Breweries are asking Georgia lawmakers to loosen restrictions on selling to retailers and on the amount individuals can buy to drink at home.

Craft brewers said their businesses are suffering because state law prohibits direct sales to bars, restaurants and stores. Georgia also limits to-go orders to individuals at 24 cans of beer per day.

The bill considered by a state Senate committee Tuesday is one of several pro-alcohol proposals pending at the Georgia General Assembly this year, along with measures that would allow more discounts on beer, Sunday sales in museums, and at-home liquor production.

“We need a more flexible system that allows small businesses to build their brand up locally, get their own product that they’ve made and invested in to local retailers,” said Joseph Cortes, executive director for the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild. “Then they can be more viable to one day, if they choose, get into traditional retail channels.”

Similar efforts to ease Georgia’s craft brewery laws have fallen short in recent years, and this year’s proposals also face opposition. Large alcohol companies and their distributors want to preserve the state’s system that separates alcohol makers, distributors and retailers.

“Alcohol is the No. 1 drug problem in America,” said Mike Griffin, a lobbyist for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “We don’t want to go back to a pre-Prohibition era where we had a Wild West of alcohol. It seems that the alcohol industry is not going to be satisfied until it is sold 24/7, including at lemonade stands.”

After Tuesday’s public hearing, the Senate Regulated Industries Committee didn’t vote on Senate Bill 456, which would permit breweries to sell up to 1,000 barrels of beer annually to retailers located within the same county and allow individuals to buy any amount for consumption outside the brewery. A vote could be scheduled as soon as next week.

Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, said Georgians want more alcohol options. He sponsored Senate Bill 86, which would let retailers offer coupons and discounts on alcoholic beverages as long as the discount isn’t specific to a brand.

“For too long, the distributors have had innovation on lockdown,” Anavitarte said. “It’s big business not really wanting to see some of this growth. That’s why you’re seeing so many craft breweries struggling or closing or consolidating.”

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.