Last year the Gourmet Beer Bill was given the "Shroud Award" for the "deadest bill of the session".

This year members and supporters of Free the Hops rallied around magnificently and carried out a sustained effort of education on the issues, such that every single legislator in the Alabama Legislature heard about Gourmet Beer and knew what the real issues were.

We were failed by the Senate. They spent the entire session in petty bickering, being too busy scoring political points to do the job we pay them to do. An entire legislative session squandered in point-scoring instead of dealing with the very grave legislative issues that were before them.

The senate didn't deal with the education budget. They didn't deal with removing the 4% grocery tax. They didn't deal with the smoking ban. They didn't deal with a bill to prevent large corporations avoiding paying Alabama taxes. They didn't deal with a bill to exempt the Federal Stimulus Check from Alabama taxation.

It is time for you, the people of Alabama, to feel outraged at this. The senators behaved in a way that brings shame on the state, and they need to learn that their actions have consequences on their own political careers.

Let me be blunt here: the issue is not that the senators failed to deal with Gourmet Beer. The issue is that they failed you, the people of Alabama - and that failure needs to be punished.

Call, email, or write your senator. Tell them how you feel about their dismal failure to achieve anything this year. Tell them how you feel about their poor representation of you on the national political field. Tell them how you feel about them confirming everyone's prejudices about our great state.

Tell them you will remember that all they achieved in 2007 was to vote themselves a huge pay rise.

Above all, tell them that in 2010 you will remember their failures in 2007 and 2008. And that voluntary failure is not acceptable.

Find your senator: http://capwiz.com/state-al/dbq/zs.dbq

Stuart Carter, President, Free the Hops | Alabamians for Specialty Beer

Labels: beer

Dear member or supporter of Free the Hops,

Unfortunately, an unexpected controversy in the Alabama Senate Thursday caused several hours of stalling tactics and the Gourmet Beer Bill was delayed until Monday, May 19. The controversy had nothing to do with us. We were just caught in the crossfire. May 19 is our last chance to pass Gourmet Beer this year as it is the last day of the regular session.

We should continue to look at the positive. This gives you more time to keep the pressure on your state senator and encourage your friends, co-workers, family, and everyone else to do the same. You have done great work so far. Thanks to your phone calls and emails last week and over the years, we now have 16 senators who have publicly stated their support for our bill, 7 more who are "probable" Yes votes, and several more who are undecided. Only a couple of senators are absolutely opposed to us, which is incredible work in Alabama.

We need to keep up the good work. We believe we already have the votes to pass, but we need to make sure they realize this is an important issue to their constituents, with broad support, that needs to be addressed this year. Because of the rules of the Senate, any senator can delay our bill in a variety of ways. Time is running out, and I want to make sure we're voted on as soon as possible. Even if your senator is a definite Yes vote, continue to communicate with him or her. When we passed the House of Representatives this year, some of our supporting legislators worked behind the scenes to keep their colleagues from delaying the vote. The more support we have, even among senators who already plan to vote Yes, the better.

Several people who have contacted me after calling their senator said it took around 2-3 minutes at most and most of them talked to a secretary. It's really very simple and it's our best weapon. We don't have millions of dollars in campaign money or a powerful union, but we do have a lot of dedicated voters.

Here's a suggestion if you don't know what to say:

"Senator, my name is (name) and I live in your district. I just wanted to call to let you know I would like you to vote yes on HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill. Thank you, and have a great day."

Some of you have been able to engage in more conversation, but letting them know that you are a constituent and you support the Gourmet Beer Bill is all that I'm asking for. Thank you for all you've done so far, and for continuing your advocacy.

Together, we can Free the Hops!

Stuart Carter
President
Free the Hops | Alabamians for Specialty Beer

Labels: beer

OK folks, I need your ideas/genius/brainfarts. So I'm really enjoying this beer-brewing silliness and have decided it might be fun to come up with some labels to put on the beer I force my friends to drink. The labels will need a super-cool logo, and that's where you come in.

The name of the beer is "Crooked Brew" and I need a suitable logo to match the kickassery of this name. Do you have any ideas? When my dad ran for circuit court judge a few years back he made some signs that included a shepherd's staff (or 'crook') cleverly hidden in the design. Maybe something like that would be cool. Anyway, send me your ideas. Beer will reward the idea I end up using.

Logo ideas that include skulls, power tools, weapons, or my dog Scout will be considered first. Logos that include all four may be accepted sight unseen. Logos that include references to amoebic dysentery, cryptosporidium or any other water (or beer)-borne illness will not be considered.

Labels: beer

A message from Stuart Carter, President, Free the Hops

Members and supporters of Free The Hops,

Nothing is certain in Alabama politics, but we are confident that our lobbyist can get HB196 on the Senate's special order calendar tomorrow, which is the next-to-last day of the 2008 session. Passing a Senate floor vote is the final hurdle before the Gourmet Beer Bill can be sent to the Governor to sign it into law. It all comes down to this moment.

Although we take nothing for granted and encourage everyone to make a final call and email to your own Senator to encourage him or her to vote Yes on HB196, we have good reason to believe we have the votes needed for passage. Unfortunately, we have gotten word that one Senator may be prepared to stop our bill from ever coming up for a vote. Senator Hank Erwin has said he is inclined to filibuster the Gourmet Beer Bill because of his religious convictions. He is fundamentally opposed to all "pro-alcohol" legislation, period.

Because the end of the session is close at hand, the Senate as a whole has no patience for filibusters at this point. If anyone threatens a filibuster, they will most likely carry over the controversial bill and move on, possibly ending our chances of success this year.

So we are asking ALL of our members to call Hank Erwin today or early tomorrow (before 10am). Even if you are not one of his constituents, his threat to filibuster could prevent your own Senator from ever having a chance to cast a vote on the bill, which is not fair. BE POLITE. It is absolutely imperative that we all take the high road and be models of Christian charity and civility. But he needs to know that Alabamians are overwhelmingly in favor of HB196 and we want him to allow it to come up for a vote.

All you need to say is that you support HB196, and while you respect his convictions and understand he will vote No, you would simply like him to allow the bill to be voted on. Keep it short and simple.

He will be in the State House today and in the morning. His office number is (334) 242-7873. You can also send an email to senatorerwin@aol.com, but phone calls will have the biggest impact.

Labels: beer

On June 8 there will be a celebration for Arnold of Soissons at the Crook crib. Come one, come all.

Bene dic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi: et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti, ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corporis, et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Labels: beer

I'm bottling my latest batch of ale tonight so I thought I'd invoke an old (and official) blessing from the Rituale Romanum:

Bene+dic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi: et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti, ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corporis, et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

(The + represents the Sign of the Cross.)

For those of you less versed in Latin, this translates as:

"Bless, O Lord, this creature beer, that Thou hast been pleased to bring forth from the sweetness of the grain: that it might be a salutary remedy for the human race: and grant by the invocation of Thy holy name, that, whosoever drinks of it may obtain health of body and a sure safeguard for the soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen." *

According to this guy, Pope John XXIII in 1962 expressly allowed this blessing to be used in any pub, bar, alehouse, inn, tavern or saloon (but a club needs special permission!)

UPDATE: I stand corrected. The Pope didn't specifically address this blessing. The guy was making a jocular reference to the "Summorum Pontificum" which was issued by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 to allow priests greater freedom in using certain liturgical rites. I missed the subtle Catholic humor. Thanks for the correction.

* Some claim the following translation is more accurate, but I leave that to the linguists:

"Our lager,
which art in barrels,
hallowed be thy drink,
thy will be drunk, (I will be drunk),
at home as I am in the tavern.
Give us this day our foamy head,
and forgive us our spillages,
as we forgive those who spill against us,
and lead us not to incarceration,
but deliver us from hangovers,
for thine is the beer,
the bitter and the lager,
forever and ever,
Barmen."

Labels: beer

Great article in the Los Angeles Times about Alabama's wacky beer laws and the current legislation aimed at changing them.

Labels: beer

This is an email I just received. Good news may be on the horizon. Get involved and you can quit drinking all that cheap denatured swill.

Members and supporters of Free the Hops:
HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill, passed the House yesterday. The fact that it passed is entirely due to all the hard work you put in to contacting your house representatives - we passed the BIR by one vote over the 3/5 majority needed, then passed the bill by 6 votes - if you had not all worked so diligently to speak to your representatives, this may have had a very different outcome!

The next step is to go to the Senate. We will be discussing this with our lobbyist to work out a timescale for this to happen, and what you can do to help pass the Senate bill, which may not happen for another few weeks.

Thank you again - we are one step closer to Freeing the Hops!

Stuart Carter
President
Free the Hops | Alabamians for Specialty Beer

Labels: beer

I pass on this message to all readers in Alabama:

Members and supporters of Free the Hops,

As some of you already know, our House ABV Bill - HB196 - came out of committee yesterday. The companion Senate Bill, SB116, came out of committee today.

These bills are intended to increase the allowable alcohol in beer to 13.9% ABV in the state. The next step for our bills is to be voted on in the House and the Senate, which could be as early as this Tuesday but probably won't happen until mid-March. I will be sure to update everyone once we know the date.

For an overview of where we are with all of our bills, please take a look at: http://www.freethehops.org/featuredcontent/thesteps.php

How you can help pass our House ABV bill

Please visit the Alabama legislature web site:

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/

there is a box on the left hand side of the screen where you can type in your ZIP code, which will tell you who your House Representative and Senator are. Please call your Representative to let them know you support the bill and would like to see it pass in the House. A telephone call is *the* most effective way to let them know how much you care about the bill!

How you can help pass our Senate ABV and Home Brewing bills

Please call your Senator (see link above) and let them know you support SB116 (the Senate ABV Bill) and SB355 (the Home Brewing Bill), and that you would like your Senator to help pass these bills. Again, a telephone call is *the* most effective way to let them know how much you care about the bill!

I cannot stress this enough: if you, personally, call your House Rep about HB196 (the Gourmet Beer Bill), AND call your Senator about SB116 (Gourmet Beer Bill) and SB355 (Home Brewing Bill), we will free the hops this year! If you are unable to call your Representative or Senator, you can also email or write to them via the Legislature.

Stuart Carter
President
Free the Hops | Alabamians for Specialty Beer

Labels: beer

Well last night I managed to brew my first batch of what will hopefully be beer. I only overboiled the wort once and it wasn't major, but the house now has a sickly-sweet odor permeating everything. Maybe in two weeks the wonderful beer will help me forget the fact that my house smells like a brewery.

Actually, it was a rather easy process, despite my constant fear of contamination. Next time I'm going to clean everything first and make sure it completely dries before starting the boil. I was worried that the fermentor bucket was still damp with cleaning solution when I poured the wort in, which is bad because the soap will kill the yeast. I didn't see any initial fermentation when I went to bed and was sure I had screwed it all up.

It turns out that the beer doesn't start fermenting for 8-24 hours after the yeast is added. Therefore, it was a joyous sight this morning when I looked at my little "bubbler" and saw gas escaping, which means that my little yeasties are working. Steady on, fellas. Should this process interest any of you, I've started a little brewblog at http://www.mcdowellcrook.com/brewjournal/ so I can keep a journal of my brews. If nothing else, you'll be able to learn when the beer is ready so you can drop by unexpectedly.

UPDATE: Speaking of alcohol, I just read that the Guinness Book of World's Records had to remove all entries related to drinking, for obvious reasons. But you can read some of them here.

Labels: beer

As this upcoming weekend is one of few where MP and I have nothing planned, I've decided to bite the (silver) bullet and brew a batch of beer. I've been collecting implements and wisdom for a few months now, and its time to do it. If anyone would like to assist, we will be testing a few examples of the sort of brew I'd like to end up with. We will be hearty and of good cheer!

Beer, happy Produce of our Isle
Can sinewy Strength impart,
And wearied with Fatigue and Toil
Can cheer each manly Heart.
Labour and Art upheld by Thee
Successfully advance,
We quaff Thy balmy Juice with Glee
And Water leave to France.
Genius of Health, thy grateful Taste
Rivals the Cup of Jove,
And warms each English generous Breast
With Liberty and Love!

Labels: beer