Newsday: Booze

[nacho]

Also, I seem to remember some "late night" beer store in Bethesda that we'd always try to hit. It wasn't truly late night, just some smart business owner who realized there was money to be made from UofM frat boys and drunk coke heads.

What's late night?  Because there's that old place that's always been there open till 2am... Great place, too.

[RottingCorpse]

I think that's the place I'm talking about.

[nacho]

Brickskeller's closing! 

http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2010/12/brickskeller-closing-dec-18th/

Of course, their quality has been sliding downhill for years. The last three times I went and ordered weird beers, they'd all skunked.  I'd go through two or three before I found one that was still good. Seems like, even when people have eight million beers to choose from, they always err on the side of caution and stick to the brands they know. Brickskeller, meanwhile, just leaves bottles rotting for years until some fool comes along and orders African Penis Beer or what the fuck ever.

Bah.

[nacho]

Today's big news is that Sam Adams has been working overtimes behind the scenes at the Brewers Association -- which defines who is a "small" craft brewer and when they move into the big times.

Of course, Sam Adams has the primary marketing campaign that they're small, craft brewed, etc., and not the giant mass-producing conglomerate that they are.

Originally, the definition for a craft brewery was up to 2 million barrels a year. Sam Adams is currently at 6 million barrels, and growing. So now the cap is 6 million.

When you think of a "craft brewery," do you imagine six million barrels a year? Would Sam Adams even come to anyone's mind. We all know they've moved well beyond their origins. It's not like anyone believes the lie. It's just them fucking with the rules so they can maintain their marketing theme.

[RottingCorpse]

Yeah, I don't see Sam Adam's as a small brewery anymore.

[nacho]

Well, luckily they have enough money and lawyers to FORCE us to see them that way....and, in the process, open the doors for other corporate brewers to adopt the label.

[nacho]

Ooh... My Anglophilia may soon have an outlet: Coming soon to H St --

http://www.thequeenvicdc.com/home.html

WARNING: Loud Sex Pistols music as soon as you go to that page.

Not only do they say they're going to be authentic, but they're also going to have "British groceries."

[nacho]

Been reading about the MD alcohol "sin tax" that's coming down the pipe...  Flying Dog is organizing against it:

http://www.flyingdognews.com/2011/02/22/special-announcement-maryland-alcohol-tax-alert/

Seems pretty hopeless, though.

[RottingCorpse]

The Puritans are empowered.

[RottingCorpse]

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=119162

Explicit Flying Dog beer label issue comes to a head

Frederick's Flying Dog Brewery isn't about to take the decision of a Michigan commission lying down.
Denied the right to sell its best-selling beer, Raging Bitch, in Michigan because its liquor board took offense to its name and its label, the Frederick brewery has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Flying Dog wants a judge to reverse a ban on its brew. The business also wants the judge to order damages for its lost sales.

No number was specified in the lawsuit filed Friday, said Erin Biles, Flying Dog's public relations manager.

CEO Jim Caruso said Tuesday he has 30 days to identify damages. An economist, he plans to give the judge a thorough report.

In its suit, Flying Dog alleges its First Amendment rights to free speech were violated when the commission denied the company a license to sell Raging Bitch, a Belgian-style India pale ale launched to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary in 2010.

The beer has since become a regular part of the company's lineup, Biles said.

The label includes a drawing of a dog by artist Ralph Steadman, accompanied by language the liquor commissioners labeled as "detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare."

The label reads: "Two inflammatory words ... one wild drink. Nectar imprisoned in a bottle. Let it out. It is cruel to keep a wild animal locked up. Uncap it. Release it ... stand back!! Wallow in its golden glow in a glass beneath a white foaming head. Remember, enjoying a RAGING BITCH, unleashed, untamed, unbridled -- and in heat -- is pure GONZO!! It has taken 20 years to get from there to here. Enjoy!"

Caruso and attorney Alan Gura announced their suit Monday at a news conference at a bar near the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing.

"For months (the bar owner) has had a tap handle waiting for the beer he can't get," Caruso said Tuesday.

The action by the Michigan commission smacks of state censorship, he said.

"We are so passionate about the First Amendment," Caruso said. "This is just wrong, to suppress the freedom of creative expression. When there's smoke under the door, the fire's not far behind with constitutional rights."

He said the liquor regulators had apparently anointed themselves "the thought police."

Sharon Martin, director of licensing for the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, on Tuesday said she could not comment on the suit because "we haven't received anything yet."

One of about 18 beers available through Flying Dog at any given time, Raging Bitch is distributed in 27 states, the District of Columbia and Europe, Biles said.

Depending on what happens in Michigan, the state of New Hampshire could find itself in the doghouse next.

Biles said the lone liquor commissioner in the small New England state chose not to grant Flying Dog a license to sell the beer.

"That's a little bit of a different situation," Caruso said Tuesday. "He just did not reply. I think if we resubmit later, we will be approved."

Flush with calls inquiring about his lawsuit, Caruso said he was shocked by what happened in Michigan, when their application was first denied and when they were denied again on appeal.

"Their blatant personal dislike for totally innocuous language ... it was simply a display of outrageous behavior," he said.

[nacho]

Flying Dog's in the news!

We have "Backyard Ale" to look forward to this summer...

[nacho]

The new Modern Drunkard is out...featuring an abridged version of this article:

http://www.brianmclark.com/texts/why_I_drink.html

So, you know, it you're bored like me... There you go.

[nacho]

OMG! This is like the Berlin Wall coming down.

Maryland oenophiles rejoice! Now you don’t even have to leave your house or put on clothes to get your chardonnay or pinot noir. Yesterday, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed House Bill 1175, which allows direct shipment of wine to consumers in Maryland. Maryland wine drinkers can now have up to 18 cases a year shipped directly to their doorsteps, starting July 1st. The measure was largely uncontroversial, having passed the State Senate 47-0 on Friday and the House 135-1 on March 25th.

The measure puts Maryland close on par with the District and Virginia, both of which allow direct shipments of all types of liquor, as well as about 3 dozen other states. Although, as Fedward discussed last week, DC is extremely open when it comes to importing such libations. Critics employed the “think of the children” defense, but faced stiff resistance from both consumer groups and vineyards.

Here's the solitary nay:

http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa12285.html

[Cassander]

How do they make sure you only get 18 cases a year?  Put big score marks on your front door?

[nacho]

Montgomery County is a Soviet Republic man. You probably go on a watch list or something.