Historian. Author. Ranter. Idea Junkie.
This a blog. Sort of. I rarely use it anymore.
Jeremiah McWilliams, the Lager Heads blogger and reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has returned from his company-imposed furlough. I'm so glad -- not just because I hope this helps the P-D, and Jeremiah, stay in business, but because his absence has reminded me (and I hope you) that journalists like him to do the heavy lifting when it comes to covering their beat.
The "official" page for ticket sales for "Beer Wars" is now up and running at Fathom Events (the company that will provide the in-theater event.) That page is here. So, now that it's "official," it's also time for full disclosure: I'm in the film and will be on-stage during the live event that follows the film. But, hey, don't let my presence stop you! Be there -- or be square.
As I've noted here before, my concern about the InBev acquisition of Anheuser-Busch stemmed from my fear that a Great Company would, under the new leadership, become Just Another Company. (And as I've also said here, and in other places, you don't have to like the beer in order to respect A-B's relentless, obsessive concern for quality. See, for example, this sort-of-related essay.)
Anyway, Jeremiah McWilliams, our man on the St. Louis beer beat, investigates this very topic in a piece in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Also see his related entry at Lager Heads, his excellent blog-about-beer.
My pal Jay Brooks, one of THE best people on the planet, is celebrating his 50th birthday today.
Jay, here's to fifty more! (And if only the planet had more like you...)
Harry Schuhmacher of Beer Business Daily (subscription-only) has an interesting interview with George Fisher, a craft beer distributor whose territories are Ohio and Indiana.
The always-lovely Harry gave me permission to post a couple of quotes from the interview. The context is a discussion of beer prices that unfolded recently over at Jeff Alworth's Beevana. I posted links to it here. Fisher's comments, again, coming from the perspective of a distributor, are fascinating:
Operating in Ohio, we lost about 350,000 jobs in the last few years, and some of my craft guys want to price like there's a big party going on. I think some brands are getting ahead of themselves. I think there are brands like Bell's or Stone or Dogfish or Rogue and a few others that really do set the tempo for high prices. And then there is the next level of brands that look at that pricing and say, 'hey, we should be there too.' I'm as big believer in pricing there is. I think it sends a message to consumers about quality. And at the top end you should be priced where it's not available to everybody. But I am concerned that some suppliers who don't have the reputation in the market are trying to move up to that top tier of pricing, and I think it's a mistake.
Equally interesting: Fisher's assessment of the potential for another craft-beer "bubble," similar to the one that unfolded in the 1990s (which I discussed on pp. 321-332 of my book.)
I can already see -- not quite the mid 1990s -- but almost there. I get sent a lot of samples of contract-packed pseudo crafts, at a discounted price point, and that worries me. We stay away from those and try to stay true to authentic crafts. But I can see it coming. Some of the more gimmicky stuff. . . . I'm seeing a little of that froth, and I'm concerned about the pricing. But I think the products are better. I'm cautiously optimistic."
Again, many thanks to Harry for permission to quote.
Back in December, I wrote a piece for US News about the long shadow of Prohibition. In it, I noted that today's destructive alcohol culture stems in large part from the repeal of Prohibition: When Americans repealed the 18th Amendment, lawmakers at all levels built a cumbersom legal fence between Americans and alcohol, all but guaranteeing that generations to come would demonize drink.
Great example of what I meant is unfolding now in Iowa (where I live). Iowa guy owns winery. Decides he'd like to use his talents to make beer as well. Sorry, the state says. No can do. Back in 1933, state lawmakers "protected" Iowans from the evils of alcohol by forbidding residents from working in more than one alcohol-related industry at a time.
Those controls are so strict . . . that they have been interpreted to mean that if a husband drives a beer truck for a distributor, his wife can't work in a grocery store or tavern where beer is sold at retail.
In this specific case, the director of Iowa's Alcoholic Beverage Division says that
The fear . . . is that cross ownership would lead to excessive promotion, creating too much public intoxication. The bans were extended to family ties and to employment situations, he said, to make it clear that even indirect ties would not be allowed.
You can read the entire article here. Read it and, ya know, weep......... Got any dumbass laws you'd like to publicize? Send 'em my way.
Website of Maureen Ogle, author and historian. Books include Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer; In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America; and Key West: History of An Island of Dreams.
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