Indiana Beer Buyers: How Many Cases Can You Get?

Indiana's alcohol laws have been described as archaic and obsolete, at times contradictory, and often confusing. They are a legacy of Prohibition, and of the end of Prohibition, which opened the door for states to set their own rules. Indiana is not an alcoholic beverage control state. Alcohol laws in the state are enforced by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, which regulates the manufacturing, selling, possession, and use of alcohol and tobacco.

Indiana is one of the 26 states that allow liquor to be sold in grocery stores. Alcohol can be purchased from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday through Saturday. However, hours for carryout alcohol sales from liquor stores, groceries, pharmacies, and convenience stores are noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.

Beer can be purchased in Indiana from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Sundays

Indiana's alcohol laws have been described as "archaic and obsolete, at times contradictory, and often confusing". They are a legacy of Prohibition, and of the end of Prohibition, which opened the door for states to set their own rules.

Indiana was one of nearly a dozen U.S. states to ban all Sunday alcohol sales outside of bars and restaurants until 2018. That ban was repealed when Senate Bill 1 was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb on February 28, 2018.

Beer can be purchased in bars and restaurants by the glass on Sundays. Beer can also be purchased from liquor stores, groceries, pharmacies and convenience stores from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. You can also buy packaged beer or get growlers filled for carryout from a brewery that brews beer on its premises.

Indiana is the last state to regulate the sale of alcohol by temperature. Liquor stores say cold beer sales are what differentiate them from other retailers and keep their businesses viable. An attempt to change the law got a hearing for the first time in 2018, but ultimately failed.

Indiana law requires permittees and their employees to check identification of any person under the age of 40 when conducting carryout sales. While there is no similar ID requirement law for on-premise consumption, the Excise Police encourage requiring identification from anyone appearing under 26 years of age when making sales for on-premise consumption.

It is a criminal offense to sell or furnish alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person. In addition, the provider may experience civil liabilities if death or injury, even to a third party, occurs as a result of the act.

Public intoxication is a class B misdemeanor in Indiana. Merely being intoxicated in public is not a violation. One must either be endangering one's own life, someone else's life, breaching the peace, or harassing, annoying or alarming another person.

Indiana grocery stores can sell beer, but not chilled

Indiana's alcohol laws have been described as archaic and "irrational, discriminatory and outdated". One of the most notable restrictions is that grocery stores can sell beer, but it must not be chilled. This is the result of Indiana's cold-beer statute, which has been unsuccessfully challenged in court by the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

The trade association argued that the law is discriminatory and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and that it causes them to lose revenue. However, the federal appeals court upheld the law, stating that grocery and convenience stores in Indiana "simply don't operate in the manner required for a beer retailer's permit".

Indiana law allows grocery, convenience, and drug stores to sell warm beer through a beer dealer's permit. Liquor stores, on the other hand, are subject to stricter regulations, including age restrictions and limited hours and days of operation. The state argued that these regulations are designed to "curb underage beer consumption by limiting the sale of immediately consumable cold beer".

While grocery stores in Indiana can sell beer, there are limits on how much beer or wine may be bought by a single person. Additionally, grocery stores cannot sell hard liquor unless they have a pharmacy within the store, such as CVS and Walgreens.

Indiana liquor stores can sell cold beer

Indiana's liquor laws are a curious thing. The state has a long history of peculiar liquor laws dating back to the mid-1800s. Indiana is one of the few states that regulate the sale of drinks based on temperature.

Liquor stores in Indiana can sell cold beer, but grocery and convenience stores cannot. This is a result of a compromise between grocery stores and liquor stores. Grocery stores wanted to be able to sell cold beer, but liquor stores wanted to be able to sell on Sundays. Eventually, grocery stores struck a bargain: they would form an alliance with liquor stores to push for Sunday sales, but would give up their bid for cold beer sales in exchange.

Liquor stores are so protective of their ability to sell cold beer because it is a significant advantage over their competitors. Refrigerating beer keeps it fresher for longer, and makes it more thirst-quenching.

The compromise between grocery and liquor stores was almost disrupted when the Alcohol Code Revision Commission voted 8-7 in favour of expanding cold beer sales. However, the commission needed a majority of its 17 members to vote in favour, and with two members absent, the recommendation was not passed on to the Indiana General Assembly.

The compromise also resulted in Sunday liquor sales having abbreviated hours, from noon until 8 pm. This was to make it less likely that people would buy their liquor while doing their weekly shopping.

The laws around alcohol sales in Indiana are highly regulated, and the sale of cold water and soft drinks in liquor stores is not permitted. If liquor stores were to raise the issue, then grocery and convenience stores would want to sell cold beer and liquor. Therefore, the liquor store lobby won't push to sell cold water and soft drinks in order to hold onto their cold beer monopoly.

Beer can be purchased in Indiana from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays

Indiana's alcohol laws have been described as "archaic and obsolete, at times contradictory, and often confusing". They are a legacy of Prohibition, and of the end of Prohibition, which opened the door for states to set their own rules.

Indiana's Sunday ban had lingered for years due mostly to economic reasons, with religious objections rarely being part of the debate. The biggest roadblock to the repeal was the liquor store industry, which sought to protect its market share from groceries, pharmacies, and big box stores. With Sunday being the second busiest grocery shopping day of the week, liquor stores could lose sales if the public stocks up during their regular Sunday shopping trips.

Liquor stores have also objected to the added costs of staffing on Sundays. Some anti-alcohol organizations also opposed the repeal, not wanting to give consumers another day to buy alcohol.

Indiana's alcohol laws are enforced by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, which has been in place since 1933, following the Repeal of Prohibition.

While beer can be purchased from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays, there are still some restrictions on alcohol sales in Indiana. For example, grocers, convenience stores, and pharmacies are not allowed to sell cold beer, although liquor stores may do so. Additionally, establishments that sell beverages by the "drink" must have food service for a minimum of 25 people available at all times.

Indiana's alcohol laws can be confusing, and it's always a good idea to check the most up-to-date sources before purchasing alcohol in the state.

Indiana's alcohol laws are a legacy of Prohibition

Until 2018, Indiana was one of around a dozen US states to ban all Sunday alcohol sales outside of bars and restaurants. This ban was a result of Prohibition-era blue laws, in which religious groups sought to reserve the day for worship. However, by 2018, the ban was being maintained mostly for economic reasons. The powerful liquor store lobby, for example, feared losing market share to grocery stores and didn't want to staff their stores for an extra day each week.

In 2018, public support for Sunday sales forced the liquor store industry to strike a deal with their large grocery store competitors. Liquor stores agreed to drop their opposition to Sunday sales in exchange for grocery retailers agreeing to protect the liquor stores' monopoly on cold beer sales. On February 28, 2018, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed legislation that allows grocery, drug, convenience, and liquor stores to sell alcohol on Sundays from noon to 8 p.m.

Indiana's alcohol laws have been described as "archaic and obsolete, at times contradictory, and often confusing." For example, liquor stores can sell cold beer, but grocery stores can't. This is to keep liquor stores in business. However, grocery stores with a pharmacy within them are permitted to sell hard liquor.

Another curious aspect of Indiana's alcohol laws is that there are no restrictions on the open carrying of alcohol in public spaces. Patrons are allowed to carry an alcoholic beverage in its original container out of a premise and consume it on the sidewalks.

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