In keeping with new state statutes governing the sale of beer with a higher alcohol content, the Great Bend City Council Tuesday night approved amending the city’s cereal-malt beverage ordinance to allow the sale of such beverages in businesses holding cereal malt beverage licenses effective April 1.  

Cereal-malt beverage had been defined in the Kansas as containing not more that 3.2 percent alcohol. Only Kansas and Utah still authorized sale of 3.2 percent in certain business.

But, breweries are no longer going to produce this type of alcohol, City Attorney Bob Suelter said. 

The State of Kansas has amended its statutes allowing enhanced beer with alcohol content up to 6 percent to be sold in businesses holding cereal-malt beverage licenses effective April 1. So, this required the city’s to amend its ordinance to be in line with state law, Suelter said.

This means that in order for grocery stores, convenience stores and taverns that had sold 3.2 beer to continue to sell beer, Suelter said the city needed to change the ordinance. Outside the change in the definition of beer, most everything else in the ordinance stayed the same.

This impacts only the establishments within the city limits, he said. And, these establishments can only sell “enhanced alcoholic beer” up to 6 percent, but can’t sell anything stronger.

The change

According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, during the 2017 legislative session House substitute for Senate Bill 13 was passed and signed into law. Changes made by the bill, which take effect this April 1, affect the sale of cereal malt beverage and beer.

Prior to the passage, a retailer licensed under the cereal malt beverage act was not permitted to sell beer, and a retailer licensed under the liquor control act was not permitted to sell CMB. However, under the changes a retailer or retail liquor store may sell both CMB and beer. In addition, a retail liquor store may “sell any other good or service on the licensed premises, except that the gross sales of other goods and services, excluding fees derived from the sale of lottery tickets and revenues from sales of cigarettes and tobacco products, shall not exceed 20 percent of the retailer’s total gross sales.”

In summary, these changes mean that CMB retailers (such as grocery stores, convenience stores and drug stores) will be allowed to sell beer, in addition to CMB. Retail liquor stores will be allowed to sell CMB and other goods or services on their licensed premises, as long as those sales (excluding the sale of lottery tickets, cigarettes, and tobacco products) do not exceed 20% of their total gross sales.

In addition, in accordance with this provision, a CMB retailer will charge state and local sales tax on their sales of CMB and on their sales of beer. This will generally include locations such as grocery stores, convenience stores and drug stores.  

A retail liquor store will not charge sales tax on their sales of beer. Beer sold by a retail liquor store remains subject to the 8 percent liquor enforcement tax. 

Other goods or services sold by a retail liquor store on their licensed premises (excluding the sale of lottery tickets) will be subject to state and local sales tax. This includes the sale of CMB.