In a move hailed by many, including Gov. Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board this past week permitted nine gas stations to sell six packs of beer.

“Freeing the six pack will make the commonwealth more inviting for customers and businesses,” said the governor in a written statement released within minutes of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s decision.

However, before Wolf or any other six-pack beer lover starts heading for the nearest gas station, there’s some sobering news about the decision. As usual, nothing ever comes easy in Pennsylvania, even when it comes to selling six packs of beer.

For starters, the decision only pertains to the nine gas stations. One is in Canonsburg and another in the Gibsonia area of Allegheny County. The rest are located in central and eastern Pennsylvania.

The decision, though, is expected to pave the way for other gas stations to sell six packs. It could have major ramifications for Sheetz and GetGo who have been urging the LCB for years to allow the sale of beer in their stores.

“Our Pennsylvania customers have overwhelmingly told us loud and clear that they want to be afforded the right to purchase beer at convenience stores and other business locations,” said a spokesperson for Sheetz. “We are committed to helping achieve beer reform in Pennsylvania.”

“We applaud all efforts made by the state to increase consumer convenience,” said Dick Roberts, a spokesman for Giant Eagle, which owns GetGo.

But there are some important requirements that must be met before the LCB approves any more sales of six-pack beers, said Elizabeth Brassell, a spokesperson for the LCB.

She noted that the ruling doesn’t give the green light to every gas station in Pennsylvania, pointing out the LCB will still evaluate requests on a “case-by-case basis.”

For one, she said, gas stations that want to sell beer must have “separate entrances, separate registers and some sort of physical barrier” between where customers buy gas and where they buy beer.

But more importantly she noted the gas stations wanting to sell beer must get a liquor license, which are not easy to come by since Pennsylvania clearly stipulates the number of liquor licenses that are available in each county. That means any new or existing business that wants to sell beer must wait for a liquor license to become available, either by transfer from another business or by permission from the state.

Good luck with that. A spokesman for the LCB said there’s only one liquor license currently available in all of the commonwealth, that being in Juniata County.

In addition, there are still some legal hurdles that must be cleared for the sales to take place. In 2014, the LCB approved the sale of beer at a Sheetz store in Shippensburg. The Malt Beverage Distributors Association, which represents the owners of beer distributors, filed suit, claiming such sales were against the law.

A Commonwealth Court judge sided with the PLCB, but the association filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, which hasn’t heard the case yet.

So, it’s possible all this could become moot if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that the sales are illegal.

But even if the court gives its OK to the sales, it’s extremely doubtful that many local gas stations will be selling six packs of beer anytime soon. Of course that could change down the road.

In the meantime, though, lovers of six-pack beer will have to be content with the status quo, which so often seems to be the case in Pennsylvania.