SPRINGFIELD, IL - The Illinois Senate passed a bill earlier this week that allows craft brewers to self-distribute limited quantities of the beer they produce, The State Journal-Register reports.

"We're super-excited about this," remarked Springfield brewer Chris Trudeau, founder and brewmaster of Rolling Meadows Brewery, who said he is relying on the proposal to get his product to local bars. "It means for us that we can get out beer out to people in central Illinois much faster."

Senate Bill 754 defines craft brewers as those who brew up to 465,000 gallons of beer a year, allowing them to self-distribute up to 7,500 barrels annually.

"I??m carrying the legislation because??of the two craft brewers in Illinois; one is right around the corner and down the street from my house," said the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Donne Trotter.

The proposal passed 48-1, and it stems from a 2010 lawsuit filed by Anheuser-Busch Inbev after Illinois blocked its move to buy a Chicago-based beer distributor.

In Illinois, in-state brewers are allowed to self-distribute, but out-of-state brewers must work with third-party distributors, a crucial element of the A-B Inbev lawsuit.
 

A district judge gave the legislature a deadline to address the issue, ruling that self-distribution rights would be revoked from all brewers in Illinois if no law was passed by May 31.
 

The measure now goes to the House.