Alcohol purchase rules

On another forum, I was reminded how laws vary from state to state regarding alcohol purchases. How does it work in New Hampshire? After my previous brewery/winery questions, you may think we are only coming up there to drink!

Alcohol purchase rules

I don%26#39;t know a lot about your question, but since there have been no responses, I%26#39;ll let you know what I know.

Beer and wine are sold in supermarkets and convenience stores. Liquors are sold in state owned retail stores. You could probably find locations at the state web site www.NH.gov.

I believe beer and wine is available 7 days a week. I don%26#39;t know if there is a time of day limit for stores open 24 hrs.

The drinking age in NH is 21. I%26#39;m not sure of the bar regulations, but I believe they are about the same or a little more strict than Massachussetts. Here in Mass, last call for alcohol is 1 AM and all patrons must be off property by 2 AM. Of course many places close earlier and local town ordinances may require some locations to close earlier.

I%26#39;m not sure how far north the terminology travels, but in the Boston area, a liquor store where you would buy beer and liquor is frequently refered to as a ';package store'; or ';packy'; (just so you don%26#39;t get confused if someone uses those names). Most likely, you would refer to them as state liquor stores (for the hard stuff). I%26#39;m sure you could buy beer and wine at a state run store, for one stop shopping. I%26#39;m a beer guy, so I have not been into the state liquor stores myself.

Alcohol purchase rules

Westernmass- thanks for your detailed response. Our beer/wine regs here in Texas are decided by city so it can really drive you nuts! It is very interesting to see how each state has developed their alcohol laws.

Hi Poodleone: I%26#39;m a lawyer and I know all about the booze laws in NH!!! First and foremost, DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!!!! The statute on first offense DWI%26#39;s was changed on 1-1-05. I%26#39;m begging you, please be careful!!

As the previous reply stated, the ONLY place that you can buy hard alcohol in NH is indeed at the State owed liquor stores. They are all over the place, even off of the interstates. Secondly, you cannot purchase beer or wine after 11.45p on Saturday until 6.00a.m.

Thanks, Legis. I appreciate the info. Even Texas (a place you can buy beer at drive through stores!) is cracking down some. I was mainly interested in case we decided to grab something and take it back to our hotel room as we wander through New England. After a long hard drive through Connecticut many years ago, we were amazed to see a grocery store shutting down beer sales at 8PM on a Sunday. So, I thought it would be good for my husband%26#39;s sanity (possibly my own) to be aware before heading up in September. One more funny story, 25 years ago I sent out for tourist info from several states as I prepared for a fall New England trek. Imagine the surprise of a small town Texas girl when the map from,I think, New Hampshire had ALL of the stat%26#39;es liquor stores listed. I was amazed. :-)

Hello again! I%26#39;m glad that you find the info helpful. Most of my pals and I won%26#39;t even drink alcohol outside of our homes. Honest.

New Hampshire is beautiful any time, but September is an especially good choice. What is your itinerary? Maybe I can make some suggestions.

Legis- thanks for offering to make suggestions. I have had some really nice folks on my other thread ';NH wineries'; (I swear we are not alcoholics!) give me some great ideas. We will not be staying in NH, per se, but will drive through one day in September from Vermont, staying 4 days in Maine, and plan to come over one day from Ogunquit and spend the day in NH. I am a life long Texan but just love the whole New England area (granted, mostly from afar). It is obvious to me that we must come back and do NH properly! I can get a little giddy about trees and mountains and beautiful coastlines and historic little towns.....I am a born tourist.

Good, I%26#39;m glad that you have some help. I love it here, and after living in several other parts of the US, I%26#39;d never leave it again. Happy trails!!!

I am a 45 year old father , and i was recently at walmart on s.willow and i was purchasing a 6pack of mikes hard lemonade , i was shopping with my 20 year old daughter . my daughter was in another line making her own purchase and the cashier refused to sell me the alcohol because she saw my daughter .. what is the acutal law in nh for purchasing alcohol?

A cashier has no right to refuse your purchase unless you exhibit signs of drunkeness. I would have taken it up with the manager.

Actually I think they can refuse to sell to you if everyone in your party is not 21. I don%26#39;t think it is law per se, but they have the right of refusal anyway. It is very common at the grocery store that both my wife and I will be carded even though we are both 30. If she does not have her wallet they will refuse the sale. I%26#39;ve noticed that Market Basket is the strictest about this.