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Currently, North Carolina beer has it's alcohol content relegated down to the low low level of 6 percent. Unlike 45 of the states in the union, Alabama also has a limit of 6 percent, Arkansas and South Carolina have limits of 6.25 percent, and Mississippi has a limit of 5 percent. However, four state legislators introduced a bill Thursday ( House Bill 392) that would remove the cap.
The bill's primary sponsors are two Democrats and two Republicians:
They argue that the cap unfairly limits consumer choice, costs tax revenue and hurts the state's economy. I couldn't agree more, and I think that the arguments for regulating alcohol content of beer (especially down to this particular level) are just as unreasonable and illogical as arguments for drug prohibition and the like. Opponents of "popping the cap" say that higher alcohol content enjoyed by beer connoisseurs in 45 out of 50 states and pretty much the rest of the world would cause a romantic attachment to beer, which could then draw teenagers towards it. Of course, they don't say anything about wine, which has a much much higher alcohol content, but I guess that doesn't count for some reason?
"Greater access to alcohol always leads to greater consumption, and greater consumption always leads to more alcohol-related incidents," says Rev. Mark Creech, the executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. Of course, there's no evidence of any of this, but that doesn't stop the Christian Action League! I wonder if Creech, better known as Prohibition Man, wears a cape as he fights the evil of 8% beer?
Anyway, Beerinator.com, which is a site I just discovered, is the hub of online NC Beer discussion. They're one of the most vocal advocates of the cap-popping bill on the Internet, and I think that it would be great if they got the support they needed to get this arcane law off the books in North Carolina once and for all. 45 states can't be wrong; high-alcohol beer is good!
Speaking of NC beer, if you happen to live in the Triad area, Foothills Brewing Company, Winston-Salem's first microbrewery, opened March 17. “It’s a micro-brewery and full-service restaurant. The restaurant will seat 165. Lunch is designed to get you in and out, and dinner is a little bit more full-service.... There will be four regular beers that we brew that will always be on tap, and as many as six seasonal beers.”
So if you live in the North Carolina area, support "Pop The Cap," and if you live in the Triad area, give this new Microbrewery some love and support your local breweries.
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