Carolyn Smagalski writes about beer and brewing for BellaOnline, a site geared toward women.

She turns us on to some silly beer laws around the U.S.

Silly Beer Laws by U.S. State: A-M
Silly Beer Laws by U.S. State: N-Z

We are particularly interested in the interaction of beer and the law around here. The first one I checked was Maryland.

Alcohol beverage writers must be certified as experts by a state agency in order to be eligible to receive product samples. The beverage writer can only receive three bottles per brand.

Well, nuts. Okay, how do I become certified? Anybody have a clue?

Some of the goofier ones:

Alaska
In Fairbanks, AK, it is illegal to serve alcoholic beverages to moose.

Indiana
It is illegal for liquor stores to sell milk or cold soft drinks. They can, however, sell soft drinks at room temperature….It is illegal to carry an alcoholic drink from the bar to a table – this can only be done by a waiter or waitress…Drinks “on the house” are illegal…Ban on off-premises sales of Alcohol on Sundays.

Nebraska
It is illegal for a bar to sell beer unless it is simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup…Ban on off-premises sales of Alcohol on Sundays.

North Dakota
Beer and pretzels cannot be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.

(via Brookston Beer Bulletin)

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has a good summary of the underage drinking laws in each state.