The first bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis will ease the path of beer into local grocery stores and eliminate what brewers say would have been “devastating” regulations on how they brew, store and ship beer.

Senate Bill 011, signed into law this week by Polis, allows brewers to sell full-strength beer at grocery stores without having to apply for separate licenses. But it also spares breweries from having to separately brew, store and ship beer destined for sale in those stores.

When Polis signed the bill Thursday, it was the culmination of months of confusion and worry by brewers like Dave Thibodeau, president and co-founder of Durango’s Ska Brewing, who spent months securing new licenses and understanding the complex journey of beer from brewery to grocery store.

Last year, the Legislature approved the sale of full-strength beer in grocery stores – a victory for craft brewers like Ska – but lawmakers failed to address the regulatory hurdles required to get beer onto shelves. The law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, required brewers to apply for a fermented malt beverage license to sell beer in stores – even though all brewers currently have another license, one to sell malt liquor, for beer sales in liquor stores and at breweries. For breweries like Ska, which is a brewer, importer and wholesaler, it would have required three additional licenses, Thibodeau said.

Thibodeau and a lawyer spent two months last summer getting the extra three licenses so Ska could sell beer in stores by Jan. 1. But Ska still had to address the complex requirements of making and delivering that beer; the law technically required brewers to separately brew, store and ship all beer that would be sold in grocery stores.

“It was literally going to be impossible,” Thibodeau said. “It’s almost like you’d have to have a separate brewery.”

To comply with the law, Ska could have been required to buy new fermenting tanks and possibly consider renting a separate space to store and refrigerate the beer, Thibodeau added. But the Colorado Liquor and Enforcement Division had placed a hold on those requirements until Feb. 1.

The law signed by Polis on Thursday eliminated separate brewing, storing and shipping requirements as well as additional licenses for brewers. So it’s back to business as usual for Ska.

“As soon as the session started, that bill was pretty much ready to go,” Thibodeau said. “Because it was really just a meaningless burden.”

rhandy@durangoherald.com