In Pennsylvania, where to buy alcohol depends entirely on what you want: spirits and most wine come only from state-run Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, beer comes from licensed beer distributors or from bars and restaurants selling to go, and grocery and convenience stores can sell beer and a limited amount of wine if they hold the right license. Breweries, wineries, and distilleries also sell their own products directly. The system loosened considerably in 2016, but the basic split between the state liquor monopoly and private beer sales still trips up newcomers.
Fine Wine & Good Spirits Stores
If you want a bottle of liquor or most kinds of wine to take home, your main option is a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store run by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The PLCB operates more than 560 of them statewide.1Fine Wine & Good Spirits. About Us Prices are set by the state, so a bottle costs the same in Philadelphia as it does in Erie.
Not every product sits on the shelf. If a store doesn’t stock what you want, you can browse the full catalog at FWGS.com and place a special order, which ships to a Fine Wine & Good Spirits location for pickup.2Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Special Order For anything coming from outside Pennsylvania that isn’t wine, the special order system is effectively your only route.
You must be 21 or older to buy alcohol anywhere in the state.
Beer Distributors
Beer distributors are privately owned, licensed shops dedicated to beer for off-premises drinking. Since 2016, they can sell any quantity, from a single bottle to a full keg. Before that, the case-only rule was one of the state’s most notorious restrictions. Today a distributor will sell you a six-pack, a 12-pack, a mix of singles, or a growler fill.
Standard hours run Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday sales require a separate permit, and permit holders can sell from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. A distributor without the permit cannot sell on Sunday at all.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sunday Sales Information
Bars, Restaurants, and Bottle Shops
Licensed bars, restaurants, and taverns sell beer, wine, and cocktails for drinking on-site, and many also sell beer to go. The to-go limit is 192 fluid ounces per transaction, which works out to a 12-pack of 16-ounce cans or 16 standard 12-ounce bottles.4Pennsylvania State Police. Liquor Control Enforcement Guidelines Restaurants holding an R license cannot sell wine or spirits to go; only beer leaves the premises.
Some bars and restaurants operate as bottle shops, letting you walk coolers and mix individual bottles. The same 192-ounce cap applies per transaction. If you want more, you ring up one purchase, take it to your car, and come back for another. Bottle shops see this constantly and don’t blink.
Grocery and Convenience Stores
Grocery and convenience stores can sell beer and wine, but only if they hold a restaurant (R) or eating place (E) liquor license. The license comes with real conditions: the store has to maintain a seating area with tables, chairs, and food service for at least 30 patrons.5Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Liquor License Requirements by License Type That’s why a Wegmans or Sheetz selling beer has a café section attached. Alcohol purchases also have to be rung up at a dedicated register staffed by a trained cashier. Self-checkout for alcohol isn’t allowed.
Wine purchases at these stores are capped at three liters per transaction, or four standard 750-milliliter bottles.6Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Frequently Asked Questions – Wine Expanded Permits Beer is capped at the same 192 ounces that applies at bars.4Pennsylvania State Police. Liquor Control Enforcement Guidelines Over the limit? Complete the transaction, step outside, and come back.
These stores cannot sell spirits. Since September 2024, they can sell spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktails under a separate permit, as long as each container is 16 ounces or smaller and no more than 12.5% alcohol by volume.7Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ready-to-Drink Cocktails
Buying Direct from Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries
Pennsylvania’s craft producers sell straight from the source, and each type operates under slightly different rules.
Breweries
Breweries sell their own beer on-site, both for drinking there and for takeout. A brewery pub can also pour wine from a Pennsylvania limited winery for on-premises drinking.8Cornell Law Institute. 40 Pa. Code 3.92 – Brewery Pubs Growler fills, crowlers, and packaged cans are all common takeout formats.
Wineries
Limited wineries can sell their own wine by the glass, bottle, or case at their licensed location and at up to five additional board-approved locations. They can also sell at farmers markets. For on-premises drinking, a limited winery may also pour spirits from a Pennsylvania-licensed distillery and beer from a Pennsylvania brewery.9Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 47 P.S. Liquor 5-505.2
Distilleries
Limited distilleries sell their own bottled spirits on-site and at up to five board-approved additional locations. They can serve their spirits by the glass and offer tasting samples of up to 1.5 fluid ounces per person. For on-premises drinking, a limited distillery may also sell Pennsylvania-made wine and beer, though combined sales of those products cannot exceed 50% of the distillery’s own liquor sales from the prior calendar year.10Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 47 P.S. Liquor 5-505.4 Distilleries can also sell at farmers markets.
Online Ordering and Shipping Into Pennsylvania
The PLCB runs its own e-commerce site at FWGS.com for wine and spirits, with home delivery or in-store pickup.11Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Shop FWGS.com That’s the primary way to get spirits delivered in Pennsylvania, because the state monopoly extends to online sales.
Wine producers holding a direct wine shipper license can send up to 36 cases per year (nine liters per case) to any Pennsylvania resident 21 or older. The 36-case cap is per shipper, so ordering from multiple wineries doesn’t run into one combined limit. Shipped wine carries state and local sales tax plus a $2.50-per-gallon excise tax.12Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Direct Wine Shipping
Out-of-state breweries holding a direct malt or brewed beverage shipper license can ship beer in, but the ceilings are low: no more than 192 ounces per month, and no more than 96 ounces of any single brand per calendar year. Delivery has to go through a licensed transporter, the package must be labeled as containing alcohol, and an adult signature is required.13New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Statutes 4-448 – Monthly Shipment of Malt or Brewed Beverages
Spirits are the one category that cannot be shipped into Pennsylvania from out of state. The Liquor Code makes it unlawful for anyone other than the PLCB, a sacramental wine licensee, an importer, or a direct wine shipper to bring liquor into the commonwealth.14Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Rules Regarding Shipping Alcohol Into Pennsylvania From Other States A bottle from a distillery in Kentucky or Scotland has to come through the PLCB’s special order system.
Sundays, Holidays, and Hours
Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores generally follow retail hours and many are open Sundays. They close on three days a year: Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.15Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Holiday Hours
For bars and restaurants, Sunday sales require a separate Sunday sales permit. Permit holders can serve from 9 a.m. Sunday through 2 a.m. Monday. A restaurant or hotel selling wine to go on Sunday with a wine expanded permit can do so from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. A few exceptions skip the permit entirely: restaurants, hotels, and airport restaurants can serve alcohol from 1 p.m. Sunday through 2 a.m. Monday on Super Bowl Sunday and on December 31 when it falls on a Sunday. When St. Patrick’s Day or Groundhog Day lands on a Sunday, those same license types can serve from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. without a permit.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sunday Sales Information
Dry and Partially Dry Municipalities
Not every community in Pennsylvania allows alcohol sales. Roughly 675 of the state’s 2,560 municipalities are at least partially dry, meaning some or all types of sales are prohibited within their borders.16Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Wet and Dry Municipalities A town might bar retail liquor sales but allow restaurants to pour beer, or it might be fully dry. The restrictions trace back to local option elections held over the past century.
If you are moving or traveling, the PLCB publishes a list of dry municipalities organized by county. In practice, the restrictions mostly affect smaller boroughs and townships in rural parts of the state. Major cities and most suburbs are fully wet.