Buying more than one keg of beer could become illegal in Madison if a proposed keg registration ordinance is passed.
The proposed ordinance has not breached the walls of the city council forum, but advocates are pushing for approval.
'The real purpose [of the ordinance] is to regulate access to large quantities of alcohol, particularly at house parties,' said Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9.
The ordinance would prohibit the purchase of more than one keg at a time, unless the individual has a special $10 permit, and requires customers to register a name, date of birth, identification number, address, date of sale and a description of the purchase.
The Alcohol License Review Committee, which oversees liquor licensing in the city of Madison, heard public testimony Wednesday and chose to put the proposed ordinance on file for later review.
Skidmore, the primary sponsor and co-architect of the ordinance, said some people may 'switch to hard liquor or even cases, but it's going to be more expensive and I can't believe there will be the same level of mass consumption.'
Nitty Gritty owner and Tavern League President Marsh Shapiro said the problem with drinking in Madison is an encompassing issue, spawning from the 1988 change in the drinking age from 18 to 21 years of age.
'Every one of these people will all agree that the 21-year-old drinking age has caused all these problems,' Shapiro said. 'Nearly every speaker that has addressed us tonight has talked about underage drinking'but if we go back to an 18-year-old drinking age we eliminate all these problems.'
Others said the consumption of large quantities of liquor is worse than with beer.
'I know other students at other schools who don't have kegs and hard liquor is a natural alternative to beer,' UW-Madison junior Taylor Brown said. 'There are a lot of avenues to getting drunk and saying liquor is more expensive is not always true.'
Brown added that in many cases selling liquor is more profitable to those throwing house parties.
Madison Police Chief Noble Wray admitted that this ordinance is not a catch-all but it's a step toward solving problems with alcohol consumption in tandem with police enforcement and education about the dangers of excessive drinking.
'This is by no mean a magic bullet,' Wray said. 'We are still looking at a problem with disorderly behavior and often criminal behavior associated with the?? consumption of alcohol and the impact of house partiers.'
