SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Legislature omnibus liquor bill, expected to be unveiled this week, would allow the sale of mini-bottles in the state under a pilot program .

Lawmakers and industry officials are also set to strike a deal to stop popular hard seltzers like White Claw, Press, Vizzy and Bon & Viv from disappearing from grocery store and convenience store shelves.

“If you have a favorite product, chances are you’ll keep seeing it at a grocery store, convenience store near you,” said Kate Bradshaw, president of the Utah Beer Wholesalers Association, which represents major brewers around the world. country.

FOX 13 first reported last year that popular seltzers were at risk of being pulled from store shelves because they did not meet Utah’s legal definition of “beer.” in the way they were brewed.

“We’re going to change the definition of how it’s made. I don’t know if we’ll get 100 percent of what’s on the market, but we’ll get almost everything,” Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said. said Monday in an interview with FOX 13.

Senator Stevenson, who is tasked by the Republican majority in the Senate with guiding liquor legislation each year, said he was confident they could reach a consensus. But he acknowledged that part of the legal definition will always remain “unique”.

Bradshaw told FOX 13 that doesn’t mean every brand stays on grocery and convenience store shelves. Some may return to state-controlled liquor stores.

“In Utah, we have a unique relationship with alcohol, which means we often have unique definitions. We’ve solved the vast majority of issues, but there may still be a small subset of products that have to change to a liquor store format,” she said.

What else in the invoice:

• Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will change its name to Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services.
• Bar licenses won’t be increased, Sen. Stevenson said, but they could be “reworked” to free up more. Utah has a quota of one license per 10,200 residents.
• Lawmakers are also considering scrapping something they created years ago – allowing a liquor licensee to sell their bar license to the highest bidder.
• Mini-bottles could be sold in state-run liquor stores as part of a pilot project.

“They have the ability to do it now, so we’ll tell them, if they could, let’s do a market test and see how it works,” Sen. Stevenson said of mini-bottles in Utah.

Some DABC stores would be allowed to sell them to see if they are successful and if there are no issues related to them.

Meanwhile, the DABC is seeking millions in funding to expand its IT infrastructure. This would allow the agency to upgrade its retail software, including the ability to accept things like Apple Pay (the DABC currently uses decades-old credit card machines). DABC Executive Director Tiffany Clason also requested $3 million to implement online ordering at state-run liquor stores.

“You walk in, you have a call line, you show that ID after the ID check, you get your product and you go about your business. It’s fast, it’s fast, it’s is safe,” she said. a statutory appropriations committee.

Lawmakers seemed willing to go along with it, especially after she said the agency expected $10 million in annual sales from online orders alone.

“It’s a market convenience that I think is pretty much standard now with the pandemic and we’re excited to be able to offer it to our customers,” Clason said.