Upcoming Stuff
I met with Harry today, and there are lots of things simmering in the pot right now. I'll probably send out another newsletter late next week with official updates, but I'd like to go ahead and leak some of this on the blog for those of you who check it.
First and foremost, there are 3 or 4 Alabama legislators ready to support us, which should be enough to get a bill sponsored when the time comes. Furthermore, it is our goal to have those legislators at the next monthly meeting. I won't announce any names until we have 100% confirmation, which should happen no later than middle of next week. But this is big.
This will get our foot in the door and give us a chance to speak in person with key legislators who can help make or break our cause. Therefore, it is my intent to "replace" our normal monthly membership meeting--which is typically open only to paid members--with a meeting with these legislators, open to anyone and everyone who cares anything about seeing better beer in Alabama. Assuming, of course, these men confirm, I'll make a grand announcement to our nearly 200 newsletter subscribers soon.
Also, at some point during the next couple of months there will be two beer dinners in Georgia hosted by Rob Nelson of the Samuel Smith Brewery. One will be a "dry run" and to the second we'll invite several legislators. These will be covered in an article (probably in August) in The Birmingham Magazine.
One more talking point, Harry's lunch with the Governor is set for August 2nd. On the calendar, that is a certainty. Harry's primary intent is to discuss our cause with the Governor and gain his support.
We talked about several other things, but nothing else is concrete enough even to merit mention on the blog yet. As they develop further, I'll post more updates.
Free Beer.
8th Annual International Beer Festival
As i briefly mentioned in my last post, i'll be heading back down to Mobile for the International Beer Festival. Specifically, i'll be driving down Saturday morning, August 27th and meeting up with Todd Hicks at the Brewpub down there. The fest starts at 6pm and goes until 9pm. Here's the calendar listing for it: Main Street Mobile I've never been before, but from what i understand, you pay $12 for a ticket and get to sample 2 ounces each of 60+ different beers in various restaurants and bars in downtown Mobile. Not macro light lager junk, but actual good beers. Sounds like something many FTH supporters would be interested in. I'll hang out at Mr. Jim's and hopefully convince scores of people who've been enjoying all the great beer to slap down $25 for a FTH membership. I'd be happy to have some help in my promotion efforts. Todd lives downtown, and has offered me a place to crash Saturday night. Then i'll get up Sunday and head back to Bham. We'll confirm all details with him, but i'm sure he has room for a few more. We can carpool to save gas, then with the free board, it will be a very, very cheap road trip for a good cause. Start planning to join me on Saturday, August 27th.
Mobile
As I write this, I'm sitting in "The Pub" in downtown Fairhope, enjoying a Black & White (half stout, half wit) made with Beamish and Hoegaarden. I've been in Point Clear since Sunday for a work related conference. Knowing I'd be nearby, I arranged to meet with several members of Mobile's homebrew club, the LA Lagers last night at Mr. Jim Cannon's Brewpub.
Looks like we're going to have strong support in Mobile. I'd like to extend a big thanks to Todd Hicks, brewmaster at the brewpub, for his hospitality.
I'll be heading back down to Mobile in late August to promote FTH at a beer fest. Anyone want to join me?
More later.
posted by Danner at 12:11 PM permanent link 0 comments
Whoops
That's why I called it gossip.
Just got off the phone with Harry, and he assured me larger containers will not be available for sale next month in any new locations. The lifting of the 16 oz limit is indeed on the agenda for the wholesalers association, but it's not happening that fast. Look for more progress on that late summer or early fall.
Don't know what the fate of those Black Sheep beers at AlaCrown will be.
posted by Danner at 11:09 AM permanent link 0 comments
More on the 16 Ounce Issue
I'd like to expand on an issue touched upon in the June Newsletter. This forum is a little less "official" than the newsletter, so I feel at liberty to gossip a bit, rather than limiting myself to only the hardest facts.
Last night, as I was enjoying a rich, malty Fat Tire, my BlackBerry buzzed, notifying me of a new email. I pulled it out of the holster to see the following words typed by Mark Green of Vulcan Beverage: "call me asap. mark 328 6275." Mark's not in the habit of asking me to call him ASAP about trivial matters, so I figured it would be worthwhile to give him a ring. He answered the phone and I asked him what was up. He informed me that he had been by Alabama Crown that day and seen several new 500ml bottles of imports he'd never seen in this state before. Stuff like Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale from Black Sheep Brewery in England. The guys at AlaCrown told him it'd be available "next month."
Let that sink in, folks. There are currently bottles of English beer larger than 16 ounces sitting at a distributor in this state, ready to be sold. Now, I can't promise you that we're going to see it in Jefferson county. There are a few counties in this state that have local regulations allowing containers larger than 16 ounces. They are rural areas, and currently the only beers in large containers sold in those areas are malt liquors and macro light lagers. No specialty beers. I find it tremendously improbable that all of the sudden AlaCrown has decided out of the blue that it can sell English craft beer in rural Alabama. The logical assumption to draw from this information is that somehow the wholesalers know they will soon be able to sell beer in larger bottles in urban areas where previously they were unable to.
As far as I can tell, the 16 ounce limit is effectively history, at least for some areas. What is not clear to me at this moment is 1) How? And 2) Will this apply to the entire state, or will it be limited to certain counties? As I mentioned above, some counties already had local regulations that allowed larger containers to be sold there. It is conceivable that rather than going through the state legislature, something is happening to allow certain new counties to sell these larger containers. I still have no specifics on exactly how this has happened. I'll certainly keep you posted as I get more info.
Although the majority of great beers which are distributed in containers larger than 16 ounces also fall above the 6% limit (think Belgian Trappist Ales, Stone's entire lineup, several from Avery, several from Great Divide, etc.), lifting the container limit will add some great beers to the shelves of stores in this state. The single most obvious brewery we'll see much more of is Rogue. I did a quick scan of BeerAdvocate's Rogue listings and came up with this list of beers in their lineup that are only sold in 22 ounce bottles but which clock in at 6% alcohol or less:
American Amber (though they say on their website they are offering 12 ounces bottles new in 2005... I haven't seen any, have you?)Chocolate Stout
Half-A-Weizen
Honey Cream Ale (used to be here in 12 ounce bottles, but they are discontinuing that size)
Juniper Pale Ale/Yellow Snow Ale
Santa's Private Reserve (mmm, one of my faves)
Shakespeare Stout
Smoke Ale
Furthermore, here's a list of some that simply don't have an ABV listed on BA. Don't know if we'll see these or not. Some may be special editions that don't have national distribution anyway:
Buckwheat Ale
Chamomile Ale
Chipotle Ale
Cliff Hanger Ale
Hop Heaven Ale
Seahorse Pale Ale
St. Rogue Red.
This should also open up nearly everything from Young's Brewery in England. Ever had their Double Chocolate Stout? You should. There are probably quite a few other European beers packaged in 500ml bottles like Young's, and many of those might head our way, too (500ml equals roughly 17 American ounces.. D'oh! ... and just to make things a little more confusing, 1 ounce in the U.S. is equal to 1.04 ounces in the UK). If you know of a 6% or less beer bottled in something larger than 16 American ounces, why not post a comment and let us know what you hope to see soon in Alabama.
Free Beer!
New Flyer
I was just checking the stats on our website, and i see that the new
flyer has been downloaded 31 times since we put it up a few days ago. Good.
Thanks to everyone for taking an interest in helping spread the word.
I'd be very interested in knowing where you guys are distributing these.
If you get a chance, please post a comment here on the blog and let us
know where you've left flyers. Thanks
Welcome to the FTH Blog
Unlike many blogs, this won't merely be an exercise in vanity or chock
full of worthless political commentary. This is a place to find out the
latest on what's happening in the fight to liberate beer in Alabama. Our
hops have remained in shackles for far too long. It's time to free them.
At the bottom of each post, you'll notice three hyperlinks: "permanent
link," "comments," and an email icon. The first will allow you to view
the post in its own page, together with any comments. The second will
pop up a window allowing you to leave a comment, and the third will
allow you to easily email a link to the post to anyone who you think
might be interested in seeing it.
Since we've chosen to allow comments, I want to set some rules for
posting here. In a nutshell, this website is an electronic ambassador
for our cause. Anyone can see it and read it, including those who might
end up voting on whether these laws get changed. Therefore, it is
absolutely imperative that we put forth the best possible image. So, all
comments will be strictly censored for foul language or anything I deem
offensive. No democracy on this matter; you don't get to file a
grievance if you have a comment deleted. I've met many of you in person
and I know you're not the kind of people who would post anything
inappropriate, so I don't anticipate having to delete anything, ever.
But I'm laying down the law just in case.
Now, glad you're here and I hope you'll bookmark this page and check it
often for all the latest updates on Free The Hops.