Sweet relief

I had my first beer in nearly a week last night. I've been laid up at home since Monday, recovering from some minor surgery, and didn't want to consume while popping pain meds. It was also my first chance to get away from the house, so the Mrs. and I headed for dinner at the Vault, on Jacksonville's downtown square. A pint of Sweetwater 420 was just the tonic I needed to start feeling normal again (I'd asked for a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan, but they were out. 420's fine by me).

I hadn't been by the Vault in a while. My last time there they were still serving all their draft in 12-ounce mugs or over-sized weizen glasses. I'm happy to see they've added proper pints (well, the 16-ounce variety anyway) to the menu. The manager tells me an expansion is in the works, with plans for many more taps to further their commitment to craft beer. I'm glad to raise a glass to that!

About those teenagers ...

All the legislatin' earlier this week has me thinking about a main argument of those against raising Alabama's 6-percent alcohol-by-volume limit for beer. Teenagers, they say, will get their hands on gourmet beers and guzzle them down like Kool-Aid, leading to Lord-knows-what type of other dangerous behavior.

First off, I'm not sure why other people's inability to keep their children from breaking the law should limit my choice of legal adult beverages. But given that some teens do wind up drinking beer, I'll entertain the following question: Are kids gonna to flock to higher-alcohol gourmet brews if they become legal in Alabama? The answer: not likely, because while they may be dumb, most teenagers aren't stupid.

Let's say I'm a 17-year-old with nothing constructive to do on Friday night. I've got $12 in my pocket, and an older sister who's willing to pop into the local convenience store to pick up something for me and three buddies to party with. Let's also say it's 2009, and last year the Legislature saw fit to raise the allowed ABV limit to 13.9 percent (this could happen) and distributors are now stocking America's finest craft beers in every corner store (I wish, but don't count on it), including the gas station where my sister will be buying the beer.

I know that the station stocks at least these two beers: 24-can cases of Natural Light, and four-bottle packs of Dogfish Head 90 Minute India Pale Ale. Both cost between $9 and $12. Which do I tell my sister to buy? Let's analyze:

24 12-ounce cans of Natural Light at 4.2 percent alcohol by volume (according to BeerAdvocate.com). That's six for me, and six for each of my friends. Or four 12-ounce bottles of the 90 Minute, at 9 percent ABV. That's one bottle for each of us.

If we're really planning to party I'll tell her to buy the Natty Light, won't I? One bottle of beer each won't fuel a fiesta for very long, after all, compared to the full six-pack apiece we'd get with the regular stuff.

But what if we're taken in by the label on the Dogfish Head, with its alluring mention of more alcohol? At 9 percent ABV, the four 12-ounce bottles contain a total of 4.32 ounces of alcohol. My buddies and I will sip 1.08 ounces of alcohol each, assuming the IPA's super-bitter taste doesn't make us spit it right back out.

By contrast, if sis gets us the Natty, at the much-lower 4.2 percent ABV, there's 12.096 ounces of alcohol in the entire case. My friends and I each drink 3.024 ounces of alcohol as we chug down our six light, "easy-to-drink" brewskis.

That's right. We wind up with three times as much alcohol in our systems drinking the "low-alcohol" Natural Light as we would with the "high-alcohol" 90 Minute IPA, for around the same price.

Now, I hope Alabama's parents can find a way to teach their children responsible behavior, including waiting until they're old enough to consume alcohol. But assuming those parents need the government's help keeping kids away from beer, it's not the expensive, hard-to-find, high-alcohol gourmet craft brews I'd be worried about. Of course, it's already illegal for kids to buy alcohol, and they're doing it anyway. I'm not sure how making it illegal for adults to buy the beer they like makes kids any safer.

Today's column

On the heels of yesterday's legislatin' in Montgomery, here's a bit about the efforts of folks to change another restrictive beer-related law. Also available in today's Star and at the paper's Web site.

Pitcher This: Help for brew-it-yourselfers

03-05-2008

There are food fans who turn their noses up at anything that comes from a box, can or jar.

Pre-packaged spaghetti sauce? Give 'em a few ripe tomatoes and fresh basil — plus, for the hardcore, flour and eggs for the pasta — and they'll make you forget Paul Newman's known for anything but Cool Hand Luke.

And there are those who feel the same way when it comes to beer.

Buy it in bottles? Bah. Give 'em some malted grain, a handful of hops and a few weeks for yeast to work magic and you'll wonder why commercial brewers even bother.

Well, naturally, they bother because not everyone shares the passion homebrewers do for crafting it on their own.

Roughly half a million Americans make their own beer, according to the American Homebrewers Association, which itself has about 1,500 members.

While plenty of those folks are here in Alabama, by practicing their hobby they're unfortunately breaking state law. Making beer or any alcohol without a license from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is banned.

As usual when it comes to alcohol laws, Alabama is in a tiny minority of states that still restrict homebrewing. Congress made it legal in 1978 (it was allowed before Prohibition) and let states take it from there. To date, according to the AHA, you can brew without fear in 45 states.

Of course, plenty of people are brewing here. While most aren't doing it in total, fearful secrecy, many still worry, though the state hasn't enforced the law broadly in decades, according to John Little, founder of the Auburn Brew Club.

"They shouldn't have to worry, because really, we're not doing anything wrong," says Little, whose club claims 25 brewing members and another 40 who are interested in learning the art.

Little and others are advocating for a bill in the Legislature that would allow home beer, wine and cider production for personal use. So far, the Senate Tourism & Marketing Committee hasn't touched the proposal.

Little began brewing just over three years ago. He says he's never brewed the same style twice, and has made his way through nearly 70 of the 80-or-so beer styles recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program. His goal is to brew them all. (He describes himself as "very compulsive.")

Little says he's drawn to the creative and scientific aspects of making his own. Those points draw lots of professional types to brewing, according to Little. He's an attorney. The Auburn club claims engineers, biologists, pharmacists and others.

Little is hopeful legislators will learn that such folks are the typical homebrewers. Irresponsible drunkards won't invest the money or time most homebrewers put into homemade beer, he says.

"It's not like you're producing cheap beer," he says. "It's a very expensive hobby."

Of course, if you're worried about the cost, there's always the stuff that comes in bottles.

Keep your eye on the bill

The fella I couldn't identify below (I allied him to the railroad and then retail industry below, probably incorrectly), wound up offering an amendment to HB196 that would prohibit low-cost, high-alcohol beer from being sold. He was worried about it getting into the hands of teenagers. I would counter that it's already illegal for teens to buy alcohol, and that no additional laws are needed to keep it from them.

Still, his amendment may have been accepted. Hard to tell right now. Keep your eyes on HB196 to see what it says in the end.

EDIT: I may have spoken too soon. Looks like the bill may not have gotten any changes. Here's a link to the roll-call vote so you can see how your rep cast his ballot. I'm disappointed to see that Jacksonville's Lea Fite voted "no."

It's passed!

HB196 passed!

EDIT: I think the vote was 48-42. Close, but enough to get by. Bring on the Senate.

Free the Hops' message board is acting screwy. Must be a lot of folks trying to celebrate online right now. And rightly so!

One hurdle down, another yet to clear today

The bill to increase the allowed ABV limit on beer sold in Alabama has passed the Budget Isolation Resolution vote, where a similar bill stumbled in the House of Representatives last year. That means it's now finally up for debate, looking for an up-or-down vote on the proposal itself.

It's now being discussed on the floor (I think), and you can hear it live via the House Web site.

I'm not sure who's talking now, but he's not making much sense. He said that we don't need more alcohol for the young people to drink. Dude, the legal drinking age in this state is 21. He also said that "you can buy anything you want tonight at the state store." Except craft beer, friend.

Now a representative of the Alabama Railroad Association (huh? or was it "Retail?") is asking who will set the standards for what beer will be allowed under this bill. Sir, isn't that exactly what the Legislature is now considering? He's also saying he wants protections against "cheap, high-alcohol beer" flooding the state. Bullcrap. How does the 13.9-percent beer allowed under this bill stack up against the 80-percent-plus alcohol in lquor the state government itself will sell me at my local ABC store?

Warning friends, this is difficult to listen to.

EDIT: I think I understand that the nonsensical gentleman I mentioned before is Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery. He's now sparring with the bill's sponsor, Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville. He's really off the rails now, somehow bringing the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 into his argument against the bill. Jackson didn't help a whole lot, (sorta) getting him onto that track by saying Free the Hops represented "Germans" who asked him to introduce the bill. For the record, FTH is a group of Alabamans who want access to the world's finest beers.

House votes on beer bill today

It's still a ways from becoming law, but if today's vote in the Alabama House of Representatives on HB196 passes, it'll be one big step farther than things got last year. The next hurdle is clearing the Senate, where an identical bill already has been approved in committee. Then it's up to Gov. Bob Riley to sign, and beer fans in Alabama can raise one big toast and enjoy more of the world's best beer.

Want to listen in on the debate? The Legislature has a live audio page for the House, here. All you need is a Web browser and Windows Media Player. According to the House rules, they'll get cranked up around 10 a.m.

EDIT: Looks like the House will actually convene at 1 p.m. today. Just a few more hours until the big moment. (Typing with my fingers crossed.)