Sue's letter to the Sun
Published in early May, I think...
Once again it has been proved that we have the best government that money can buy. It must have been money. The bill to amend the allowable beer bottle sizes was tabled without allowing it to be voted upon. The person responsible, John Thrasher, was not seeking reelection, so it wasn't political. The reasons given for not passing it were so ludicrous as to be insulting, so it must have been money. I mean, how can you possibly think Floridians don't want to be confused with all those choices when we have been convinced that paying $5 more a month on our phone bill to promote choices is a good thing. How can you possibly think that allowing odd size bottles less than 32 ounces could encourage reckless drinking and drunkenness. We already have malt liquor in a 32 ounce bottles, and it has too much alcohol to even call a beer. Pitchers and kegs are the norm at bars and frat parties not beers that come in liters. How is a smaller than 12 ounce bottle of Abbey Ale at close to $4.00 a bottle going to encourage someone to get drunk? How is a microbrewery beer that comes in a 22 ounce bottle going to promote drunkenness when it costs twice what a Budweiser costs? When you can buy a whole six-pack or twelve-pack to take home and consume, or a keg if you are a serious drunk, how is having a German Alt beer or a Bier de Garde at outrageous prices going to create drunkeness? It won't, obviously, but this is the arguement given by the lobbyists for the beer distributors and producers who threw the money to get this bill stopped.
If the CDC's latest research is true, we blew a good chance to decrease the incidence of gonorreah in Florida, since cheap beer is directly related to gonorreah and the beers that the change would have allowed to be sold in Florida are not cheap. What we already have is cheap ... and bland, and tasteless, and not what a lot of us Floridians would like to see available. And the lack of variety in Florida is hurting more than my desire for variety, it hurts your tax base. After all, those people who want to drink really good beer have learned that they can make an alt beer or a bier de garde in their own homes for less than the cost of Budweiser in many cases, and the state collects nothing on the alcohol, since the ingredients are the same as in a loaf of bread; grain, yeast and an herb called hops, and these are sold as food. If you think this loss is a drop in the bucket, consider this. I am a recognized BJCP beer judge. I just came from Tallahassee from a beer contest where there were over 400 different beers submitted at $6 per entry to be judged. In another week or so I will be off to Orlando to judge one where they expect 600 beers. Each beer in the contest represents about two and a half cases of beer that were brewed with that batch. At $6 per entry, only a brewer's very best beer will be entered. Only a very small proportion of brewers are even interested in contests so there is an incredible amount of beer being brewed in this state tax free.
Most people who taste a good homebrew will not go back to lawnmower beer. Guinness is one of the fastest growing beers in the state. If this one Irish dry stout has made so many people give up their Buds, imagine what a selection of Belgian ales would do, or a bier de garde, or a Flanders Red or an Oud bruin. This is why the bottle law was squashed. They don't want you to taste these beers and you never will, unless you make it yourself. Find the nearest home brew club and start brewing the good stuff, tax free, since they won't allow you to buy it. Join the Hogtown Brewers, who can usually be found at the Market Street Pub on a Saturday night, or take one of the courses in brewing offered by Bray's Brewing Supply. See what the people of South Carolina and Georgia can drink that you can't, and show your disapproval of the way our government is run by making your own and not paying the tax. And, just in case you decide that you really do like the style of Budweiser and the other American lagers, you can make one a lot cheaper and better tasting at home. Relax, have a homebrew.
And, John, may all your beers be flat and your chips soggy. We'll do better next year when you are gone.
Hmm, maybe we can get a law passed that restricts trade with China to just things that are red. We could still call it free trade and at least that restriction would actually have some support from the people.
Sue Smith
Micanopy, Fl
Sue builds houses with her husband when she is not off judging beers. Its a tough job, but someone has to do it. She can be reached at SueandWayne@excite.com.