Free The Hops

New RSS FEED!

2009-03-11T21:21:00.007-06:00

This is only going out via RSS... we've converted from Blogger to WordPress and moved our feed over to Feedburner. This is the last post that will ever be posted to this feed, so if you want to keep up with all the latest Free The Hops info, please subscribe to our new feed at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/FreeTheHops.

House Audio Recording

2009-03-04T16:51:00.007-06:00

Some folks have requested an audio recording of yesterday's House debate on our bill. Which we have, of course.

FTH House Debate 2009.mp3

Be prepared to be angered and offended by the self-righteous ignorance, such as Richard Laird's assertion that the quality of a church should be judged by whether or not its members would shame a legislator over a pro-alcohol vote.

It's Complicated

2009-03-04T06:48:00.000-06:00

This post is for the hardcore among you. If the excruciating details of the legislative process bore you, feel free to skip it.

First, you might want to review our "steps" page summarizing what is involved in getting the Gourmet Beer Bill signed into law and where we stand right now. The point to keep in mind is that although we introduce and push two bills (one in the Senate, one in the House), only one of them will make it all the way through both houses and onto the Governor's desk. Having two bills is simply a strategy to maximize our opportunities.

With that in mind, the most likely path I now see to the Governor's desk may be confusing to casual observers. For here is what will probably happen:

Although they are doing better than last year, the Senate has again wasted several days this year locked in filibuster, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see more slowdowns in that body before the '09 session is over. So our opportunities to hit the floor for a vote in the Senate are fewer and farther between than in the House.

There is a pretty good chance the Senate will be ready to deal with the Gourmet Beer Bill next week (on either 3/10 or 3/12) but they will only be considering bills that originated in the Senate, not bills (like HB373) that originated in the House. HB373 probably won't even be procedurally ready to hit the Senate floor anytime next week as it still has to pass the Senate Tourism committee and receive its "2nd reading" in the Senate before it can be voted on.

All that to say, if the Senate votes on any Gourmet Beer Bill next week, it will be SB132. And here's where it might confuse some people. If that happens, our issue will have passed a successful vote in the House and a successful vote in the Senate, but each vote will have been on a different bill. Therefore, neither bill will be ready to go to the Governor. We'll still have to pass one more vote in either the House or the Senate (definitely not both) before we can head to the Governor's desk.

Because of the dysfunction in the Senate, the most likely scenario is that we'd bring SB132 through the House and endure one more round of fact-free grandstanding from the House's neo-prohibitionists crying about how "child-killing, family-destroying, high-alcohol beer" is about to be legal and WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN? In other words, a repeat of exactly what we just endured yesterday, but with even more passionate pleading using bogus statistics made up on the spot.

And that would probably fall somewhere in mid-to-late April. Only then will we be poised to get the Governor's signature.

Another possible (though less likely) scenario is that we pass SB132 in the Senate next week, then a few weeks later bring HB373 to the floor in the Senate, still getting a double dose of grandstanding by Senate opponents. Or, we could skip SB132 altogether and just bring HB373 to the floor in the Senate in late April. But that's risky because the Senate might be locked up over budget battles.

And the final conceivable scenario is that the Senate skips over SB132 next week, goes on Spring Break the following week, then sometime shortly thereafter puts SB132 on their special order calendar. And once it has passed the BIR, our sponsor could move to substitute SB132 with HB373 because they are identical and HB373 could then receive a vote on final passage in the Senate. Then to the Governor's desk in late March or early April.

But as appealing as that shortcut sounds, it is very, very unlikely to become reality because the substitution of one bill for another for final passage would require unanimous consent from every Senator in the chamber. And while we're pretty confident we have enough support in the Senate to pass our bill, we do have opponents in the Senate and it's hard to imagine none of them objecting to unanimous consent on a motion that would fast-track our bill to final passage in both houses of the legislature.

See? I said it was complicated.

HB373 passes the House

2009-03-03T16:15:00.001-06:00

By a comfortable margin - 49 to 37.

Next up, we need a functional senate!

The Debate

2009-03-02T18:29:00.003-06:00

The past couple of years our bill has sparked some wild commentary from members of the House of Representatives. Maybe they've finally gotten the craziest stuff out of their systems, or maybe we'll hear more zany antics tomorrow. No way to know unless you tune in. They convene at 1pm, and we're 8th on the special order calendar.

If you're unable to get the audio, you might want to check the FTH Twitter feed, which will be updated with details on who is saying what and when. Classic moments like "What's wrong wit da beer we got?" will be recorded for posterity's sake, if they happen.

The House

2009-02-27T18:56:00.002-06:00

We've somewhat ignored the House of Representatives on this blog because all the drama has been in the Senate this year. But the House is still important! Our bill has to go through both the House and Senate in one session in order to become law.

We passed the House last year and have no reason to expect any different outcome this year. That said, as I say almost every post, there are no guarantees in the Alabama Legislature. Anything's possible.

And now we are faced with an upcoming vote in the House -- almost a year to the day after we passed the House last year. I have been informed that the House Rules Committee will put HB373 on a special order calendar this Tuesday, March 3rd. We passed the House last year on March 4th. Poetic.

So now is when you are needed most. Calls, emails, and faxes have the most impact when legislators know they are about to vote on a bill. As usual, neo-prohibitionists who think all alcohol is evil will be making calls trying to sway fence-sitters to vote against our bill. We need you to overwhelm those calls so that the Representatives about to vote on the Gourmet Beer Bill know that it has strong support from their constituents.

So... call! Use our Find Your Legislator page to look up who your Representative is and find out what his or her position on our bill is. Then, send an email and/or make a call thanking them if they already support us, or explaining why you, as their constituent, want to see HB373 signed into law.

Your voice is the most powerful tool we have. Make yourself heard. Now.

Cautious Optimism

2009-02-27T06:53:00.003-06:00

Bingo bill filibuster is unlikely to tie up Senate, Barron says

Barron, chairman of the Rules Committee, the panel that controls the flow of legislation to the Senate floor, said politics in the Senate have changed since the 2008 session.

A year ago, Sen. Myron Penn, D-Union Springs, kept the Senate tied up in a filibuster for more than a month over a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand bingo in Macon County.

Barron said Thursday that kind of filibuster isn't likely to happen this session because Democrats and Republicans are working together.

"We are in a totally different posture than last year," he said.

In 2008, Republican senators, still angry over rules changes they believed were unfair, helped Penn in his stalling tactics.

"Last year I couldn't get the Republicans to carry (postpone) the gambling bill over, and they had enough Democrat votes over there so I couldn't get a majority to carry it over," Barron said. "But we've got a good bipartisan working relationship in this body, and I think it will continue."

We shall see. We shall see.

Good News, Bad News

2009-02-26T17:13:00.000-06:00

The really good news is that the Senate functioned today. They made it through a relatively impressive special order calendar consisting of almost all the remaining sunset bills. In other words, they functioned normally, without interference from Phil Poole. And the word I'm hearing is that Poole is probably done with his obstructionism, although as I keep saying, we have no guarantees when it comes to the AL legislature. Anything's possible.

The bad news is that now the path is clear for bingo to once again shut down the Senate exactly as it did last year. This year, this horrible specter is SB135, relating to bingo in Greene County. If it does not pass quickly, the whole legislature could again be brought to a grinding halt over the debate.

If you care more about the fate of The Gourmet Beer bill than about gambling in Greene County, then pray that SB135 passes quickly so that it won't stand in the way of the Senate passing the many other bills waiting in line this year, including ours.

In Case You Were Wondering

2009-02-25T06:41:00.000-06:00

And of course you were wondering, if you didn't tune in yesterday.

The Senate passed a few sunset bills and then we all got Pooled again. He's still at it, still preventing normal business in the legislature.

It's pretty sickening.

Today is committee day, then they'll reconvene for the last time this week tomorrow at 10am.

As The Senate Turns

2009-02-24T06:28:00.001-06:00

Here we are again, at the start of a day when the Senate will convene (2pm), wondering what soap opera drama will unfold today.

Listening live to a session of our state Senate ought to be boring. It ought to be filled with lots of mundane business surrounding the passage of basic bills that address problems in the state, such as improperly secured steel coils on shipping trailers, or licensing requirements for certain trade professionals.

Instead, we are presented with the ongoing drama of whether one Senator or another will shut down the legislature either based on some personal vendetta or a desire to pass one bill being pushed by a key campaign contributor. If it didn't put Alabama in such a sad state of affairs, it would be highly entertaining.

So listen in and see what happens today.

On a lighter note, thanks to everyone who came out to our Birmingham Kick-Off Party Sunday at The J. Clyde. We had a great turnout and got everyone fired up to get this law changed. Thanks to the Clyde for stepping up with a couple of world class cask ales and donating the food.

If you missed the Birmingham party and you're anywhere within driving distance of Huntsville, head to Lowe Mill this Saturday the 28th for the Huntstville Blastoff party. Details at http://www.beerblastoff.com/.

We Got Pooled (Again)

2009-02-20T06:33:00.002-06:00

The Senate conducted a little bit of business yesterday, receiving committee reports and even working one very brief special order calendar (4 bills all expanding state benefits for veterans) before Phil Poole stood up and began filibustering once again.

Apparently he had been about ready to let the Senate do some work until they passed a bill sponsored by Jabo Waggoner Tuesday -- a bill Poole has opposed for several years out of a personal vendetta against Waggoner. Since Waggoner finally got what he wanted, Poole decided to shut down the entire Senate, again. That's how we roll in Alabama. It's all about who hates who and who is getting what in the deals made in smoke-filled rooms.

As always, I suggest you keep up with Doc's Political Parlor for the inside scoop on what's happening.

For now, we sit and wait and see what happens when they reconvene Tuesday at 2pm.

HB373 Passes House Committee

2009-02-19T13:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday a group of us went to the Alabama legislature to make our case in the Travel & Tourism committee as to why our bill deserves to pass out of committee. As you may already be aware, the committee voted unanimously to allow our bill to head to the floor of the House (on a later date) to be voted on. This is a very important step, especially as we passed the house last year.

I have to make a special mention of Representative Craig Ford here. He stepped in to speak to our bill, as our sponsor was tied up in another committee meeting at the same time. Representative Ford brilliantly advocated our bill, and skilfully dealt with the comments made by our opponents. If you live in Representative Ford's Gadsden district, please let him know that we appreciate his support for our bill.

Senate Watch the Second

2009-02-18T22:39:00.002-06:00

To follow up to Danner's previous post, the Senate on Tuesday worked in a routine fashion, debating and voting on a number of bills. This is great news, of course, because a functioning Senate is required for the Gourmet Beer Bill to pass.

Tomorrow, however, is a new day. The Senate didn't convene today as Wednesdays are typically set aside for committee work. Rumor has it that the "Phil Poole issue" still hasn't been fully resolved, so when they go into session tomorrow we may see a routine body deliberating on legislation or we may see more of the same drama we've seen over the last two years.

I have a feeling we'll be having a "Senate Watch" every time they go into session.

Senate Watch

2009-02-17T06:41:00.000-06:00

The Alabama Senate will reconvene today at 2pm. If you enjoy watching sausage being made, you can listen live here: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/audio/senateaudio.html

Today's drama centers around whether the "Phil Poole Issue" has been resolved. The business the Senate conducted last Thursday was only possible because Poole agreed to pause his filibuster for one day to allow a few big ticket bills to pass. Meanwhile, efforts at resolving the underlying conflict have continued.

So the big question is whether a permanent resolution has been reached. If so, then some bills will pass today. If not, you'll hear Phil Poole talking for several hours and nothing will get done.

Danny at Political Parlor is doing a good job chronicling what's going on behind the scenes, including intense, widespread pressure being applied by some powerful people in Alabama to get the Senate moving.

Last week in the legislature

2009-02-15T12:17:00.002-06:00

Last week was the second week of the 2009 Alabama legislative session, and that usually marks the first week of action in Montgomery.

So far the Alabama House of Representatives has gotten off to an early start, passing several of the required "sunset laws." These are noncontroversial bills that must be passed periodically to continue to existence of certain regulatory boards in the state. The House also passed their annual bill to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers in Alabama as well as several uncontested local bills and some other actions. In short, the House of Representatives is chugging along and passing some noncontroversial legislation early on.

The Alabama Senate, however, didn't make it through its second week without a filibuster. As Danner explained earlier, Senator Phil Poole from Tuscaloosa stalled the chamber on Tuesday because he said some senators planned to kill a local bill that he supports. The delay caused some heated arguments on the floor between Poole and Senator Larry Means of Atalla.

Fortunately, a truce seems to have been declared and the Senate functioned routinely on Thursday. No one's sure how long the peace will last.

The good news for Free the Hops this week is that our Senate bill, SB132, unanimously passed out of Senate committee on Wednesday. This was expected, but is good news nonetheless. SB132 was re-introduced to the Senate floor on Thursday which means we are ready for a Senate vote.

Our House companion bill, HB373 is scheduled for a public hearing in committee next week on Wednesday, although they might not vote on the measure until the week after. This is a procedural requirement, and we expect to pass out of the House committee with no problem.

One Small Step For Hops

2009-02-11T18:31:00.002-06:00

We passed the Senate Tourism committee today on a unanimous vote. There was even a nice write-up by Phillip Rawls on the AP wire. While certainly welcome news, it was not at all unexpected; we passed the same committee last year. We never expected opposition in committee, and (cross your fingers while knocking on wood) we don't expect any serious obstructionism if our bill ever comes to the floor in the Senate.

We went into this session expecting our main difficulty to be the do-nothing posture of the Senate, and per my post below, that expectation was valid.

So everything's in place for us to come to a floor vote in the Senate... it all hinges on whether they do any real work this year. Hope for the best.

Hostage

2009-02-11T06:22:00.000-06:00

Once again, the Senate is being held hostage by one Senator who is not getting his way. That sure didn't take long, did it? This is essentially what happened last year, only now it's a different Senator throwing a tantrum over a different bill.

You can hardly blame Phil Poole. He didn't design the system. He's just using it to his advantage, as many other Senators have used it to their advantage. As they say, don't hate the player, hate the game.

The sad reality is that the rules under which our Alabama Senate operates allow one Senator to hold the entire session hostage as long as he can speak. One Senator can filibuster ad infinitum until he gets his way on a pet issue. And if the Senators who stand on the other side of the issue are ornery enough, nothing gets done. Period. That's the story of the entire 2008 Session of the Alabama Senate. Pray that it's not the story of 2009.

That's your tax dollars at work. Those are your elected officials. Getting paid $50,000 of taxpayer money every year to stand in front of a microphone for a few hours, two days a week, only a few months a year, bickering over pet issues and holding up scores of necessary bills, many of which never see the light of day.

It's far too early to get despondent. It's entirely possible this could clear up in a few days and lots of bills will pass. But we certainly have no guarantees. The system itself is deeply flawed and needs reform, and voters need to punish some legislators at the polls next year for engaging in absurdly childish and wasteful antics.

Just keep watch to see if/when things get moving, or if we have another session-long filibuster...

The Gourmet Beer Bills 2009

2009-02-05T15:20:00.003-06:00

We now have bills in front of the legislature.

The House Gourmet Beer Bill is HB373, sponsored by Representative Thomas Jackson, who has been our bill sponsor in the House on each occasion.

The Senate Gourmet Beer Bill is SB132, now sponsored by Senator Singleton as our former Senate sponsor, Senator Parker Griffith, was elected to the US Congress.

Senator Bobby Singleton was elected to the Alabama Senate, January 25, 2005, to fill the unexpired term of former Senator Charles Steele, who resigned. He was elected to his first full term, November 7, 2006. He serves as the Chair of Tourism and Marketing Committee, Deputy Chair of Finance and Taxation - General Fund Committee, Vice Chair of Banking and Insurance Committee, Chairman of The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, and is the Economic Development Chairman of the West Alabama Rural Action Commission (WARAC) for Region 2.

Cross Your Fingers

2009-02-03T06:46:00.001-06:00

As you're hopefully already aware, today begins the 2009 Session of the Alabama Legislature. We have a part-time legislature that only works a few months each year, so our window to get bills passed is fairly small.

As always, I am hopeful. We have made progress every year since we began working on the ABV law in this state, and the only step left is getting the Gourmet Beer Bill through the Senate. Our chances look good.

That said, we're likely in for another wild ride in the state legislature this year, as our deeply dysfunctional Senate rarely accomplishes much of substance. We certainly have reason to be cautious in our optimism as there is never any guarantee our Senate will pass more than a paltry handful of big ticket bills, leaving smaller issues of concern only to small constituencies on the table, untouched.

Watch the budget process, as the massive budget shortfall this year will be the source of a lot of drama. And one of the proposals for helping address the shortfall -- new taxes on gambling -- will surely make for a hot debate. Let's hope they don't get bogged down in that debate at the expense of all other issues in the state.

Though the effect wouldn't be especially large, we can take comfort in knowing that passage of the Gourmet Beer Bill will have a positive net impact on tax revenue, as all the expensive beers many of us currently buy out of state would get purchased right here in Alabama. I would hope state legislators would welcome any increase in tax revenue in times like these.

We fully expect to repeat last year's success in the House. And we believe we have the votes we need to pass in the Senate if they ever bring it to the floor. But don't get complacent. Nothing is certain in politics, so we're counting on all of our grassroots supporters to make phone calls and write letters when the time is right, to make sure our state legislators understand the importance of the Gourmet Beer Bill for many citizens in Alabama.

Free the Hops!

Repeal day

2008-12-05T10:38:00.003-06:00

Today, the 5th of December, is the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The 21st Amendment repealed the dismal failure that was Prohibition.

While this is a cause for celebration, there are still three states in the USA that are dealing with the consequences of Prohibition - Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia are the only three states that restrict what beverages a beer drinker may enjoy, while not restricting the choices made by liquor or wine drinkers in a like fashion.

This is the heart of the paradox that Free the Hops is working to change: that, 75 years later, beer drinkers are still being punished for preferring to avoid the mass marketed tasteless beverages that still unfairly dominate the market, that domination having arisen from the ashes of Prohibition.

Enjoy repeal day. But if you are in Alabama, Mississippi, or West Virginia, don't dare to enjoy it with a fine craft beer from Colorado or Oregon, or a Belgian Trappist beer, if you are worried about breaking a mainfestly unjust and unfair law.

Why does Free the Hops need volunteers?

2008-10-25T22:14:00.001-05:00

I had an example of that today. Free the Hops had a presence at 'Uncorked on the Green' at Ross Bridge. The event as a whole was projected to draw up to 3000 people to hear about wine, beer and food while being entertained with live music.

The beer tents were staffed by Free the Hops supporters. These are people from all walks of life: university students, young couples with children, professionals, and many more. All of these people willingly surrendered their Saturday afternoon - some at very short notice! - to help out by working hard for just under 3 hours pouring beer, talking beer, and talking Free the Hops. (Those of you who worked the brewfest will understand the work involved, even though it is also rewarding!)

To me, this is the non-profit spirit in action: willingly giving so that others can have a good time, while also educating those people about the cause.

Without volunteers, Free the Hops can achieve nothing. And I thank each and every person who came out to Ross Bridge this afternoon for making the event such a success for Free the Hops and the organizers.

Next steps for the ABV legislation

2008-09-18T13:54:00.002-05:00

A common question I am asked when I am out and about is "when will the ABV bill come up for a vote again?".

The Alabama legislature is currently out of session, because the legislature in Alabama is a part-time body -- they're Constitutionally required to meet for no more than 30 "session days" a year. Those 30 days are usually spread out over a period of 4 months. The 2008 session ended on May 19. The next session doesn't start until February 3, 2009.

Although that may be disappointing for some to hear, the truth is that the "break" between the annual sessions gives us time to prepare -- raising money, spreading the word, and developing our lobbying strategy for the next session. It's also a nice break from all the politics. I don't know about you, but I prefer simply spreading beer culture in Alabama to participating in Montgomery politics. We're primarily a political lobbying organization for craft beer enthusiasts, but having the legislature out of session gives us an opportunity to hold events and teach people about good beer.

Raising money and spreading the word usually go hand in hand. The annual Magic City Brewfest is currently our biggest fundraiser and our most public event. However, we also throw smaller events (some that raise money, many that don't) throughout the year. These include beer tastings and beer dinners at local businesses, fundraising events, joint events with other organizations, and both public and member gatherings. These events, as well as chapter and statewide membership meetings, are usually posted on the FTH Calendar http://www.freethehops.org/calendar/.

Just a sample of events we are involved in -- the Birmingham Chapter joined the Alys Stevens Center and Reg's Coffee House to host a craft beer tasting at inter-ART-ive
http://alysstephens.uab.edu/lineup/specialevents/43242/.
In Huntsville, local FTH members got together to enjoy the Redstone Arsenal Oktoberfest http://www.redstonemwr.com/promo-events/oktoberfest.html, which supports that base's MWR program. Other events and gatherings are normally held somewhere in Alabama every month. These kind of events often require volunteers, and I'd like to once again encourage you to contact your local chapter organizers if you'd like to help (or just attend) our local events. Chapters are located in Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Mobile.

The ways we're preparing for our lobbying efforts in 2009 are a little less glamorous. Since this is a public blog, I won't go into all the details at this point, but we are working on literature and educational sessions with members of the legislature. We've also completed initial development of a web portal to educate our members and supporters about their state senator and representative, including their voting record on our legislation and their estimated level of support. We plan to release details of that web tool in a future newsletter.

So although we're in a legislative break, there's still plenty of opportunities to help out, have fun, and spread beer culture in your community. There's a lot of work to be done before we need to start again with the Montgomery politics!

Free the Hops!

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

Magic City Brewfest 2008 final thoughts

2008-06-02T13:14:00.004-05:00

Danner has published a very long synopsis of the good things and the not so good things at the brewfest website which is well worth a read. We are totally committed to making the Magic City Brewfest an event which all of Alabama can be proud of, and we are doing that by listening to you, the attendees of the event, and working to correct the problems that happen when running an event of this size.

Thank you all so much for making MCBF2008 such a great weekend!

Magic City Brewfest 2008

2008-06-01T21:23:00.002-05:00

This is just a short post to say a huge THANK YOU to our event sponsors - the breweries and wholesalers, the food vendors - to the bands, and especially to our volunteers who gave up part of their weekend to come and work extremely hard to make sure every attendee had a great time.

Unfortunately we had problems with the crowds on the Saturday night, and it is especially disappointing that people who had paid tickets had problems getting in. This is something we are already looking into so that we can do it better next year. Those of you who braved the weather and still had fun on Sunday will have seen some of the changes already, so that Magic City Brewfest 2009 can be even bigger and better!

We were failed by the senate

2008-05-20T10:08:00.005-05:00

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

Monday May 19

2008-05-13T08:24:00.002-05:00

For those who were listening in to the Senate audio last week, it will come as no surprise that we took the strategic decision to hold off on pressing the Gourmet Beer Bill. By the time the semi-filibuster was resolved, it was late in the evening and the Senators were all cranky, tired, and hungry.

In that kind of environment our Gourmet Beer Bill would not have had good odds.

Mark your calendars for Monday, May 19th. This is the last day of the legislative session. HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill, will be on the calendar. Please call your senators over the next week, and very politely request them to support HB196, the Gourmet Beer Bill. You can call them whether or not you have done so already. You could also ask your friends, co-workers, family, neighbours, anyone you know who is not anti-alcohol - they, too can call their senators.

If you have family and friends who are out of state, get them to call as well - their opinion, and the tourist dollars that backs their opinion, are just as important to the senators as you and your opinion are.

If we all pull together, if we all rally our connections and contacts, we can achieve the aim we have been working towards for the last three years - we can start to Free those Hops from the chains of the archaic 6% ABV law. Let the Alabama Senate hear your voices loud and clear - let them hear the message -

FREE THE HOPS!