The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Bill Ketron, would allow underage college students to taste beer they make in a brewing course. The students, who would have to be at least 18, would be required to spit the beer out under the supervision of a professor.
It's a prospect that drew plenty of smirks — and puns — at the Senate State and Local Government Committee hearing Tuesday. Sen. Thelma Harper was among the lawmakers who seemed skeptical students wouldn't swallow their brews.
"We've got to face reality," said Harper, D-Nashville. "For me, it doesn't make good sense."
Ketron said the bill would give students "the right kinds of smarts and skills and opportunities they'd need" to work in Tennessee's growing craft beer industry. Similar laws have passed in other states such as California that have large numbers of vineyards.
"It's an economic bill, it's a jobs bill, and it's a revenue bill," Ketron told his colleagues.