South Carolina Has Popped Its Cap
Just saw over at the BeerAdvocate forums that today a bill to lift South Carolina's 6% limit on beer has made it through final passage in the SC legislature, and merely awaits the Governor's signature to become law.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. PTCSC didn't exist in any organized form one year ago. Yet today they are celebrating success, which came with considerable help and funding from large wine & beer retail chain Total Wine, who hired the lobbyist that helped get the bill through the legislature. Also in their favor was that not only did they not encounter the level of opposition we have encountered from some beer wholesalers, the lifting of their ABV limit was actually passed as an amendment to a bill protecting the investments the state's wholesalers have in promoting their brands. (That was a mouthful.) So contrary to what we've observed in Alabama, South Carolina's beer wholesalers actively worked to get the ABV bill passed in that state.
In spite of my jealously, I am honestly very happy for South Carolina beer drinkers, and I celebrate with them. All craft beer lovers should rejoice anytime antiquated and harmful restrictions are removed from the sale of beer somewhere in these United States. Beer culture in the South was handed a victory today by the SC legislature, and I thank them.
Think about what this means for us, folks. Sometime (presumably) in the next week or two, the Governor of SC will sign into law the repeal of their 6% limit on beer. That will mean Alabama is no longer one of FOUR states with a 6% limit, but one of only THREE states with a 6% limit. Prohibition-era laws are dropping like flies in the Bible Belt. Let's not let the momentum die with us. Let's keep it going.
Just last week I heard from some folks who are about to launch a grassroots campaign in Mississippi to lift that state's 6% limit. I know there's currently a bill in front of the West Virginia legislature to life that state's 6% limit. We are on the verge of seeing the entire country throw off one of the last remaining vestiges of Prohibition.
It's an exciting time for those of us who appreciate good beer. Let's all raise a glass and toast the success today in South Carolina.
Cheers.
Friday the 13th
I hope to see some of you tonight at the Grand Opening of The J. Clyde. As mentioned in the last newsletter, they are going to have several promotions going on just for FTH members. It should be a lot of fun. It's right next door to the Blue Monkey, on Cobb Lane.
I should be there somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:00pm. Right now my plan is to wear this shirt: http://www.cafepress.com/freethehops.122430789
See you there!
p.s. I'm proud to announce we have surpassed the 1000 subscriber mark on our newsletter. Over 1000 people are now watching the progress of the Gourmet Beer Bill. Pretty cool.
Misuse of the Bible
With permission, I am going to post an email that I received today. I was blind copied when Rev. Prentiss emailed this to Richard Laird, now famous for his praise of Prohibition. Rev. Prentiss currently lives in California, but he has family in Alabama that he still visits, and thus he would like to see The Gourmet Beer Bill succeed. In his email he included the name and address of the church where he works, but I am editing that out of this post as his church has no official position on Free The Hops and we don't want to imply that they do.
Dear Rep Laird, I am a native Alabamian and have been following the debate in Alabama regarding Gourmet Beer. I am not writing to try and persuade you to change your position, but after listening to a recording of your remarks on the floor in opposition to this bill, I do ask, as a Pastor, that you would refrain from misusing the Bible to support your opposition to this Bill.posted by Danner at 10:32 PM permanent link 0 comments
Contrary to your remarks on the floor, the Bible is NOT in opposition to alcohol any more than it is in opposition to money, food, or sex - all of which have proper and improper uses. I know that you feel that your opposition to this bill is indeed a righteous cause, but equating Prohibition with biblical law as you do is a misappropriation of God's word. Certainly, if you claim to be a Christian, the Bible should inform your public policy positions, but when you choose to speak for God in ways that he has not spoken, you are violating the 3rd Commandment and are undermining the Bible's authority.
If you think that you should oppose this bill, then do so, but I implore you not to manipulate Scripture to support your position. And, incidentally, if you oppose this bill for moral reasons, you should also begin a moral crusade to outlaw wine and all forms of hard liquor on the same grounds.
-rev. brian prentiss
Associate Pastor -- [name omitted] Presbyterian Church
A Press Release
Here is a copy of a press release that will be sent to media outlets across the state today.
Gourmet Beer Bill Stalled by Misinformation Espoused by Some State Representatives
Press Release
Birmingham, AL April 9, 2007 --Contrary to some reports, the Gourmet Beer Bill was not "killed" last Tuesday. Short just 3 votes, it narrowly missed passing the preliminary BIR (Budget Isolation Resolution) vote with the needed 3/5 majority. Bills must pass the higher threshold BIR vote before being sent to the floor, where only a simple majority is needed to pass the bill. Since the Gourmet Beer Bill did not make it to a floor vote, it is still alive, and a clear majority of Representatives in the AL House are now on record as supporting it. Proponents of the bill now plan to move its companion bill, SB211, through the Senate and bring it back before the House for a second attempt at recovering the 3 missing votes needed to pass the BIR. The bill is being pushed by grassroots organization Free The Hops. After listening to the House debate preceding the BIR vote, members of Free The Hops realized they have not sufficiently educated members of the AL legislature on the nature of the bill and the effects it would have on the state. Especially disturbing were misinformed comments from Rep. Richard Laird (D, 37th District, Chambers, Clay and Randolph) and Rep. DuWayne Bridges (R, 38th District, Chambers, Lee). Both Rep. Laird and Rep. Bridges made incorrect assertions about the nature of the Gourmet Beer Bill and its effects on Alabama that are simply not supported by the facts. Rep. Laird openly admitted to not having read the bill he was arguing against in front of the House of Representatives. Which partly explains his statement, "It's bad enough that we have beer now with 4, 5, 6 percent alcohol content; but it'll be worse when it's 17, 18, maybe as high as 80 percent alcohol content." Laird proceeded to decry the evils of beer with 80% alcohol content, and rightly so. Unfortunately for Free The Hops, it was a straw man argument that may have confused some members of the House into voting No on the BIR. 80% beer doesn't exist anywhere; it is physically impossible to make; and regardless, the Gourmet Beer Bill seeks to impose a cap of 14.9% ABV on beer--far, far below the phantom 80% beer Rep. Laird condemned. If only Laird had read the bill before speaking out against it. Later during the course of the BIR debate Rep. Bridges spoke out and further confused the House with unfounded assertions about the effect HB195 would have on alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Bridges first claimed "40 percent of deaths in the state of Alabama are alcohol-related." Presumably he meant "alcohol-related traffic fatalities," as the leading cause of death in Alabama is heart disease, at 28%. Assuming Bridges did mean that 40% of traffic fatalities are alcohol-related, he was rounding up to help bolster his argument, as the most recent data available from MADD lists that figure at 37%. However, Bridges' rounding of verifiable data might be excusable if he hadn't proceeded to make up bogus statistics on the spot, just to make people afraid of the Gourmet Beer Bill. Regarding the bill's likely effect on alcohol-related traffic fatalities he said, "This means, instead of 40 percent, it would probably go to 60 or 80 percent because it'll increase the alcohol content." The fact is that in 46 other states with no 6% limit on alcohol in beer, none of them have a 60% or 80% alcohol-related traffic fatality rate. Not one. Data (again from MADD) reveals no correlation whatsoever between the legality of higher alcohol beer and rates of alcohol-related fatalities. The data proves Rep. Bridges wrong. It appears that many people have the misconception that standard cheap lagers such as those currently found in every convenience store in every wet county in the state will be affected by the Gourmet Beer Bill--suddenly jumping to 14% ABV, yet remaining cheap and widely available. That is not true. Again, 46 other states do not limit alcohol in beer to 6%. All of the cheap lagers in all the convenience stores in those states have the same 4-6% alcohol content as the cheap beers in Alabama, even though no law is restricting them. High alcohol beer is expensive to produce, and the additional ingredients naturally produce strong flavors completely unlike typical light lagers. After the Gourmet Beer Bill passes, Bud, Miller, Coors, and all similar beers will continue to be exactly as they are under current law, just as they are in 46 other states.
________________________________________________________________________
For a chart illustrating the high cost of higher alcohol beer, see:
http://www.freethehops.org/media/NormalizedCost.pdf
For a 4 minute abridged version of the BIR debate from April 3rd, click the following link:
http://betweenthelinks.com/2007/04/04/one-last-word-about-the-beer-bill/
For alcohol-related traffic fatality statistics, see:
http://madd.org/stats/11087
For cause-of-death statistics, see:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/statab/unpubd/mortabs/lcwk9_10.htm
For the complete audio from the BIR debate on the Gourmet Beer Bill, click one of the following links:
http://www.freethehops.org/media/AL_House_04032007.mp3
http://www.belayman.com/fth/AL_House_04032007.mp3
http://atlantabeer.com/AL_House_04032007.mp3
The above files are identical. They are mirrored on multiple servers. If you have difficulty accessing one link, please try another.
Alabama is Ready
Just a quick note. My post from last night was also sent out as a newsletter. So between the page hits on the site today and the newsletter, I think word has been spread pretty far and wide that we are still in this race to win.
It's interesting to note that in the last 24 hours we have received more PayPal notifications of new people becoming paid members of Free The Hops than in any one day in history. That I can remember. Not only that, but one generous and active supporter donated $500 at one pop today. That's not from a business, folks. That's from one concerned citizen who knows the Gourmet Beer Bill is good for Alabama and who wants to help ensure its success.
Our Senate bill will move soon, it will hit the House, and you'll see this thing become law. Keep watching, and keep making phone calls and sending emails.
JFYI, I'm about to be interviewed for the CBS 42 10pm news. They seem sympathetic, so I think I'll get a chance to set the record straight.
A Setback, and Renewed Determination
HB195 did not make the floor for a vote today. An odd little corner of our constitution known as the Budget Isolation Resolution (BIR) kept our bill off the floor. More on that later, but in a nutshell, our state constitution mandates that at any point before the legislature has passed a state budget, every bill must first pass a BIR vote before it goes for a "real" vote. And while a bill can pass a "real" vote with a simple majority, it must pass a BIR vote with a 3/5 majority. In other words, you need MORE votes to pass a BIR than you need to pass the floor. Therefore, even though we had a solid majority of votes today, it was not sufficient to pass the BIR, and thus we never made the House floor.
Especially surprising and troubling was that certain Representatives who told their constituents they would support HB195 voted "No" on the BIR today. They voted against us. They lied to their constituents. This is a deep matter I will explore in depth, and tirelessly so. I will not rest until the truth is exposed. The fact that AL Representatives lied to their constituents about how they would vote on a particular bill is a matter far bigger than the Gourmet Beer Bill.
Realize that our House bill was not killed. It can still be put back on the calendar and we can get another shot. If we can convince a handful of today's "NO" votes to abstain or vote yes, this is worthwhile. We are FAR from finished this year.
There are a LOT of questions floating around. A lot of emotions. A lot of comments. A lot of fact-based thoughts. A lot of everything for those of us who started this day thinking we'd see HB195 pass the House. I simply don't have time to answer every question and address every comment. There is too much to be done.
But know this: I am more energetic and more committed than I have ever been to seeing the 6% limit raised.
Our House bill was not killed today; it simply did not make the floor for a vote. Our Senate bill is still very alive. Our local bills are still very alive. We just have a lot of work to do, me especially. And the result will be over 6% beer hitting the shelves somewhere in Alabama in 2007. We are FAR from finished this year.
Mark my words. We will see some level of success this year, and by that I mean Alabama citizens will have access to high gravity beer somewhere in this state. I have a LOT of conversations to have in the coming days. It's mind boggling. You don't even want to think about how much time I'm going to be spending on this. My apologies in advance to my family.
Just know that I will be covered up with my day job + working my butt off to bring better beer to Alabama with every free second I have. I won't have time to address many individual questions or concerns. But you'll appreciate the end result.
Free the hops, indeed.
posted by Danner at 9:53 PM permanent link 7 comments