If you want to buy a six-pack in Pennsylvania, you have to go to a bar and pay a high price. If you want to buy a case, you have to go to a beer distributorship and pay a higher price than in any surrounding state. If you go to any of the surrounding states and buy liquor, you face the possibility of being tracked back across the border by a Pennsylvania agent and having your car seized for 'smuggling'.

The alcohol laws in PA are ridiculous.

You can buy a case or keg of beer from a distributor, but that's it. If you want a 6-pack you have to go to a special 6-pack store and you are only allowed to buy 2 6-packs at a time. In many of the stores if you want to buy more than 12 beers, you would buy the first two sixers, walk outside, put them on the ground or in your car, go back in and then buy another two. Oh, and you can't buy wine or liquor anywhere that they also sell beer.

You cannot buy beer and liquor at the same place in Pa. either, however if you look at the liquor laws in every state you will se that most are outdayed and archaic to the point of being silly, try checking out the regulations in Md. much different than Pa. but just as stupid! If you htink they will change you are wrong, the powers that be ( big brother) get a great big kick out of being in every facet of our lives and if you htink that will change you must have given up beer and starting smoking dope!

I believe that there is also a law on PA's books that prohibits liquor stores from carrying beer, liquor and wine in the same store.

Whenever a transplant from another state complains about not being able to buy beer at the 7-11 or the grocery store, I point out that it could be worse- they could have moved to Pennsylvania.

I went to school in PA and their liquor laws are absurd. Their beer distributors sell only cases and liquor stores are separate. As someone already noted, 6 packs are only sold in bars.

Also, in Montgomery County at least, both liquor stores and beer distributors were closed during elections--that includes primaries.

I wasn't even registered to vote in the state, but I always knew when the primaries were taking place.

I have a sister who lives just north of the border. She stops in Towson on her way home from work to get beer.

Ignoring the 6-pack case diferential, imagine you want a really nice Belgian. You could be looking at $5-$8 per bottle. Now you have to buy a case, that starts to add up.

I believe Lew Bryson (Seen Through a Looking Glass) has written many a blog posts about this.

As a native Pennsylvanian, this system sucks. PA owns all of the liquor stores. Beer must be purchased at a distributer (cases and kegs only), unless you go to the bar and buy carry out (max 2 six packs) at bar price. It is a pain, but the part that I hate about it is that you can't easily try multiple brews. If you want a couple of sixers of different stuff, it is only at the bar.

They need to change

The liquor laws in PA are as stupid as the politicians who wrote them. I should be able to purchase a six pack of beer and/or a nice bottle of Pino Noir along with my groceries for steak dinner at Acme or Giant.

I'll second the talk to Lew Bryson advice. He knows more on the issue than most members of the state legislature and liquor board.

Blog posts? Heck, Lew has a whole BLOG on this subject!!!!

http://noplcb.blogspot.com/

I'm a native Pennsylvanian. My wife occasionally asks me why in hell we still live in this hell-hole of a "Demokratik Republik of Maryland." I tell her, with a straight face, "It's the beer." Frankly, I've yet to come up with a better answer--or ANY other answer, for that matter.

Many years ago I was leading a hiking trip for a group and staying at a campground near Shartlesville, PA. I took orders and made a beer run to a local bar and picked out 4 sixpacks. The bartender told me I could only buy 2 in PA. I was headed to the cooler to put two back when he added "You know, some people have been known to take those two to their car and come back for two more..."

The best part about living in PA and working in Baltimore is that I can support the sensible liquor laws in Maryland and buy microwbrews a six-pack at a time at a reasonable price on my way home from work.

The system isn't horrible if you like mass-produced beer because you can always find a dive that sells 12-packs at a good price and distributors always have A-B and MIllerCoors products on sale.

But God forbid if you want to sample something new or find something off the wall.