Wikileaks has gained notoriety in the past few weeks for leaking confidential journals regarding the war (that was supposed to be over by now) in Afghanistan.  I moseyed on over and checked out the documents myself.   Boring.  I supposed I should have dug deeper, because nestled in the controversy was this gem of a story.  One of my least favorite newspapers has the scoop. Mortars, Guns, Machettes....egh, the insurgents just find them all too boring of tools for killing invasive American Geologists.  Poison beer, now that's fun!  That's right, apparently the Wikileak documents purport that the ISI (Afghan spy agency) and insurgents actually intended on using the method with regularity.  Americans do love them some beer, after all.  And one American Geologists claims to have been a victim: James Yeager, an American geologist who advised Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines, tells the Monitor he returned to his residence in Kabul to find it had been burgled. The intruder took money from a drawer and left behind a bottle of Corona beer. The Corona bottle sat on his counter for the next two weeks Yeager says, because Corona is one of his least favorite beers. He finally opened it during a going away party as ...

As I glanced through my Google News Feed this morning, I came across this article reporting on a series of stings in Memphis, Tennessee in which various beer purveyors were set up in a sting by police, and cited for various infractions, namely selling beer without asking for ID.  In all, such stings as this has yielded 73 arrests in 2010 for the county of Shelby from these "raids." Reading the article made my blood boil a bit.  Why? I too, was set up by Christian County, MO police in a similar raid some years ago.  First allow me to tell  my story, and then set up the illogical nature of these raids. I was working as bar tender at a Ruby Tuesday on a VERY busy night.  I had no time to converse with my customers and was slinging drinks at a furious pace.  This is great for the patrons...in a rush I tend to over-pour.  In walked a young, attractive girl who orders something retarded like a Midouri Sour.  She ordered the drink in a flirtatious manner.  Even though I'm busy, I say, "No problem...let me see your ID." She rummages through her purse and then states, "I must have left ...

Remember that $787 Billion Stimulus package that congress passed in 2009?  Under the scrutinizing eye, it was in fact a tax, not a stimulus...the United States has yet to feel the pain of payback; however.  Regardless, free taxpayer money seems to be synonymous with "stimulus" these days.  What does a yet unpaid for tax stimulate?  Apparently not jobs, since the U.S. Unemployment Rate is hovering high still (higher than before the bills passage) at around 9.5% nationwide. I say all this not to lead into a political discussion, but a beer discussion.  Reading through my news feeder, a gripping headline caught my eye:  Beer Stimulus:  Can Hops and Barley Create Jobs? The use of the term Stimulus forced me into the guts of the article, as modern context led me to think the federal government was giving out future tax money to the beer industry.  Such isn't the case, the term is being used improperly in regards to a tax break. The benefit of tax breaks is that they DO encourage long lasting residual income for the populous and the taxman.  The problem with tax breaks, is that someone, somewhere, from some niche or industry or socio-economic strata writhes in anger at ...

I nearly choked on my craft beer as I read this news-blog article's title and ensuing body: Beer tax:  Why nail Pabst and not 'high falutin' microbrews? Are Washington's Democratic state lawmakers microbrew drinking, Merlot swilling elitists? At a news conference Tuesday Gov. Chris Gregoire was asked to comment on the relative fairness of taxing "macro brews" - your Pabst Blue Ribbons, Budweisers and Schmidts of the world - while exempting "microbrews" and wine. The former brews, it was suggested, are generally enjoyed by blue collar types. The latter are the tipples of choice of yuppie liberals. Hold on there Sir Stereotype.  If there is any factual reporting beyond this opening catastrophe, it will have been drowned out by the loudness of your bias.  Let me introduce myself,  a craft/microbrew drinker.  I work a dead end job that doesn't pay well.  I drive a minivan. That minivan is packed with five kids.  I have an unused masters degree in theology.  I have a copy of Rothbard's, "For A New Liberty" sitting next to my elbow as I type on my aged HP computer. Hardly High Falutin.  The reality is, the vast majority of  micro brew drinkers is quite the opposite.  I have yet to meet ...

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." -- Pericles, 430 B.C. Not much has changed in 2400 years since this ancient promoter of democracy penned those words.  I am bewildered every time I hear the complacent citizen state:  "I don't care about politics."  It is hard for me to grasp how someone can care so little about a system and the people within it that are passing laws that have such an intimate impact on their lives. When it comes to the alcohol industry, the amalgam of both state and federal regulations form a dense jungle that not only make it difficult for brewers to to do business, but for consumers to purchase their product.  The majority of the time, alcohol legislation is very reactionary in nature and does little to no good in resolving the problem it is addressing. Such is the case with the California proposal to ban caffeinated brew.  Legislatures, as they see it, who perceive themselves as appointed watchdogs for the citizens, feel that caffeinated brews are detrimental to the well being of the consumer.  The consumer may feel that the stimulant effect of caffeine are counter-effective ...

Across the board mirroring most industries, alcohol sales were down in 2009, beer being no exception with a drop in sales of about 2%.  Craft beer sales fared well despite the economic slump, with a sharp sales boost of 10.3% and a volume increase of 7.2%, according to the Brewers Association.  That's in influx of 613,992 additional barrels of quality, hand produced craft beer into the beer market.  Mosey on over to their site for more detailed information. In their article, the Brewer's Association states: In 2009, craft brewers represented 4.3 percent of volume and 6.9 percent of retail dollars for the total U.S. beer category. With the total U.S. beer industry representing an estimated retail dollar value of $101 billion, the Brewers Association estimates the actual dollar sales figure from craft brewers in 2009 was $7 billion, up from $6.3 billion in 2008. In the grand scheme of things, craft beer is still the needle in the haystack, but these figures have some profound implications.  First of all, Americans are drinking considerably less beer.  A nationwide drop of two percent is no small margin.  Second, some are clearly transmigrating to different suds.  And thirdly, and most importantly to me, there is room ...

Alcohol laws are a confusing bunch, as they are usually based on pragmatic reactions to social evils and aren't well thought out.  We see this in every sector, not just in the realm of booze.  In fact, just the other day I read an article in which some lobbyist group, while applauding the recent federal concern and proposal to make cell phone usage and texting illegal, said that our reps in Washington weren't going far enough, but needed to impose fierce penalties on folks eating, brushing their teeth, phat sitting, and anything deemed distracting.  The social ill:  accidents caused by distracted driving.  The solution:  Intervention and government micro managing.  Well shoot, why don't we just have the Government drive our cars for us? Extreme interventionism, while well intentioned doesn't always work.  Does anyone remember the prohibition, Al Capone, and Bugs Moran?  The problem:  prevalent drunkenness.  The solution:  Industry interventionism (prohibition)  The result:  Drunkenness (still), organized crime, lost tax funding, and an increase in home brewing (hey, at least SOMETHING positive resulted!) And here I must insert the obligatory disclaimer.  I am not advocating any political/partisan opinion (I try to remain aloof on this site) nor am I advocating anarchy and/or suggesting that ...

Back when I was a kid, my folks always purchased their soda in the bottle.  After all the pop had been guzzled, the six empty bottles were returned to the store, where a refund was given per soda bottle.  Not only did this put some money back in the hands of my cash stricken parents, it helped out the bottler (I've been told bottles are more cheaply made with recycled glass than raw products), and reduced landfills. Does anyone remember this process? While soda bottles, along with 8 tracks and jelly shoes, are but a memory, beer bottles are still thriving.  I would guess that 99.8% of the beer I purchase at the store utilizes the bottle to deliver the sweet malty goodness to my glass.  It sure would be nice to get a deposit back!  I would guess that most beer consumers don't recycle their bottles (I do--mine are reused for to house home brewed beer).  With "going green" all the rage these days, it seems like every brewery is doing something for the environment.  While I see brewers utilizing solar power, wind power, and implementing water conservation methods, I never see any brewery tackling the bottle problem.  So I had ...

I now live about a 40 minute drive away from The Bruery.  Nate told us a while back to keep an eye on these guys, and I heeded that admonition.  Getting into my car, I drove through the Southern California mountains reflecting on all the highs and lows that beer has experienced during this past century, knowing that the mountain top is in sight.  If one brewery is at the peak of the mountains, it is The Bruery. When I arrived, I spoke to Jonas, who deals with distribution and sales, petted the dog who hangs out in the office, and said hello to Tyler (in charge of Brewing Operations/Brew House).  I'd spoken to Tyler and Rachel (the latter is the wife of Patrick Rue, the CEO of the company) on a previous occasion, so I'd already been ingratiated to them through my dashing personality. Tyler told me that he was headed to pick up lunch for everybody.  Almost every aspect of The Bruery feels like the beholder is watching a family experience at work.  Since Tyler was leaving to get lunch and Patrick had run somewhere for a minute, I went a few doors down.  Where did I go? Would you ...

A brief moment of indiscretion, with the slip of a tongue, President Obama catapulted a percolating controversy into an international debacle.  What was the Gates/Crowley affair suddenly, with an unchecked honest opinion, became the Gates/Crowley/Obama affair and the incident, the arrest of the Harvard professor began to rise in import.  When it came out that Obama, whether seriously or flippantly, agreed to set down and have a beer with the two in order to avoid costly lawsuits, the story became a sensation, trumping the health care debate, the Sotomayor hearings, a historical deficit, and wars and rumors of wars. While I think we as a culture may at times pride controversy over cataclysm, but at the same time, our virtuous history pokes through and we hope for unbridled reconciliation, and what better vehicle for healing, than a good brew.  After all, beer is America's favorite beverage, played pivotal roles in the America's formative history, and was brewed in at the hands of our first president. The question now arises:  "What frothy varieties will serve as peace-pipe at the Obama residence?"  It is not only the craft beer community asking this question.  Across the blogosphere political pundits and curious citizens alike are prodding ...