strongale.org Brewing it up!

One step closer for those of us that live in Utah!

February 27, 2008

Dear Utah Homebrewers, BA Member Breweries & Beer Enthusiasts:

House Bill 425, sponsored by Representative Christine Johnson, which
would legalize homebrewing in the state of Utah was passed in the Utah
House of Representatives today by a vote of 55 to 13!

The bill now moves on to the Senate, where it could go to a vote before the end of this week or early next week.

Please
help us ensure this bill becomes law by contacting the Utah Senator for
your district and politely urging him/her to vote in favor of HB 425.
Follow this link to find out who your Senator is and how to contact
him/her: http://se15.utahsenate.org/perl/spage/distmapal.pl.

Senators listen to their constituents – by contacting your Senator, you can make a significant impression.

Here are some points you may wish to share with your Senator:

• Homebrewing is a long-standing part of American tradition dating back
  to the early-colonial period. Many of our nation’s founders, including
  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin were
  homebrewers.

• The Federal Government legalized homebrewing thirty years ago in 1978
  for the first time since prohibition made it illegal in 1919.
  Homebrewing is now legal in 45 states. Utah residents should have the
  right to legally brew beer/mead/wine at home as do the vast majority of
  Americans.
• Homebrewers are upstanding citizens and responsible consumers of alcohol.

Be sure to mention where you live, so that they know you are one of their constituents.

See http://le.utah.gov/~2008/bills/hbillint/hb0425s01.htm for the text of HB 425.

Thank you for your support for Utah homebrewers and HB 425, we are now
very close to legalizing homebrewing in Utah! Please forward this
message on to any other Utah residents that you feel would be
interested in supporting this bill.

Sincerely,

Gary Glass
Director
American Homebrewers Association
gary@brewersassociation.org
www.beertown.org

 

phillyBurbs has an article on the impact that a worldwide shortage of hops, and rising prices form malted barley has had on craft beer prices in the United States. Examples of price increases from retailers include a 15.4% increase in the price of a case of Victory Hop Devil, and a 12.3 % increase in the price of a case of Magic Hat No. 9 compared to last months prices at Beer-A-Rama on Levittown Parkway in Tullytown. These increase are reportedly in response increases in wholesale costs and distributor costs.

Pretty cool! convert your US keg tap to a European tap for a mere $6.

link

I found this article about brewing and drinking strong beers yesterday over on the San Francisco Chronicle while searching for beer related information on google. Interestingly, it did not come up when I searched for "strong ale," but it is all about it. Jim Clarke gives a nice portrayal of the style with several interesting quotes from American and Belgian brewers about brewing and evaluating high alcohol beer. Interestingly, there is a wide spectrum of views on the benefit, philosophy, and suitability of these beers. For example, Jim Koch views the process of brewing very high alcohol beer as a departure from traditional styles, with new rules, tools, and focus. In contrast Sam Calagione believes that it is possible to brew traditional style beers with higher alcohol levels. The discussion continues, looking at the merits of high alcohol beers in regard to customer demand, and then finishes with a list of stats and tasting notes for a variety of beers mentioned throughout.