NoDa Brewing and OMB are taking their freedom fight to court

Gay marriage was made legal. The state’s Voter ID law was struck down (this was just finalized Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case).

Two of Charlotte’s most popular breweries are now hoping to have that same kind of victory.

After the General Assembly declined to pass a bill allowing breweries to self-distribute beyond 25,000 barrels, NoDa Brewing and Olde Mecklenburg Brewery are now taking the state to court.

Quick recap, what is this fight about?

Under current law, breweries are allowed to distribute their own beer — selling to local restaurants and grocery stores, for example — until they reach a total of 25,000 barrels of production in a year. Then they are required to contract with a distributor, which is a company that represents numerous brands and sells across large territories.

25,000 barrels is sizable. But NoDa Brewing and Olde Meck are drawing near to that mark and don’t wish to engage a distributor. Under the umbrella of “Craft Freedom,” they’ve spent several years pushing for the legislature to raise the limit to 100,000 barrels or more.

[Agenda story: This state law could start affecting your craft beer choices]

But the beer and wine wholesalers industry has a powerful lobbying influence, and the bills haven’t gone far. The latest attempt this year was shot down.

[Agenda story: It’s time for the state to finally let local breweries grow freely]

What’s happening now?

NoDa Brewing and Olde Mecklenburg Brewery have joined together under Craft Freedom and filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court against the State of North Carolina.

The 22-page lawsuit raises a constitutional challenge to the 25,000 barrel limit. It claims the state is “artificially suppressing” economic growth, “punishes craft breweries for their own success” and claims the law is the “opposite of the American Dream.”

The lawsuit claims the “unconstitutional taking of private property” and violates a provision in the state constitution that ensures citizens “the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor.”

What happens next?

I’m actually really interested to see how this will play out.

I’m not a constitutional lawyer, so I have no idea how compelling the legal argument is. (If you are one, please look over the lawsuit and email me your take).

The breweries are represented by Bob Orr, a legal heavy-hitter and a former N.C. Supreme Court justice. That has to be a point in their favor.

I’m also curious how the state will play it. How vigorously will the N.C. Attorney General’s office defend its law? Gov. Roy Cooper, who until recently had the role, made it fashionable to refuse to represent the state in cases where it didn’t agree with the law being challenged.

As far as I can tell, neither Gov. Cooper nor his successor, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein, have taken a position on Craft Freedom.

Isn’t it overly dramatic to compare this to gay marriage and voting rights?

Yes, but this issue has become incredibly emotional among passionate beer nerds. Sadly, I guarantee you that this legal battle will be followed just as closely as the civil rights issues for a large swath of Charlotte.

That said, I definitely support NoDa and OMB in their quest to control their businesses.