Update: Bill to change grocery store beer strength goes to Committee

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Cans of spring seasonal Alpha Hive Double IPA are ready to be filled with beer at COOP Ale Works in Oklahoma City, Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. COOP Ale Works, which distributes in six states including Oklahoma and Kansas, has discontinued two of its three 3.2 percent brews. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) – A bill that would increase the legal alcohol content of beer sold in Utah grocery stores reached the Senate Rules Committee Tuesday.

Republican Sen. Jerry Stevenson’s S.B. 132 would increase the alcohol limit from 3.2 percent to 4.8 percent by weight.

Utah and Minnesota are the only two states left where only 3.2 percent beer can be sold in grocery and convenience stores. Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas have all decided to abandon the limit in recent years.

The shrinking market means some brewers are discontinuing the lower-alcohol brews, and Stevenson has said store shelves are already seeing an effect.

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 Glen is honored to be delivering the news of the day every weeknight at 5, 6, and 10 in his home state. He is an award-winning veteran journalist, who joined the ABC4 News team as a weekend anchor in June 2013. Over the years, he held various positions at the station as he worked his way up to the main anchor chair. He also serves as our Senior Political Correspondent and hosts Inside Utah Politics, which airs every Sunday. The Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has recognized Glen as the best government and military television reporter in the state. Before returning home to Utah, he spent 11 1/2 years developing his journalism skills in other states. He held various on-air and management positions at KPVI in Pocatello, Idaho, WGBA in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and KKCO in Grand Junction, Colorado during that time. Read More...