Pop The Cap!

[detlefchef]

In case you don't know, there's a movement afoot to lift the alcohol limit on beer in NC to 15% from 6%. Many of the world's best beers aren't available in our state because of the obsolete law. The biggest resistance, of course, has come from lobbies supported by Miller and the other big boys. Anything to keep the playing field uneven in their advantage is worth their effort to fight for. Well, frankly, I'd rather not have my choices limited so they can make a few more bucks.

Yesterday I spoke with some people who are spearheading the effort and they tell me that the most important step now is to get Paul Miller from the otherside to the middle. They've already convinced a few undecideds to vote in favor of lifting, now they just need to pull Mr. Miller from the darkside.

Please e-mail him at paulmi@ncleg.net to express your opinion. (Unless, of course, you don't want the cap lifted, then please keep your thoughts to yourself ;) )

[bandregg]

15% ? Feh.

I just brought back a wonderful ale from D.C. "The Beast" by Avery Brewing out of Colorado that is a huge 18.1%.

Seriously though, I'm sending my missive to the legislator right away.

[BrentKulman]

15% ? Feh.

I just brought back a wonderful ale from D.C. "The Beast" by Avery Brewing out of Colorado that is a huge 18.1%.

Seriously though, I'm sending my missive to the legislator right away.

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I just went to an Avery tasting in Charlotte yesterday featuring Adam Avery himself.

The last beer we tasted was "The Beast," which sadly will not be available in NC even if the cap is raised to 15%. It was one of my three favorites along with "The Reverend" and "The Maharaja."

[seahawg]

Just sent mine in.

Dear Representative Miller,

I ask you to support the proposed legislation to raise the alcohol limit for beer in North Carolina. This would allow a much wider selection of specialty beers. It is ridiculous that I can purchase 190 proof grain alcohol with an alcohol content of 95%, but I can't buy a specialty beer with an alcohol content above 6%.

A friend just returned from a beer tasting in Charlotte, where a beer from Avery Brewing of Colorado was served. It had an alcohol content of 18.1%, and was judged one of the best. Even at that, it was half the alcohol content of a mixed drink.

The 15% proposed cap is still restrictive, but will expand our choices of good beer at least ten fold.

Please lend this measure your support.

Thanks,

Doug Smith

[chefdg]

Why do you need a higher alcohol content? It does not make the beer taste any better. Highlands Pale Ale has all the flavor you could want from a beer, and brewed in North Cackalackie.

[Stephanie Wallace]

Why do you need a higher alcohol content?  It does not make the beer taste any better.  Highlands Pale Ale has all the flavor you could want from a beer, and brewed in North Cackalackie.

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Many styles of beer cannot be brewed properly and stay under the 6% mark; our choices are very limited. Just like wine (or chocolate or coffee or anything else) there are many variations in flavor and structure; exploring variety is better than any single brew (or chocolate or wine...) will ever be.

[BrentKulman]

Why do you need a higher alcohol content?  It does not make the beer taste any better.  Highlands Pale Ale has all the flavor you could want from a beer, and brewed in North Cackalackie.

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There are close to 100 recognized beer styles that are brewed and, being a lover of both wine and beer, I can tell you that the variety of beer styles is much more diverse than the variety of wine styles. The higher alcohol limits have nothing to do with making a Pale Ale taste better but they are essential in the production of many other styles.

Let me also add that some beers, such as barleywines and certain Belgian styles, benefit from aging, the same as fine wine. The higher alcohol content is an essential element in the aging process.

For more information:

http://popthecap.org/index.php?module=page..._position=17:17

If wine were subject to the same restrictions, your comment would be the equivalent of saying that limiting red wines to cabernets and white wines to chardonnays would provide all the flavor that a drinker could want from a wine.

Edited April 22, 2005 by Brent Kulman (log)

[detlefchef]

As someone who used to be a wine buyer for a restaurant in Idaho, I can speak first hand about the effects a simillar law on wine. Any alcoholic product over 14% could only be brought in by the state (that law changed, I believe, in the late 90s). So basically, they didn't get brought in. Thus, distributors who carried, say, Ridge Vineyards, could only bring in the lighter wines they made. No Lytton Springs Zin, well basically no Ridge Zin at all. It was absolutely annoying. Do you realize how many great wines were unavailable to me? These wines weren't great because they were 14.1, they were just great wines that happened to be 14.1.

Were there plenty of good wines available? Certainly. But why the limit?

Funny thing is, as little sense as that law made, it still made more than ours. That limit kept all fortified wines out of the grocery stores and into the state ABC stores (who as we know keep shorter hours and can be harder to find). Thus, at least the puritans and bible thumpers got the desired effect of making ripple harder to get. Hooray! Around here, however, you can go down to Sam's Quik Shop and buy MD 20/20 by the case just about any time but Sunday morning. However, some beer geek? He's gonna have to bootleg his $10 a bottle South Dakota Barleywine in from VA.

To the person who wrote that it's no big deal: Are you kidding me? Do you typically volunteer to have your rights as a consumer limited for no particually good reason? Because you seem to be getting along just fine anyway? The reason in favor of lifting the cap is because there are exceptional beers that we can't get in NC. Kindly explain the fine logic behind keeping it.

Edited April 22, 2005 by detlefchef (log)

[jm chen]

A nice pro-CapPopping article (disclosure: written by one of my friends) can be found here. He makes a good case for why 6% is just silly in the current environment, but why it must have made sense initially -- beer was easy to get, liquor was not, so they decided to legislate what most people had easy access to.

[TomV]

Thank you for your support of Pop the Cap. Soon the effort will start in the Senate, watch www.popthe cap.org/ for more info.

For those of you who don't get this whole beer thing, I would suggest you are missing out. Beer has more flavor vectors than wine does and can be matched to damn near any food. If you think beer is only pale yellow fizzy water, you have a whole world to discover.

TMV

[Varmint]

Folks, some believe that we can't discuss politics on the eG Forums, and that's not true: we can discuss politics when they're related to food. This issue is a perfect example of "fair game" for discussion. However, where we draw the line is when the eG Forums are used to directly push a certain position. That is, we can't use the eG Forums to initiate a letter-writing campaign to get the law changed, nor can the Forums be used to push any particular agenda. Debate the issues. Explain why the status quo might be so stupid. But don't take the next step on these Forums by posting "what to do next."

Thanks for your understanding.

[TomV]

Pop the Cap Update:

Last week, the bill was to come up for a vote on the Senate floor. One senator is attempting to table the bill which would delay passage for a year or kill the bill entirely.

If you care about this issue, learn more about the latest at http://www.popthecap.org/news/july05/

To me the issue boils down to the fact NC is one of just 6 states that have such a restrictive cap on beer. GA and OH recently lifted their 6% caps without any negaitve effect. It was a total non-issue. I'd like to see NC join the vast majority of the nation and allow consumers free access to buy the beers they want to buy.

[beergirl]

Moderator's note: This post was merged here from a new thread started by beergirl in the Beer forum: The bill passed today!

The limit will be 15% instead of 6%. I believe we can live with that. Now, either the Governor signs it, vetoes it (very unlikely) or it becomes law in 10 days without the signature.

[Varmint]

This is fantastic news for the beer drinkers of North Carolina. Now if we can just get the General Assembly to get rid of the stupid ABC distribution system! (That AIN'T gonna happen.)

[chemprof]

Congrats y'all. Things will get more more interesting down at Natty Greene's and Red Oak.

Now we've got that passed, can we get wine shipped from other states anytime soon?!

Anne

[kpurvis]

Now we've got that passed, can we get wine shipped from other states anytime soon?!  

Anne

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You can get that now. North Carolina passed a reciprocal state law a couple of years ago.

[chemprof]

Kathleen, thanks for the info.

I had thought that was the case, but when I was in California last month (Santa Ynez Valley) none of the wineries "wine clubs" permitted shipments to NC, though they "hoped they would be able to at some point". So I just assumed I was misinformed, but now it seems I wasn't?

Sorry for the threadjack.

Anne

Edited August 9, 2005 by chemprof (log)

[Varmint]

It's not just a matter of reciprocity. Any winery that intends to ship a certain number of cases of wine to NC addresses must get some sort of permit. This applies to NC and out of state wineries. If they exceed a higher threshold, then they have to use a distributor.

This is from memory, so my details may be a bit fuzzy. I'll look at the actual statute tomorrow.

[kpurvis]

North Carolina allows wineries to buy a $100 permit to ship. South Carolina allows a $400, two-year permit. It doesn't matter whether the winery is in-state or out-of-state.

[Varmint]

Yes, that's it, Kathi. Here's something I posted a while ago, when the Supreme Court handed down its recent decision.

In North Carolina, all wineries, both in-state and out-of-state, must get a permit to ship their wine directly to consumers.  If a winery ships over a thousand cases to North Carolinians, then they must go through a wholesaler IF a wholesaler contacts that winery requesting to sell that wine.  Ridiculously, the winery needn't go through the wholesaler that contacted the winery, it just has to go through any wholesaler!

Also, a winery can't sell more than 2 cases (9 liters each) of wine to a North Carolina resident each month.

Thus, this law stays intact, as it treats NC wineries (and we have a booming wine industry) the same as wineries from outside the state.

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[bandregg]

The Cap has been Popped. Easly has signed the bill.

[Random Alias]

The Cap has been Popped. Easly has signed the bill.

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In case you missed it, there was an article in the N&O.

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/v-pri...p-9163588c.html