INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana attorney general is appealing a Marion County ruling ordering the state to issue a liquor wholesaler permit to a beer wholesaler.
The permit is to go to Spirited Sales LLC, a subsidiary of Monarch Beverage Co. Inc., which is the largest beer and wine wholesaler in Indiana. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office said Thursday it feels the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission correctly denied the application.
Indiana state law prohibits beer and wine wholesalers from also wholesale selling liquor. Zoeller’s office says this is to prevent a monopoly.
The issue has been ongoing in Indiana courts. The company has argued that state’s statute discriminates against beer wholesalers by treating them differently from everyone else, including retailers and wine wholesalers, who are able to distribute liquor.
