Full-strength beer coming to Colorado grocery stores, gas stations January 1

Colorado grocery stores, big-box retailers and gas stations will begin selling full-strength beer Jan. 1, 2019.

Lower-strength 3.2 beer sales will stop as it becomes replaced with full-strength varieties.

The change is due to a law 10 years in the making.

“We will go from 130 different types of 3.2 beers to over 400 full-strength available,” said Todd Broderick, Albertson’s-Safeway Denver Division’s president.

Independently owned liquor stores are concerned about the change and its effect on sales.