Month: March 2010

By Ken Carman

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: Genetically Modified Yeast

“Maybe they shouldn’t have modified my beer yeast that much?”

I admit: I may need some help regarding this from wiser brewers and judges. Genetic manipulation alone has never been my strong suite. Hey, I graduated college in 1976, and my major certainly wasn’t Science. As a judge, brewer and beer lover I’m always eager to learn more.

My cousin sent me a link to an anti-Monsanto blog that claimed beer yeast was genetically modified. I was immediately suspicious and not because of the Monsanto connection. To say that Monsanto has some rather controversial business practices is like saying, “We breath air.” A generalization and understatement? Duh.

But I’m also not adverse to all genetic manipulation. Intentional, or not, we have been manipulating for centuries at some level: slicing different strains of plants together, morphing Scottish highland dogs into rough collies, growing a whole ecosystem for Avatar. Wait. Please don’t tell me that last one was special effect movie magic. It was? Oh, now I’ll have to go to one of those support groups that help out those who are disappointed there is no Pandora like in Avatar. Sniff. Sniff.

No, I’m not kidding about there being an Avatar support group.

Now, what was I writing about? Oh, beer, that’s right!
Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

Dear Brewers,

Alabama homebrewers need your help. Currently, there is a bill before the Alabama House of Representatives
which would finally remove a Prohibition-era restriction and legalize homebrewing in the state of Alabama. This bill was written by, and is being championed by the grass-roots effort of Alabama homebrewers and homebrew clubs. We have no paid lobbyist.

We have made remarkable progress this legislative session: Senate Bill 153, sponsored by Senator Larry Dixon, passed the Senate last month and has been sent to the House. The House Committee on Travel and Tourism held a public hearing of our bill earlier this month and those of us who attended felt the bill was received very favorably.

We’re hearing some rumblings from Montgomery, however, that some of the large wholesalers in the state are not fully behind our effort and that a few may even oppose it. This, of course surprised us, as it makes no sense from a business point of view. We feel they may just not understand the relationship between homebrewers and craft brewers and beer culture in general.

We are asking that you contact the distributors and wholesalers in the state of Alabama that handle your brands and help us educate them on the importance of homebrewers to a healthy craft-beer culture. Emphasize to them that legalized homebrewing in Alabama can only help their bottom line and would not threaten their sales or customers in any way. Politely urge them and their representatives in Montgomery to support SB153.

Please support the homebrewers who support you.

Stott Noble
Homebrewer
Vestavia Hills, AL

Home Brewing May Become Legal in Alabama

Written by Patrick Dever for the Auburn Plainsman
Continue reading “Home Brewing May Become Legal in Alabama”

Brian H. Gill for Catholic Citizen America

The image of Jesus Christ, holding a beer can and a cigarette, reminds me of the weird but (I trust) well-intentioned efforts in the sixties to make Christianity like, you know, relevant.

It’s not. The image is in a handwriting workbook published in India.

The company that made and distributed that book made a really, really big mistake. India is one of those countries where deliberately offending someone’s religious sentiments is illegal.

Which may or may not be a good idea.

Anyway, here’s an excerpt from the news:

“Christians in India’s northeast are outraged after a picture showing Jesus Christ holding a beer can and a cigarette was discovered in primary school textbooks.

“The image appeared in a handwriting book for children in church-run schools in the Christian-majority state of Meghalaya, where it was used to illustrate the letter ‘I’ for the word ‘Idol’….

“…Police said they were hunting for the owner of the New Delhi-based publisher, Skyline Publications, who faces charges of offending religious sentiment, local police superintendent A.R. Mawthoh told AFP.

“The Roman Catholic Church in India has banned all textbooks by Skyline, while Protestant leaders called for a public apology.

“The state government also denounced the publication.

” ‘We strongly condemn such a blasphemous act. Legal action has been initiated against the publisher,’ M. Ampareen Lyngdoh, an education minister in the Meghalaya government, said….”

(myFOX New York) [emphasis mine]

The rest can be found HERE. Do be aware, while part of the article is about beer, it is written from a Catholic perspective and also deals with Catholic topics as well as beer.

Written by Ken Carman

“I HopGod therefore declare for the rest of the world to recognize; that February 28th be forever known as National HOP Day. To further celebrate THE HOP and to the joins the ranks of HopGod Minions everywhere, maybe it is time to brew a HopGod BEER.” -HopGod

Last Saturday in the Nashville area we celebrated “National Hop Day.” Or maybe “More Hops Day?” That’s the cry of the Hop God, or Hop Tyrant, Hop God’s nickname. More will be written in a few days about the legacy of this mysterious deity, or semi-deity: demigod… no relation to Demi More… on this site. Stay tuned.

On Saturday several brewpubs in the Nashville area celebrated National Hop Day and even brewed Hop God Ale.

Hop God himself blessed this HopGod Ale with hop additions, as Boscos brewer Karen Lassiter claimed that day. Here’s Boscos brewer Karen and her man slave/husband, Jack.

Twas a grand National Hop Day. Boscos provided pasta and several kinds of pizza for the event. And since we drank up all the Hop God Ale we can tell even this fine gentleman, and fellow Music City homebrewer, definitely had his… Phil.

Every state has weird alcohol and beer laws, a lot of them pushed and supported by big brewers and other large alcohol concerns as a way to get the government on their side: squashing the little guy. In some states 22oz bottles aren’t allowed. Other states a brewpub must be in a historic building: often in a poorly kept downtown with horrible parking/access. Beer styles are limited because only lower abv beer is allowed: despite the fact that hard liquor is readily available. In Florida you can’t sell and fill growlers. The object of a growler is get it filled and take it home: cutting down on drinking and driving; something you would think a state would like to promote.

The following letter is all too real. It is part of a campaign to allow growlers in Florida. We can only hope that change really is coming.

“To the Honorable Mike Horner:”

“Thank you for your consideration of sponsoring a companion bill to Senate Bill 2062. I am a retired police officer and small business owner. Your support of this legislation, including allowing my brewpub to sell for off-premise consumption is crucial to helping my business survive the ongoing economic down turn, and continuing to support my family and community.”

Continue reading “How Beer Laws and Legislation Effect Real People”