Mobile Brewer and Brewpub Survive!
Just received an email from Todd Hicks. He's ok, and it looks like the Brewpub will pull through as well.
Here is the text of his email:
We are ok. Power was lost at 6 am before the storm hit. We are still without power (3 pm Wednesday Aug 31) and it could be up to 3 weeks before power is restored is all Mobile areas. Ala Power thinks that will be up tonight possibly, but it is raining. I put a generator online today at home to keep the beer cold and us comfortable. However, we blew the keg of Oktoberfest early last night. Downtown looks rough with a few buildings partially fallen down, trees down all over, and deep flooding of water street and the tunnels. Brewery has a lot of damage to equipment on the roof and no power. If we get power back tonight or tomorrow we will be able to save most of the food and probably open with a limited offering. The beer should be ok. I will fill you in of beerfest stuff later. Todd
Katrina's Devastation
I would like to express my sympathy to everyone hit hard by Katrina. Of course millions of people have been devastated, but i can't help but turn my thoughts specifically to Todd Hicks. His house is (was?) smack dab in the middle of downtown Mobile, an area hit very hard by that natural disaster.
It's a strange feeling. I woke up in Todd's house Sunday morning. It's very possible that by Monday morning there was nothing left of it. I don't know because i haven't been able to get in touch with him. His home phone just rings and rings, and i get a busy signal when i dial his cell phone. So i have no way of talking to him. Needless to say, i'm very worried.
Much less important, though still a cause for concern, is the Cannon Brewpub down there. Todd told us he'd planned to do a ton of brewing last week, but he held off to see what Katrina was going to do. He didn't want to waste the ingredients brewing hundreds of gallons beer if they were just going to be ruined when the electricity went out. I never dreamed at the time that the Brewpub itself might not make it at all. Again, i don't know. I haven't heard any reports and can't get in touch with anyone.
I will continue to try to reach Todd. If anyone reading this has any information about Todd, the brewpub, or any Mobile members of FTH, please email me and let me know. I will post again as soon as i have any updates.
If you believe in prayer, pray. If you don't, just be thinking about those whose lives are left in shambles by this. And everyone be on the lookout for ways you can take action to help those in need now.
Thanks.
Mobile/Cannon Brewpub/Todd Hicks
What a great weekend. Lee, Jason, and I all had a blast at the Mobile Beer Fest Saturday, even though we didn't technically go through the Fest itself. We just hung out at the Brewpub, helped register people for the Fest, and enjoyed Todd's great beer.
We introduced a lot of folks to FTH, signed a few up, and heard assurances from many more that they were supportive, would check out the website, and probably sign up for membership. I personally talked for quite a while to Ben Meisler, founder and president of the LA Lagers homebrew club, and he shared some of his private stash with me. I think Ben may be able to help us organize some future events down in Mobile. He's obviously a beer lover, and even tried his hand at the Brewpub business once upon a time.
And I'm very thankful for Todd's hospitality. He let us crash at his place Saturday night. He also shared with us an insane homebrew of his that is one of the most unique and amazing beers i've ever tasted. And he took us to a "Luau" put on by some of his beer-loving friends where they graciously shared their own homebrew and some of the best smoked pork i've ever had.
We had a great time and spread the good word about FTH. Everyone at Mr. Jim's Cannon Brewpub was very kind and they are big supporters of FTH. I hope all of you will go out of your way to support that important establishment. Alabama needs good local craft beer, and Todd's beers fit the bill.
Meeting Recap
Well, where to begin? We had a great crowd last night and many were faces i'd never seen before. Thanks to everyone who made the effort to be there, and a special note of thanks is due to everyone who bought a membership and joined up last night. I think we're now at 99 members. That's great.
Those of you who were there may be wondering why only Senator French was there when we advertised it as a meeting with legislators (plural). The simple fact is that the others we talked to were busy and couldn't make it. But in my opinion that worked to our advantage, not detriment. French knows how Montgomery works, he understands our cause, he understands our opposition, and he understands how we can best go about this to maximize our chance of success and minimize our difficulties. He spoke at length about what he believes we should do to get a bill introduced and get it passed. His advice was a tremendous help to us. And he graciously answered a wide array of questions from many different people. I doubt the evening would have progressed so smoothly and we would have gotten as much useful information if the conversation had been split between three or four people rather than one.
Folks, we are taking this to the next level. I'm not going to publish many specifics from the meeting last night because i don't want to tip our hand just yet. However, Senator French gave me a lot to chew on and we have a lot to work on in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for details on action items to be released in the very near future. We're about to hit the big time.
More Good News
An important piece of advice Gov. Riley gave us yesterday was, "you need to talk to Dan Ireland." Ireland heads up the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP). ALCAP is largely anti-alcohol, but their focus is working to prevent under age drinking and drug abuse. Riley informed us that if we could get Ireland to agree to forego opposition to our cause, we would have smooth sailing getting a bill through the legislature.
More than anyone else, Ireland has the potential to be our Mark Creech (see Pop The Cap's blog archives for more info), only with more influence. The Governor was kind enough to give us Ireland's phone number and state that he (Riley) told us to call him (Ireland). Very kind.
So Harry spoke to Ireland today. No firm comittments, but he was reasonable. I respect Mr. Ireland's convictions and I understand his view of alcohol in general even though we may disagree on some points. I'm also very glad that he was not reactionary when Harry spoke with him and he did not express unconditional opposition without hearing us out. For now he has not expressed any opposition to us. As I said, he made no comittment one way or the other. But now he knows our intentions are honorable; that we are not simply trying to increase the amount of alcohol in this state. He will watch our progress, and unless a legitimate reason to oppose us surfaces, he will remain neutral.
I think it was definitely wise to approach him before we have a bill before the legislature. Now he has heard us out directly, before any misinformation reaches him. He has had a chance to form a valid opinion based on legitimate information, first hand.
Looks like that potential pitfall may have been headed off at the pass.
posted by Danner at 6:00 PM permanent link 1 comments
Lunch
Success. The toughest part of the meeting was trying to explain the difference between BMC and gourmet beer. Like many Americans, Gov Riley had no concept of craft beer. We just now made him aware of it, and explained the analogy to wine.
He stated that it seemed to him if someone could go to a restaurant and order a glass of wine with 13% or 14% alcohol, they ought to have the option of ordering a beer of the same nature. He flat out said he could see no reason to oppose us.
So there you have it. The governor has indicated his willingness to sign the bill when it passes the legislature. He even gave us an important tip on how to go about overcoming opposition from anti-alcohol groups.
We are rolling.
posted by Danner at 1:00 PM permanent link 2 comments
The Governor
Harry has invited me to his lunch meeting with the Governor. We're scheduled to meet with Gov. Riley today at 12:00, in Montgomery.
Hopefully you've all heard by now that NC Governor Easley signed the Pop The Cap Bill into law. GA's Governor Perdue signed the GWCB bill before that. Harry and i hope Gov. Riley will commit to signing a bill to reform AL's beer laws once it passes in the legislature.
NC had a tense few days where the PTC bill awaited a signature, a veto, or no action by Gov. Easley. Hopefully we'll be spared that drama here in AL and Gov. Riley will sign immediately.
I'll post again this evening to let y'all know how it went.
More Suspense
Finally got to hear some (not all) of the details of today's meeting. Unfortunately, I can't publicly offer you much in the way of those details. In Harry's words, things are "fluid" right now, and it could hurt the cause for me to disclose specifics at this time.
Generally, the meeting was long (around four hours) and there was some drama. There were hard copies of http://www.freethehops.org/ printed out and distributed at the meeting. Nothing was discussed other than the alcohol and container limits on beer. Free The Hops played a big role in that, and is poised to continue playing a big role moving forward.
Make no mistake. It is consumer interest in better beer that is driving this whole thing. And the most devout beer aficionados in Alabama are members of Free The Hops. The ones who aren't members yet soon will be.
There was no vote today by the wholesalers. It is slated to be voted on in September, in about three weeks. More drama will unfold over the next few weeks that could shape the outcome of that vote.
I hope everyone reading this will mark these words: we, the members of Free The Hops, won't rest until both the alcohol and container limits on beer in Alabama are lifted. We're off to a strong start, and now there's no stopping until we can buy Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine, Stone Imperial Russian Stout, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Westmalle Dubbel, and Duchesse De Bourgogne here in Alabama. We're not going to take "no" for an answer.
Suspense
Just got off the phone with Harry. He just got out of the wholesalers meeting. He didn't have time to elaborate. He simply said there is some good. Some bad. And some opportunity. He thinks "we can do this" but not without some "pains." Pretty cryptic, I know.
He is going to call me back as soon as he can check his schedule and we are going to decide on a time to meet ASAP. I'll post again as soon as I have more info. Right now I'm at Vulcan, about to pick up some new membership registrations from Mark (blogging from my BlackBerry).
posted by Danner at 12:44 PM permanent link 0 comments
Forget Arkansas
Well, our beer laws make us even more of an oddball state than previously thought. We're not one of six states with a 6% ABV limit; we're one of five. And come Monday morning, we'll be one of four. We just changed the home page of this site to reflect this, and we'll change it again first thing Monday once the Pop The Cap bill officially becomes law and North Carolina departs our infamous ranks.
Apparently Arkansas's good name was unecessarily drug through the mud by Georgians for World Class Beer, Pop The Cap, and Free The Hops, as we all lumped them in with the states having a 6% ABV limit. I hope you'll forgive us, Arkansas, as it was an honest mistake. After all, your state code is a bit misleading on this topic. See for yourself. Here's the piece of Arkansas law that confused us:
3-5-202(3) "Beer" means any fermented liquor made from malt or any substitute therefor and having an alcoholic content not in excess of five percent (5%) by weight;
5% ABW is nearly equal to 6% ABV. There you have it. Beer is limited to (approximately) 6% ABV. End of story. Or so we all thought. What we missed was that Arkansas treats high gravity beer similarly to Tennessee. Both states allow high gravity beer to be sold, but they license, tax, and regulate it like liquor. Doesn't matter that it's not actually liquor. As far as those state governments are concerned, it might as well be. Further down in their code, you'll find this definition (emphasis mine):
3-5-202(9) "Intoxicating liquor" means vinous, ardent, malt fermented liquor or distilled spirits with an alcoholic content in excess of five percent (5%) by weight;
"Malt" refers to malted grain, the most fundamental ingredient of beer, and of course fermentation is the process by which the sugars from the grain are converted to alcohol. A process markedly different from the distillation which produces hard liquor. But i digress.
So to sum up, in a period of less than a week we will have gone from proclaiming ourselves one of only six states with a 6% ABV limit on beer to one of only four. We are serious oddballs when it comes to beer legislation. It's time to Free The Hops.
A Note to Reporters
Not sure why i'm writing this post now; this has been bugging me for a while. I guess i feel like i need to set the record straight before any more news stories appear about FTH.
First, i would like to thank everyone who has done a story on FTH thus far. Every single piece of publicity has been fair and sufficiently accurate on the key points. So far, no one has been hostile or attempted to misrepresent our cause in the media, which is a relief.
Nevertheless, there is one widely-held misconception out there (even among some who appreciate quality beer) which i think is significant enough to merit attention on freethehops.org. It has surfaced in more than one news story thus far, and i fear it may continue to persist if i don't quash it now. I'm referring to the misconception that all really "good" beer is imported from overseas, and thus FTH is battling to get more "imports" into Alabama. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
Don't get me wrong. Europe produces some amazing beers. There is a reason that countries like Germany, Belgium, and England are famous for their beer. There is a reason that Belgian Trappist Ales are legendary among those who appreciate fine beer. But truthfully, the best beer in the world is brewed right here in the United States. While i will be very happy to see the day when Chimay is found on the shelves of beer stores in Alabama, i will be even happier the day Dogfish Head beers are found on the shelves of stores in this state. And Stone. And Avery. And Great Divide. And the list just goes on.
Sadly, the bland, watery nature of American macro lagers has led to a long-standing categorization of beer in the minds of most Americans: Domestic vs. Import. You've all seen it countless times in restaurants that don't boast a huge beer selection. They have (maybe) 7 or 8 beers, nicely divided into domestics and imports. Domestics are $3.50. Imports are $4.00. Of course what the average Joe doesn't realize is that every single beer on that list, whether domestic or import, is nearly exactly the same style, a super pale, light-bodied lager.
Think about that for just a moment. There are over 100 different styles of beer in the world. Yet a majority of American restaurants only carry one style (and not a particularly good one, either). No wonder beer is so widely misunderstood in this country.
I recently made a "wish list" of breweries i hope will one day have distribution in Alabama. Some of these are very, very unlikely to end up on shelves here because they only have regional distribution far out West or way up North. But some of these have much larger distribution areas and some are even found in Tennessee and/or Georgia and/or Florida. So many will definitely make appearances here after these laws are changed. Take a moment to glance at the websites of just a short list of some of the larger craft breweries in America, which produce the best beer on earth:
Stone Brewing - http://www.stonebrew.com/tasting/overview.html
Great Divide Brewing - http://www.greatdivide.com/thebeers/
Avery Brewing - http://www.averybrewing.com/avery/Home
Brooklyn Brewery - http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/OurBeers/OurBeers.asp
Brewery Ommegang - http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?mcat=1&scat=0
North Coast Brewing - http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/brews.htm
Harpoon Brewery - http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/beers/index.htm
Bear Republic - http://www.bearrepublic.com/frameset.html
Allagash - http://www.allagash.com/beers.html
Victory Brewing - http://www.victorybeer.com/Beers/Beers.htm
Three Floyds - http://www.threefloyds.com/
Troutbrook Brewing - http://www.troutbrookbeer.com/
Heavyweight Brewing - http://heavyweight-brewing.com/beers.html
Kalamazoo Brewing - http://www.bellsbeer.com/brands.asp
Goose Island - http://www.gooseisland.com/beers/beers.html
Great Lakes Brewing - http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/beerOurBeersRG.php
Smuttynose Brewing - http://www.smuttynose.com/pages/beers.html
Anderson Valley Brewing - http://www.avbc.com/beers/beers.html
AleSmith Brewing - http://alesmith.com/home/index.html
Founders Brewing - http://www.foundersbrewing.com/beer_styles.php
Deschutes Brewery - http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/Brews/default.aspx
Folks, those are the beers i'm fighting for. Not imports. The most creative, most innovative, most flavorful, highest quality beer on the planet is made right here in the good ol' US of A. So please, if you would, don't say we're trying to get more "imports" in Alabama.
Thanks.
Congrats to PTC
I'd like to personally congratulate everyone who joined in Pop The Cap's efforts to lift North Carolina's 6% ABV limit on beer. Yesterday, their bill was passed in the NC Senate and now awaits a signature by the Governor of that state. If the Governor doesn't sign within 10 days, the bill automatically becomes law. See http://www.popthecap.org/blog.html for details.
They did it! I'm happy for them. And i'm happy for us, because the dominoes are falling. First Ohio. Then Georgia. Now North Carolina. We're next. It's proof that legislators in other states have realized how inane the Prohibition era laws are, and are repealing them left and right. It makes perfect sense for Alabama to follow in the footsteps of the these other states and allow all of the world's best beers to be sold here.
So please join me in celebrating with North Carolinians on their great victory in the battle against the oppression of beer. They liberated their hops, now we will liberate ours.
BIG NEWS
Wow.
Wow. I'm still in shock.
Just got off the phone with Harry. Acting on behalf of the President of the Alabama Wholesale Beer Association, Executive Director Donna Alexander just called a meeting of the Association for middle of next week. The meeting will be hosted by Birmingham Budweiser, and there are two items on the agenda: the ABV limit and the container limit on beer in Alabama. According to Harry, Donna is using freethehops.org to set the agenda. This website is providing the material for discussion.
Harry spoke with the manager of Birmingham Budweiser, and it currently appears they are not going to oppose it.
We are now faced with a possibility that was literally unthinkable a year ago: the beer wholesalers may themselves introduce legislation to remove both limits this year.
Let that sink in.
Nothing's official yet. The meeting still has to take place. As the old adage warns, don't count your chickens before they hatch. At this point, this info still qualifies as gossip, thus i'm posting to the blog rather than sending out a newsletter. Even assuming the wholesalers do indeed vote to introduce legislation on both limits, there still may be much to be done by FTH. Lots of strategizing in our future.
Right now, i'm cautiously optimistic. And i thank all of you for your support. Obviously, if the Executive Director of the Wholesale Association is using this website for the purpose of setting the agenda for a meeting, we are having an impact on these issues in Alabama. Stay tuned for details.
FYI
As of this morning, we now have 76 members of Free The Hops and 216 people signed up for the monthly newsletter.
And though the nature of the RSVPs makes it impossible to predict exactly how many will be at our August 17th meeting with legislators, my current best estimate stands at 70. Some of those are coming from Huntsville and i've even had one committment from Mobile. If someone can make it from Mobile, i certainly hope that everyone in North Alabama who cares about beer will make every effort to be there. If you haven't already, be sure to let me know at danner@freethehops.org.
Also, the Beer Tasting Saturday was great. Had about 60 people there and we sampled some amazing beers. A list of the beers that made an appearance is now on our Yahoo! Group.