Florida’s craft brewers are seeing brighter days thanks to a new state measure inspired by the life of Chance the Rapper.
A Florida Senate committee approved SB 554 this week, which allows small brewers to distribute their own beer. The measure was opposed by big beer lobbyists, but Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon just needed one example of why SB 554 is important: 23-year-old Chance, who, if he was thanked in person, would respond with “No Problem,” probably.
To be clear, Chance didn’t get involved in this measure personally. Just the idea of him as a person was enough inspiration, however. Braynon cited Chance’s move from independently distributing his music to “multimillion-dollar offers for distribution deals.” The Chicago rapper went from small time to big time, just like how the bill “would allow small brewers to do just what Chance the Rapper did,” Braynon said, according to SaintPetersBlog. “So I’m going to give this (bill) a chance — thanks to Chance the Rapper.”
Chance recently won three Grammy Awards — Best Rap Performance for “No Problem,” Best Rap Album for “Coloring Book,” and Best New Artist. Braynon clearly just wants some very, very small brewery (the bill only applies to breweries that produce 7,000 kegs or less a year) to eventually reach the beer equivalent of a grammy winner.
Of course, not everyone was on board with the metaphor. Senator Greg Steube looked confused and said, “I’ve never heard of Chance the Rapper,” SaintPetersBlog reports.
Regardless, the Chance-inspired bill could help create the next cult craft beer. You don’t want no problem with Florida’s upstart craft brewers.