Free beer? OK, "liberate" it.

Got an unusual fax at the office recently. The Libertarian Party of Alabama wanted us to know that they're all for the efforts of Free the Hops, a group that wants to loosen Alabama's restrictive alcohol laws to allow more beer variety in the state. There's an online version of the press release here.

The Libertatians' support of the effort makes sense. The party's main aim is to reduce government's control over what Libertarians believe should be people's personal choices. Alabama law limits the production and sale of beer containing more than 6 percent alcohol by volume (we're one of three states to do so - as usual keeping company with Mississippi and West Virginia). The law also limits the size of beer containers to no more than 16 ounces. Those rules keep out many craft and imported beer commonly available elsewhere. A bill to increase the alcohol limit to 14.9 percent died in the Legislature last year.

I'm not sure how much the Libertarians' support will help future efforts at reform. A quick look at the rosters of both the Alabama House and Senate confirms my suspicion that there are no Libertarian members in either chamber. No statewide executive offices are held by Libertarians, either.

Still, as a fan of beer variety, I'm happy to see anyone calling for a change in the law.