Ok. I am out in PA right now and so far the biggest shock is how the state (or commonwealth or whatever the hell it is) handles beer/liquor sales. This may not be a surprise to you guys, but PA has a nice long tradition of brewing since Yuengling (America's oldest brewery) was founded in 1829; however their laws are stuck in the prohibition era or something. Basically alcohol is sold here in three ways:
1. Beer Distributors
2. Bottle Shops
3. Wine/Spirits stores
The Beer Distributors are something akin to your average Illinois distributor except they have storefronts as well. There they can only sell you cases of beer or larger quantities and they can sell you unlimited volume (fl oz). They cannot sell any other type of alcohol other than beer.
The Bottle Shops sell 6-packs (yay!) and are only possible through a loophole in the law that allows these shops to exist if they are part of a restaurant...so many restaurants have liquor stores attached to them which is just weird. Here you can only buy singles and 6-packs and you are limited in fl oz per purchase. The guy at the shop said "it amounts to about a 6-pack and a 40" for what you can leave the store with. He said the only way to buy more is to buy something, set it down on the ground outside, come back in, and buy some more. And no one even questions this.
Finally, the wine/spirits shops are state-owned/run/affiliated stores (or something like that) that sell everything else. That's just messed up right there. The state runs this? This isn't the damn post office. I have nothing more to say than that.
No wine/beer/liquor at grocery stores and gas stations either. A local gas chain "Sheetz" has a "walk-in" soda cooler...I laughed at it when I saw it, but I know that they have their store set up for the day when they can sell beer. What a joke PA is on this matter.
Now as for prices. Things are weird here too. PA beers seem to be cheap and everything else is super expensive. Just have a look:
(Can you guys help me fill in missing beer prices?)
Yeungling Lager:
State College $18/24-apck
Bud Weiser:
Bloomington $14/24-pack (Binny's)
State College $21/30-pack
Hop Devil (Victory Brewing, PA):
Bloomington $9/$10/6-pack
State College $28/24-pack
Sam Adams:
Bloomington $8/6-pack, $14/12-pack
Tucson $7/6-pack, $12/12-pack
State College $12/6-packm, $37/24-pack
And I found Sammy Boy for $40 a case at a second beer distributor! What the hell is going on here?
How are beer prices in your area? Please edit this list and add some more info here.
