TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF "BEER" TO CHANGE THE ALLOWABLE ALCOHOLIC CONTENT AND TO INCLUDE MALT BEVERAGES.

House Bill 1173 sought to amend the definitions of "beer" and introduce a new category of "malt beverage" within alcoholic beverage laws. The bill would have clarified that beer and other malt beverages with up to five percent alcohol by weight are distinct and generally excepted from the act's specific provisions. It established "malt beverage" as a liquor brewed from grain with an alcoholic content between five percent and twenty-one percent by weight. This new classification would have included beers and other malt beverages containing up to fourteen percent alcohol by weight, potentially altering how these products are regulated.