By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Gov. Jeff Colyer signed into law new rules last week regulating alcohol sales for the state of Kansas.
The new law allows self-serve beer taps, the sale of candy containing alcohol by liquor stores, and moves the start time for alcohol sales in restaurants from 9 a.m. to 6 a.m. The law will take effect later this month.
According to at least two establishments in Hays, they don’t plan on adding self-serve beer taps anytime soon.
Derrick Brockelman, general manager of Gella’s Diner and LB Brewing Co., said he has researched the change, but did not expect to put in self-serve taps at this time.
Brockelman has experienced the format first-hand in bars in Nebraska and Missouri and said the bar format has both pros and cons.
Self-serve taps allow beer-enthusiasts to try a variety of different types of beers. The beer taps would allow a consumer to sample small amounts of multiple beers.
“It can be a really fun experience,” he said. “In some places, the experience is better than others.”
However, there are downsides.
Bar owners can’t always tell if a person is being over-served when they are serving themselves or if they are in the correct state of mind to be consuming alcohol, Brockelman said.
Bar owners are responsible for carding those who use the self-serve taps and ensuring only those 21 and older are drinking the beers. As a result, all of the self-serve bars Brockelman said he has visited are 21 and older bars and card at the door.
In Kansas, the self-serve taps would be accessed with a swipe card similar to a credit card. Possession of the card is the legal equivalent of possessing beer. The new law requires the taps to be under video monitoring, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Kansas is one of a few state that did not allow self-serve beer taps. Self-serve wine was already legal in the state.
Golden Q manager Markus Hilger said they are looking at the new regulations but are unsure if they would opt for self-serve taps.
However, another aspect of the law will affect the Golden Griddle, which also has a liquor license.
The Griddle will likely start serving alcohol at 7 a.m. when it opens for breakfast, Hilger said. Formerly state law prohibited alcohol to be served before 9 a.m.
Another aspect of the law will allow liquor stores to sell candy containing alcohol. If the candy has 1 percent of alcohol or more, it has to be sold in a liquor store and can only be purchased by someone 21 and older.
Wes Rathbun, owner of 8th Street Liquor, said he has looked into the law, but as of last week had not found any distributors that handled the alcoholic candy.
“We will have it if we can find it,” he said. “I am wondering if this law is to entice the production of it.”
Other local liquor store managers said they were still researching the new law and product and said they would make decisions later on whether to carry the candy.
Kansas currently does not have manufacturers of the alcohol-laced candy, said Rachel Whitten, spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue in an email. Kansas Alcohol and Beverage Control is under the auspices of the Department of Revenue.
Although children are not supposed to have access to the candy, local pedestrian Dr. Shari Claude said parents should be wary.
“I can see a potential danger if a child would get a hold of that,” she said in an email. “Alcohol intoxication occurs at much lower levels in children than in adults. This can lead to death especially if the parent doesn’t recognize the signs of intoxication and especially if the ingestion is unwitnessed.”
She said she was still researching the law.