State liquor laws

[Cancer Merchant]

As a lifelong Californian, I take for granted that alcohol in all its forms (except full-strength Everclear) is available at every grocery and corner store, seven days a week. The Sam Adams thread reminded me that in other states this isn't the case. Some places you can only get the hard stuff at state run stores, in others certain days are off-limits.

Out of the following states I'm considering moving to , which has the least communist/nannyish liquor laws?

Texas
Indiana
Illinois
Maryland
Michigan
Wisconsin
North Carolina
Washington

Is there a master website with state laws?

[edfurlong]

Its not Washington.

[GuyOnTilt]

Washington liquor laws suck balls.

GoT

[Cancer Merchant]

How so? Let's have some details.

[edfurlong]

[ QUOTE ]
How so? Let's have some details.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure there are about four liquor stores in the state.

The hours are from about two until four as near as I can tell.

They are closed sundays(there was talk about that going away but I'm not sure).

[Clarkmeister]

I can safely say that here in Nevada we have the most kickass liquor laws around.

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
How so? Let's have some details.

[/ QUOTE ]
The only stores allowed to retail liquor in WA are state-owned stores all named "Liquor & Wine". They all close at or before 8pm (most on the Eastside of Seattle close at 7; a few at 8) and are closed completely on Sundays (though I hear they are considering starting to keep Sunday hours). These stores also do not sell smokes, which I find strange. Bars stop serving at 2am.

GoT

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How so? Let's have some details.

[/ QUOTE ]
The only stores allowed to retail liquor in WA are state-owned stores all named "Liquor & Wine". They all close at or before 8pm (most on the Eastside of Seattle close at 7; a few at 8) and are closed completely on Sundays (though I hear they are considering starting to keep Sunday hours). These stores also do not sell smokes, which I find strange. Bars stop serving at 2am.

GoT

[/ QUOTE ]

bwahahahahahaha

[Cancer Merchant]

Yeah, Nevada does rock, but lacks grad schools in my field. That and I really don't trust myself within a short drive of craps tables. Sweet, sweet craps. Can't believe it's been four years since I've been to America's Playground.

[ChipWrecked]

Story time:

When I was a kid we moved from Chicagoland to the Arkansas Ozarks. Our county was dry, but bordered a wet county in Missouri.

We inherited a bootlegging operation from the guy who owned the business we bought. As I understand it, Mom was dubious but Dad had an idea what kind of mad cash this would bring in; bootlegging was a go.

Things were rich for a few months. Eventually, the local deputy ended up at our door with a search warrant.

The bust made the front page of the local paper, including a pic of a deputy hauling three cases of beer into the county impound. Total take: 80 cases beer, 30 cases bourbon, 6 cases vodka (Dad had just made a 'run to the border', the cops had been watching).

Mom was worried that I would be ostracized at school (I was in third grade). Turns out, most of my classmates' dads were our best customers. No problem for me in school on that count.

With hindsight, Chicago yankees coming down to the Ozarks and sticking their necks out like that was pretty dumb. We also found out later that one of our county's deputies had a mother-in-law who was the bootlegger in the next county; a bust on our operation was good for her profits.

The county is now wet, as many other Chicago people have moved in and taken political control.

[Cancer Merchant]

Dry counties, wow. I thought those only existed on the Andy Griffith show.

[JonPKibble]

Oshkosh, WI - can't buy alcohol after 9 PM. Outside the city limits it's 12 AM I think. Not sure about other parts of the state.

[Rhone]

The state laws may not tell you enough, since many localities have their own liquor rules. For instance, the county I live in in Maryland "controls" all alcohol sales (liquor only in county run stores, which are closed Sunday; beer and wine retailers have to purchase everything through the county, which has very limited stocks), but the county next door is completely different...

[BradleyT]

[ QUOTE ]
Oshkosh, WI - can't buy alcohol after 9 PM. Outside the city limits it's 12 AM I think. Not sure about other parts of the state.

[/ QUOTE ]

Milwaukee is the same.

Texas...

Don't believe there are but a few dry "voting precincts" left. Beer and wine any and everywhere. Even Wal-Mart.

All the convenience store/gas stops have large iced displays of beer. They have these neat little brown sacks to "package" your purchase. Nah, they aren't used to hide the can! I think most have assorted malt liquor and wine coolers.

Liquor stores open Mon-Sat, 10(?) am to 9 pm.

/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[bwana devil]

in texas you can not buy liquor in the grocery store.

some counties in fact choose to be dry so you must go to the next county over to get your goods. why they choose to forgo the sales tax is beyond me. the most populated county is lubbock county which has the city of lubbock (population ~150,000 or so) and texas tech.

also dumb texas law which is common throughout the US: stores stop selling beer earlier (12pm) than the bars (2am). it encourages people to stay out and drink and drive.


hope none of the info you find out influences your decision on where youre moving.

bwana

[Cancer Merchant]

[ QUOTE ]

hope none of the info you find out influences your decision on where youre moving.


[/ QUOTE ]

No, just getting an idea of the differences between places. I'm getting the impression that the easier it is to get a gun, the harder it is to find whiskey.

[haakee]

I think Illinois is your best bet. You can find everything in supermarkets and I don't remember any restriction on selling during certain days or certain hours of the day.

[guller]

Michigan

No purchase anywhere before noon on Sundays. No purchase on Easter or Christmas. Bars close at 2 am. Other than that you can buy it pretty much anywhere. Oh yea and no everclear either.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
Michigan

No purchase anywhere before noon on Sundays. No purchase on Easter or Christmas. Bars close at 2 am. Other than that you can buy it pretty much anywhere. Oh yea and no everclear either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, but doesn't Michigan have that irritating recycling deposit law where everything costs extra til you return the empties?

[The Goober]

[ QUOTE ]
They all close at or before 8pm (most on the Eastside of Seattle close at 7; a few at 8)

[/ QUOTE ]

There are actually a few that are open later. The one I usually go to in sodo is open until 10pm on weekends, 9pm during the week.

The other wierd thing about WA is that there are two types of liquor licenses (for bars and restaurants), one of which only allows the sale of beer and wine. Technically, you have to serve food in order to be able to serve hard acohol, which is why lots of bars and clubs actually have some frozen entrees and a microwave hidden someplace. I feel like when I first moved here 3 years ago it was pretty common to find beer and wine only bars, but know I rarely find any place that doesn't have hard liquor.

[MINETZ]

in illinois they dont close until 2 and you can get almst everything at the local corner store, in chi there is a store were u can walk in and buy anything /w o being ID'd.

[mason55]

No. Va.

Bars open till 2, but they have to server food a lot of places, so you don't have many real "bars"

Beer and wine in the supermarket till midnight. Liquor at a Alcoholic Beverage Control store till 9pm.

Actually, it's exactly the same as where I went to school in Rochester, NY, except there wine is only in liquor stores. Buffalo bars were open till 4am but I think they recently changed that back to 3am.

[theben]

i /images/graemlins/heart.gif booze.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
Washington liquor laws suck balls.

GoT

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn str8 it does! Big effing balls!

b

[nothumb]

North Carolina's a cool state, their liquour laws are okay. Beer and wine till 2 AM I think, in any grocery or convenience story. Liqour stores open till 9 PM every day but Sunday IIRC.

NT

[guller]

Yes, you have to pay 10cents deposit on every can of carbonated anything. Noncarbonated = no deposit. It's really not that bad though, just take the case of empties back to the store when you pick up more, easy.