer than 10 states limit the ABV in beer. Current Ohio law caps the ABV to 12 percent, and it was last raised in 2002 from 6 percent to 12 percent. Ramos notes that today brewers are experimenting with a wide range of products (brewing and selling super-high gravity beers, for instance), and that the ABV law stifles Ohio’s small businesses and thus hurts its economy.