Jackie O's beer will likely contain more alcohol in the near future, thanks to a new bill lifting the alcohol cap on beer.
The legislation, passed in May, ended a year-long crusade for people like Art Oestrike, the owner of Jackie O's Pub & Brewery. For most of the last century — since the 1930s — the alcohol level in beer was limited to 6 percent in the state. In 2002, that limit was increased to 12 percent, according to a previous Post report. Sen. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, tried to get the limit raised to 18 percent in 2011.
Under the new bill, which went into effect Monday, there would be no limit for the amount of alcohol in beer.
"We've championed the alcohol limit raise for years," Oestrike said. "I think when we were first in the paper in support of that, it was seven or eight years ago, and we were working with Jimmy Stewart to increase the limit."
Rep. Dan Ramos, D-Lorain, one of the most recent legislators to push for an increased limit, touted the change as a way to bring business to Ohio, saying in a news release: "This bill isn't about beer, it's about jobs."
According to the release, Ohio's cap on alcohol levels was hurting the state. In 2014, Stone Brewing, a California brewery, turned down an opportunity to open up operations in Columbus because some of its higher-alcohol beers would not be reproducible in Ohio.
Stone Brewing took its business to Virginia.
“I am pleased that we are finally taking this step to make Ohio more economically competitive in this rapidly developing industry,” Ramos said in the release. “As local breweries and brewpubs continue to pop up across our state, it’s important that we level the playing field to let small business owners and brewers compete nationally."
Oestrike said it will be at least a year before they come out with a new beer that contains more than 12 percent alcohol. He said Jackie O's products are barrel-aged for at least 10 months.
However, he insisted he will take advantage of the loosened law.
"When you were a little kid and you were sent to your room, did you like it?" he said. "I don’t like rules."
The owners of Athens' newer breweries — Little Fish and Devil's Kettle, both of which opened summer 2015 — said they have no plans to come out with new beers extending past the old limit, but they noted they are glad the option is there.
"One of the nice things about it is you don't feel restricted," Cameron Fuller, owner of Devil's Kettle, 97 Columbus Rd., said. "If I want to make a big beer in bourbon barrels, it's a little bit hard to predict just how much alcohol it will end up with."
Fuller stressed breweries releasing stronger beers will mostly be craft breweries, which are not necessarily the go-to drink for college students looking to get drunk.
But for some college students, that's exactly the appeal.
"It seems like a good idea," Taylor Rowe, a junior studying engineering, said. "I mean, you'd get drunker quicker, and that's what you go out for."
Jimmy Stockwell, co-founder and president of Little Fish Brewery, said high-alcohol beers aren't a priority for him, but he likes to brew "a little bit of everything," so a higher-level brew could be a possibility.
"What we like to do is have people come, have a couple beers, mingle with community and hang out with their families as opposed to sitting down and having one really, really strong drink," he said.
So far, the highest level of alcohol in any of their brews has been eight and a half percent.
"We do like to brew a little bit of everything, so I could definitely see one in our future," he said.
Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois already have no limits on the alcohol in their beers, according to a previous Post report.
"I'm from California, and when I go there, I'm often bringing home some awesome beers," Fuller said. "I don't think about it when I buy it off the shelf, but I often come home and look at it and I'm like 'Oh, this beer's 14 percent. Cool.' There are some breweries with higher-level beers that just have refused to sell to Ohio."
