City Councilwoman Joan Specter, who is running for re-election, held a press conference in the parking lot of the distributor on Grant Avenue and charged the manufacturer with "preying on low-income neighborhoods solely for profit."
Specter said she recently learned of community opposition to PowerMaster and filed a complaint with state police that resulted in yesterday's action.
Jewell Williams, of the Susquehanna Neighborhood Advisory Council in North Philadelphia, said at the press conference that several community meetings were held in North Philadelphia over PowerMaster and the growing number of beer takeout stores.
Williams called yesterday's action "a step in the right direction.
"It's a victory if you can prevent even one kid from drinking a beer that will make him crazy," he said.
The alcohol content of the malt beverage is 6 percent, more potent than other malts and higher than regular beer.
Two cases of PowerMaster among some 12,000 at the distributor were removed by state police as evidence. The distributor, the only state outlet for PowerMaster, was served with a "cease and desist" letter that constrains it
from distributing the brew.
But it appears that PowerMaster's day's were over anyway.
In May the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms told the brewing company it could not use the name PowerMaster for similar reasons, citing a federal alcohol administrative law that forbids companies to compete with each other on the basis of alcohol strength, Dot Koester of the bureau said.
But Heileman was given "use up rights," by the federal government to continue to can the beer until Oct. 1 of this year, Koester said.
A spokeswoman for the brewery declined comment, saying it was investigating yesterday's events. The company is in bankruptcy proceedings.
Officers at Clement & Muller said they were surprised by the police action. They showed reporters a letter from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board approving an application for registration for sale of the malt liquor, dated June 26.
"So quite honestly we don't understand why everyone is in our parking lot," said Joel Shafer, citing the letter and the agreement with ATF.
McGeehan said he was given the order to remove PowerMaster on July 15. He blamed the delay on a heavy workload and a personnel shortage.
