DESOTO COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - Mississippi beer lovers are grabbing their bottle openers. This Sunday, a new state law allows stronger brews to be sold. Stores, restaurants and bars are all expecting a boost to business, and drinkers are expecting a boost to their taste buds.
"There's been several customers come in, have our drafts and start talking about it," says bartender Ben Power. "They're waiting for the new ones to come out."
"I love beer I guess you could say," laughs Chris Mlincsek. "I like the higher gravity beers."
He's been drinking the strong stuff all along. "Every time I come back home from out of state I always bring a 12 pack that I can't get here."
"Meustrel, that's my tannin beer. It's really good so it will be good to have higher gravity beers," adds Samantha Lee.
Bars and stores will start selling brews with up to eight percent alcohol by weight, 10 percent by volume on Sunday. That number used to be five.
"Some of the better beers are higher percentage," believes Collins Thomas.
"We can get a lot of the higher gravity beers from Louisiana and Tennessee," Power says. "It will bring a lot of new business."
Retailers across the state are expecting the stronger beer to help the economy.
Mississippi has just one brewery right now. Locals would like to change that. "I hope we get more local breweries and turn into a little Colorado with microbreweries all over," Power says.
About a third of beers were off limits until now. The new law is adding hundreds to the menu. Drinkers like Mlincsek are counting down the hours.
"Monday we'll have to do some shopping. Hopefully there will be new beer in the store," he says.
Out of state breweries in Tennessee and Louisiana are geared up to get their suds to Mississippi outlets as soon as legally possible. Their bottles and kegs will be delivered Sunday morning.
