A group of Hampton Roads beer industry leaders planned to participate in what they thought would be an easy, slam dunk of a fundraiser.
As part of the Pouring for Neighbors fundraiser , several local breweries were prepared to sell a special limited-run beer and donate a dollar from each purchase to a North Carolina Hurricane Helene relief fund.
Not so fast, said the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
The state agency says donating a portion of every beer sale to charity violates an ABC regulation designed to stop the promotion of overconsumption of alcohol, according to emails from brewing industry groups to members obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. Hampton Roads industry leaders say they are frustrated by the decision and worried it will hamper fundraising efforts.
“We don’t want to do anything that we’re not supposed to do,” said Michele Hanson, taproom and events manager at Tradition Brewing Co. in Newport News. “But they’re just making it a little more difficult, I think, than it needs to be.”