PubCrawler.com - Beer Blog

Taxes Done While You Drink

2008-04-15T06:30:00-05:00

Carmine Sodora, a certified public accountant in New Jersey came up with an interesting idea back in 2005. Sodora spends the 10 weeks leading up to the April 15 tax deadline in the United States in local taverns and pubs.

He takes his tax filing service - Tavern Tax to the local bars on week nights and weekend afternoons.

His clients get to sip their beverages and mingle while Carmine completes their taxes.

Four Sons Brewery in Titusville Pennsylvania to Reopen

2008-04-15T05:30:00-05:00

The Four Sons Brewery which closed back in January 2007 is planned to reopen.

Keystone Brewing Company bought the defunct microbrewery at a sheriff's sale during 2007.

Matt Allyn (Voodoo Brewing) and his dad Michaell Allyn are behind the venture and will be bringing chef Jeremy Potocki back.

The place is yet to be named (in public) and likely open during summer 2008.

California's Democrat to Tax a Six Pack Another $1.80

2008-04-15T04:30:00-05:00

California Assemblyman Jim Beall, Jr., Democrat -San Jose has proposed a bill to raise the tax on beer sold in California. The sin tax could generate another $2 billion per year for California.

Beall went on to say "..."health and law enforcement services that must cope with the havoc -- traffic accidents and fatalities, domestic violence, and illnesses -- that is fueled by the alcohol industry... It’s time for the beer industry to help us with the staggering burden it has helped to create. As responsible corporate citizens, breweries should be willing to pay their fair share of the damage that alcohol wreaks on society’’.

Yet another lifestyle sin tax with lots of interesting facts to "support it":

In 2005, alcohol-related traffic crashes claimed 1,574 lives and injured 30,810 in California.
(probably more crashes and injuries can be attributed to sleepy drivers)
In 2004, alcohol played a role in 3,691 deaths statewide.
(in 2004 65k died from heart disease (preventable), 53k malignant neoplasms (preventable), 10k accidents (preventable), 7k influenza and pneumonia (preventable), 7k diabetes (preventable))
Two-thirds of the alcohol-related costs for health care and prevention are borne by government programs.
(prevention is a cost to be mostly covered by government. health care, we can only wonder what contribution is made as there is no state health care in California except whatever welfare type coverage)
The tax could make beer harder for teens to obtain because of higher prices.
(cost has never been a deterrent for teens. if we raise alcohol to actually be expensive and unlikely to be bought by minors due to costs, we would destroy the alcohol industry).

Very short sighted legislation, especially in this time and state of the economy.

Saint Louis Getting New Wine and Beer Bar

2008-04-15T04:10:00-05:00

Frank Robbins is hard at work on his new venture: The Wine Press. A combination good wine and good beer bar.

The Wine Press is under construction now in what was the Peace Institute Printing building at 4436 Olive Street - in the famous Gaslight Square - (between - Fountain Park (NW), Turner Park (NE), Forest Park (SW) and Saint Louis University (SE).)

Frank has been blogging about his experience in getting Wine Press going.

Rustico Folks Bringing Large New Beer Bar to Washington, DC

2008-04-15T04:00:00-05:00

The folks who brought you Rustico in Alexandria, Virginia are at it again.

Currently they are working on a new yet-to-be-named place in Washington, DC. They are aiming for 50 taps, 500 bottled beers and five casks at all times. Goal is to have the best beer destination on the east coast.

Food wise- wood fired pizzas, small plates. Some fancy meats intended to be shared between two.

If You Live in Pennsylvania You Still Can't Buy Beer at the Grocery Store

2008-03-25T11:00:00-05:00

Pennsylvania's Liquor Control Board cleared the way for Wegmans grocery to begin selling beer, wine and 'hard' alcohol in it's supermarket cafes in six stores within Pennsylvania. But wait! The six stores in: Bethlehem, Dickson City, Lower Nazareth, State College, Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport probably will not be pouring you anything more alcoholic than near beer anytime soon.

Wegmans grocery store cafes are technically regulated as restaurants. That is where the problems begin. A restaurant in a grocery store is somewhat unique by Pennsylvania standards. See, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania you can not buy beer, wine or alcohol at the grocery store. Within Pennsylvania consumers are forced to buy beer from distributors who force purchase of an entire case (which who knows if you will even like the beer) or in bars where you can purchase a maximum of 12 beers at a time (at great cost). Wine, spirits and other hard alcohol are sold only at the Commonwealth's Wine and Spirits stores, a state owned and operated monopoly.

Speaking of monopoly beer sold in Pennsylvania is over 70% purchased from beer distributors. Beer distributors trace their gifted monopoly position all the way back to Prohibition and their monopoly is granted under Pennsylvania's outdated liquor licensing laws.

The Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania has taken legal action asking a Pennsylvania court to overturn the LCB's decision to allow Wegmans to sell beer. The MBDA's president David Shipula has been quoted as saying:

“...Pennsylvania’s historic ban on beer sales where groceries or gasoline are sold... is good public policy that has been in place for 70 years ... some chains like Wegmans on the grocery side and Sheetz on the gasoline side have been finding loopholes in the law to co-locate beer sales with groceries and gasoline”.

The MBDA has also gone the legal suit route (with pending action in the PA Supreme Court) against Sheetz. Sheetz opened a new mega-store store concept with coffee bar, gelato, carved meat and lots of other food offerings. They included take-out beer in the concept, thus somehow finding a unique way to create a newly licensed category or otherwise open the door for convenience stores and supermarkets in Pennsylvania to sell beer. They were approved by the LCB to sell beer for takeout, proceeded to, then forced to stop now for a year pending appeal initiated by MBDA.

How banning beer sales of individual bottles, larger individual bottles and six packs at convenient locations like gas stations, grocery stores and convenience stores is a good policy is laughable. Sure it is good policy if you are a beer distributor in Pennsylvania because you are given a preferred monopoly status and a consumer base with no real choices where to buy from. Selling beer in convenience stores and at gas stations all across the United States for decades has not caused any epidemic, not contributed more to alcoholism, not created more driving and beer related fatalities.

What really is at stake here is money. With the craft beer industry churning along nicely with steady annual growth, with more folks trying the microbrews there is a larger pile of money being laid down for that case of brewsky and there are fewer dollars being spent on the macro beers. Beer distributors are going to fight beyond reason to protect their high end customers who are dropping 50%+ more on the microbrews versus the under priced macro beer. After the microbrew fans discover growlers at the local brewery, bottleshops, new places to buy beer right over the border of the next state - distributors in Pennsylvania will start to taste some of their own antics.

Win or lose, where you go to buy your beer is changing in Pennsylvania. The LCB is under fire and media establishments and politicians are discussing privatizing the Commonwealth's monopoly stranglehold on wine and spirits. So why should dissolving Pennsylvania's beer distributor monopoly not get the same treatment?

Kentucky Lawmaker Tries to Make Free Speech Illegal

2008-03-11T00:00:00-05:00

Kentucky Representative Tim Couch has filed a bill that attempts to outlaw free speech online.

Rep Couch's bill attempts to mandate the real name, physical address and valid e-mail of anyone that posts online on any website anywhere. It also requires that when a post is made it only can be made using the posters full name.

The bill proposes penalties for website operators who fail to identify the poster - first offense $500 and subsequent offenses $1000.

Rep Couch says his bill is an attempt to stem online bullying.

Way to go Tim Couch. You are a true communist.

The founders of these great United States enacted the first Amendment that clearly says legislation like yours are anti-American and anti-Constitutional:

Amendment # 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What Makes a Bar a Beer Bar?

2008-03-06T09:00:00-05:00

The most popular part of the PubCrawler.com website remains the Beer Places search.

People often get overwhelmed by the categorical approach to searching for a place to find a good craft or import beer. By default, beer related searches on PubCrawler.com include all the categories (Microbreweries, Brewpubs and Beer Bars) – you can select to not see any of those or some or all. Here see for yourself:
http://www.pubcrawler.com/Template/dsp_searchform.cfm.

Daily we get requests from bar owners and managers to add their bar and from patrons using PubCrawler.com requesting that their favorite local bar be included in our BEER BAR category. Unfortunately, a vast majority of these requests – over 75% do not qualify to be added and in fact, are not BEER BARS by our standards.

So what exactly is a BEER BAR?

Well when you go to add a BEER PLACE on the form it tells you what each category of beer place means. See: http://www.pubcrawler.com/Template/AddPlaceWC.cfm.
There it says a BEER BAR is:
“An establishment that does not brew its own beer, yet is microbrew-friendly... meaning, it has a good selection of microbrews and/or imports and is a good spot to hang out and enjoy good beer.”

So a BEER BAR is a bar and not a MICROBREWERY and not a BREWPUB.

A BEER BAR is a bar where you are guaranteed to find craft beer from smaller independent breweries in addition to the big bad macro-beers (Bud, Coors, Miller, etc.). There are a few exceptions to this rule that we are aware of.

The first exception to why a BEER BAR might be included but they don’t have good beer is because establishments change. New management, new owners, lack of selling product are all reasons why the good beer might have been removed from a place and what is left is unimpressive and worthy of having them removed from PubCrawler.com. We do not mind removing places for this reason. We actually like that they are removed ASAP so other travelers and locals do not waste their money on gasoline getting there and time to discover what you already did.

The second exception relating to a BEER BAR is that some regions of the United States are fairly remote and other regions just are behind the times. What I am saying here is that every major city in the United States has good BEER BARS, microbreweries, etc. But when you leave the comfort and buffer of the city, the dark lonely roads do not have good BEER BARS along them. So we scrutinize the BEER BARS in cities, suburbs and exurbs more than we do one out in a less populated, less developed area. Out in the boonies, rural, country a bar that has a few all right imports or a few say local state microbrews is an oasis for the weary traveler and for the locals that call there home.

The final exception to the BEER BAR definition is an intentional inclusion not an error on our part. The inclusion of Fred’s Lounge in Mamou, Louisiana, was approved back in 2000 and remains a point of confusion. Fred’s Lounge lacks the good beer but more than makes up for it with atmosphere, hospitality and history. A place like Fred’s is in the system because we believe it is a place everyone should be aware exists and have the opportunity to experience before time and the inevitable changes time brings makes a place like Fred’s just a footnote on a page like this.

Fred’s is The Third Place, a term coined by Ray Oldenburg in his regarded book The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community.

A Third Place is a center of community life, an informal meeting place, a place where friends new and old connect and exchange information on their life and the community’s life. Some widely recognized examples of other third places include the coffee store chain Starbucks and the chain Panera Bread. Local coffee shops, churches and hair salons are other strong Third Places. Really any place can be made into a Third Place. New York City’s Central Park functions as an odd but effective third place.

Throughout Europe, but especially in the United Kingdom, neighborhood pubs have been the Third Place that Oldenburg seems to rely on as the best example of and longest lasting Third Places. Lots of the BEER BARS in PubCrawler.com are much like the pubs in the UK – the third place comfort zone, community.

If you stick to definition of what a BEER PLACE is PubCrawler.com won’t steer you too far off course – unless you are headed in that remote direction.

Finally, Delivery Pizza That Won't Kill You

2008-03-01T00:00:00-05:00

Every time I order pizza I shudder at the idea of who will come bearing my pizza. It seems that the pizza delivery industry attracts all sorts of souls with bad taste in cars and music. Lately, between the rap music pulsating off our front door and the souped up straight pipe exhaust on the delivery drivers rice-mobile-buggie - we've taken to avoiding the pizza delivery nightmare.

What is worse than the music and exhaust is the stuff that you find in a normal pizza. Most pizza businesses are not in it for the craft of fine pizza but rather the bulk perceived dollar value of the customer. Toppings, cheese and even the crust of your pizza likely came from a can, jar or freezer and wasn't made fresh and wasn't made from good ingredients. It is likely loaded with food coloring, preservatives and genetically modified ingredients.

So that leads us to say that the new pizza franchise Pizza Fusion is such an interesting concept. They are doing all sorts of forward thinking things that restaurants everywhere should take notice of. Top of the list is that nagging delivery driver with the souped-up-mobile- Pizza Fusion delivers their food in company owned hybrid vehicles. See it is all doable and has been for a while now :)

They have vegan and vegetarian menu items. They also have gluten free pizza (for Celiac sufferers) and lactose-free cheese (casein-free). Everything is optional.

The beverage list for Pizza Fusion is really outstanding: Volvic Water, Vitamin Water, Boylan’s All-Natural Soda, Jones Organics, Tazo Ice Tea, Naked Juices and Sol Maté, an organic energy drink.

For the alcohol consumers: organic brews from Butte Creek Brewing and Green Valley Brewing, certified organic red and white wines come from such highly regarded wineries as Frey Vineyards, Stellar Winery, Cooper Mountain, Dixon Peak and Badger Mountain Vineyard. Also serve Anheuser Busch’s gluten-free beer, Redbridge, which is brewed from Sorghum, a safe grain for those allergic to wheat or gluten.

From their own mouth, some of their environmental initiatives:

Delivering our food in company owned hybrid vehicles
Offsetting 100% of our energy usage with the purchase of renewable wind energy certificates
Recycling and giving customers discounts for bringing back their pizza boxes to recycle them
Using only eco-friendly cleaners to sanitize our stores
Using 100% post-consumer recycled paper in our collateral
Selling and providing our employees only with eco-apparel made from 100% organic cotton
Giving our customers discounts when they return their pizza box to recycle it
Serving our food in plastic-like containers made from 100% corn starch that decompose in landfills in only 50 days
Using only spudware utensils that are made 100% from potatoes that biodegrade in 50 days
Using 100% post consumer toilet paper and paper towels in all our bathrooms
Printing our in-store graphics on a banner material made from 100% recycled plastic soda bottles and printed using non-VOC inks
Host a free organic kids class every third Saturday of the month that educates children on the importance of eating organic and recycling
Donate money to environmental causes in and around our communities
Building our restaurants according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards set forth by the United States Green Building Council by utilizing a variety of unique energy efficient tactics and eco-friendly products, such as:
Eliminating the use of air heating units by redistributing the heat from our ovens to warm our restaurants
Eliminating the use of water heaters and air heating units by recycling heat from our ovens to warm the restaurants and heat the water
Using CF (Compact Fluorescent) bulbs in our stores which saves on energy consumption
Using seat cushions made from soybean oil instead of petroleum based foam
Installing counter tops made from 100% recycled detergent bottles
Using panels made from recycled materials and produced with a minimal environmental footprint to build shelves and counter tops in our stores
Using a greywater system that recycles waste water from our sinks into our toilets and reduces 1/3 of our restaurants’ water waste annually
Using milk based paints with no VOCs
Using furniture in our stores made from reclaimed wood
Implementing a cradle-to-cradle program where we reuse glass bottles from our stores to create flooring tiles for our future locations
Installing a smart lighting system in our bathrooms that automatically turns off when the bathroom is vacant
Using drywall in our build-out that is 95% post-consumer content and locally manufactured
Using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified wood to build our cabinets and wood fixtures
Using only Energy Star Certified appliances
Using insulation made from recycled blue jeans
Using the most efficient HVAC unit on the market
Using 30% recaptured industrial concrete
Using ceiling panels made from 74% recycled aluminum cans and 24% post industrial metals
Installing USG Gypsum Board made from pre-used drywall
Installing bamboo veneer face coverings for fixtures
Using ceiling baffles made from recycled composite board

Video about Black Star Co-op & Brewery

2008-02-28T05:00:00-05:00

Here's a video from YouTube with a bit more info on the Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery soon to be in Austin, Texas.

Fredericksburg, Virginia Getting New Capital Ale House

2008-02-27T09:00:00-05:00

The town of Fredericksburg, Virginia, soon will have a new Capital Ale House brewpub on Caroline Street. Expect to see this place open by the end of 2008.

Council approved a pack of incentives valued at $100,000 to lure Capital Ale House into Fredericksburg. Capital agreed to invest $1.5 million into the building it is leasing, hire at least 35 full-time and 35 part-time employees, generate no less than $100,000 in new local sales and meals taxes and have its certificate of occupancy by November 2008.

Hopes are that Capital will lure more people into the struggling downtown business district.

Fermented Tea Cures What Ills You

2008-02-27T08:00:00-05:00

What happens when you ferment tea? Well if you are fortunate a nice leathery pancake forms on top and the remaining liquid has a nice carbonated apple cider like taste.

This alcoholic tea is called Kombucha and it contains 0.5 to 1.7% alcohol by volume.

Kombucha traces its history back to China around 250 B.C. Referred to as the Tea of Immortality it aids the stomach in digestion of food. In Russia they call the tea elixir Tea Kvass.

Kombucha is a pro-biotic (in favor of life), contains enzymes, organic acids and balances pH naturally.

Lack of clinical studies leaves Kombucha still as an alternative remedy with great claims of success, but that should be carefully considered.

Have Good Beers? Then Have a Beer List Already!

2008-02-26T09:00:00-05:00

So you head to this bar or restaurant or other incarnation that allegedly has a good beer selection. You have never been there before and your source of reliable beer information failed to stick anything tempting to drink in your brain.

You get seated and the waitress hands you a food menu and asks what you would like to drink. You say a beer while she slowly rambles off the undrinkables: Bud, Miller, Coors Light, etc. This is while you fumble angrily through the menu and then scour over the table in that area where they heap the condiments and advertisements looking for a complete beverage list.

Maybe if you are brave or tired of this like me you ask "Where the beer list?" or "Where is a beverage list?"

This large problem seems to happen way too often. It must be one of the biggest problems the craft beer industry has.

Sure if you are at a brewpub, they will most certainly have all the beers on the trendy, but effective and required chalkboard for consideration. But what I am talking about here are the restaurants and bars who serve food, have a food menu, have beer taps, have a cooler with beer and serve wine and spirits.

My never ending gripe is that these places seem to think patrons are mind readers or that patrons wanting the good beer should be sitting at the bar talking to the bartender. How is someone going to order something you do not have on a menu?

What exactly does it say when the staff starts the beer list and ends it with only the macro beers? It says that the establishment’s days might be numbered. It says there is a lack of training. It also says there are many missed opportunities to convert customers into more lucrative craft beer drinkers.

So do me a favor if you own or operate any place that serves craft beer – put a beer menu on each table. Or consider putting the craft beer, soft drinks and mixed drinks all on a drink menu to accompany the food menu.

PubCrawler.com Launches New Blog

2008-02-24T05:00:00-05:00

We Have a New Blog!

We finally have launched the PubCrawler.com blog. We start with 19 new entries. You can find all the posts in the CATEGORIES box to the right.

Some features of the blog include RSS feeds, user comments, spam filtering and RSS subscription to specific blog entries and to each category.

You DO NOT need to setup a new account to post comments. Your PubCrawler.com email and password will work. You WILL have to log into the blog separately for now.

The blog is still a work in progress. Lots of changes coming. Feel free to recommend anything you would like in our blog.

In Pittsburgh, It Would Be Wise To Remember 1794

2008-02-24T04:00:00-05:00

Back in 1791, the new federal government under the pressure of Federalist Alexander Hamilton approved taxes on distilled spirits. The taxes were discriminatory forcing small producers to pay per gallon taxes while larger producers paid a flat tax. The taxes were intended for the federal governement assuming the state debts incurred during the Revolutionary War. (Hamilton also worked on creating a national debt and the means to pay it off, and setting up a national bank).

By 1794 the drink tax tension became an armed conflict at the Oliver Miller Homestead in South Park Township, Pennsylvania. George Washington and Alexander Hamilton used the conflict to test the powers of the new federal government. Martial law was declared in Pennsylvania and Virginia and a federal militia of around 15,000 marched into Monongahela, Pennsylvania.

Backyard distilleries were sought for destruction and a few people were fined between five and fifteen shillings for their trouble in the conflict. However, the troublemaking tax protesters were never found. Some historians claim there never was such an organized rebellion but that instead the situation was created by the Federalists to get citizens accustomed to a standing army.

Now the year 2007 and the County of Allegheny, Pennsylvania government has levied a 10% tax on all drinks poured, uncorked or uncapped. That's 10% tax on top of the already highly taxed alcohol - a tax modeled on Philadelphia's tax levied to pay for their underfunded school system. A 10% tax for all mixed drinks, beer, whiskey, malt beverages, etc. that you drink while in public (well legally drink in public). Reports since the tax took effect say that even take-out six packs and single to go bottles are being taxed with the 10% tax surcharge. Turns out the tax applies to all sales of alcoholic beverages, including six-pack sales, mixed drinks, wine and beer (opened or unopened). This includes individual bottles you get at a local bottleshop, a six-pack, a shot of alcohol or any poured beverage. At this pace Allegheny County will be misapplying this tax to cases of beer and liquor bought at the Commonwealth's Wine and Spirits monopoly before summertime.

The 10% in-public-alcohol-tax along with a $2 per rental car tax is intended to bail out the Port Authority (PAT), (year 2004 annual ridership 68 million with $59.4 million income and operating budget of $282.7 million ($212.6 million attributable to EMPLOYEE WAGES and BENEFITS) - total loss of $223.3 million) a government bus and rail transit company that has nothing to do with ports. A government transit company created back in 1959 to combine 33 PRIVATE transit carriers, Pittsburgh Railways Company (second largest streetcar fleet in North America - of which only three are used by PAT as trolley routes - (and which had 178.7 million passengers and $6.7 million income in the year 1902 and 396.6 million passengers and $21.7 million in income in the year 1926), and 32 independent bus and inclined plane companies.

What are Port Authority's claims of success for consolidating all these profitable individual privately owned transit companies? Combined fare structures, centralized operations, unified transit system, one of the nation's most diversified public transit agencies.

How about adding failed, bankrupt and inadequate to the list?

Failed by: removing the streetcar system that had worked for nearly 100 years.
Failed by: not providing adequate transportation for most people. Lack of Saturday, Sunday and holiday service in many area.
Failed by: not providing well lit, safe transit stops.

Bankrupt: not being able to pay your bills and rely on taxpayers from the other side of the who do not use your service but generously pay for such.
Bankrupt: running an operation defeceit of $212.6 million annually and growing.

Inadequate: not providing winter and rain shelters for riders.
Inadequate: not providing bicycle racks on buses. (Although as of February 23, 2007, PG reporting PAT spending another $91,752 for a mere 160 racks - $573.45 per - being funded by tax payer money)
Inadequate: not providing accomodation for bicyclists on busways
Inadequate: running large diesel powered pollution spewing buses around empty all day when a van would do.

Back in 1794 the locals of the Pittsburgh region took their taxed frustrations out on the tax collector and inevitably on the politicians who fueled the lunatic taxes. 1794 marked a start of an era where the out of control Federalists created a new navy and army and to pay for it they raised taxes on land, houses and slaves creating civil unrest. More taxes.

By 1800 Federalists became a footnote in American history due in part to their taxing antics. The Democratic-Republican party (founded by Thomas Jefferson) and today known just as the Democratic Party (often refferred to as "the party of Jefferson") raised to power under states' rights, opposition to a strong national government, doubt in federal courts, opposition to a Navy and national bank.
Most importantly the Democratic-Republicans power was in being anti-taxation.

In the 207 years since the Democratic party developed it has seemingly abandoned it's fundamental belief system. Taxation ought to represent the interests of the people at the state and local levels. Taxation should be entered into with the voice of the people behind it. Taxation should be avoided and probably voted on via referendum.

Allegheny County Chief Executive (and chief architect behind the 10% drink tax) Dan Onorato (a Democrat who has ran mostly unopposed) claims to have reduced the county's payroll during his time in office for a savings of $31 million annually. That money along with the $15.5 million found in a December 2007 Performance Audit by Jack Wagner, Auditor General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reporting PAT's rental of prime real estate, building renovations and not using either space - should more than cover the $36-50 million the drink/rental car tax was expected to raise.

So now, Allegheny County's bean counters are sitting anxiously waiting for the bags of money to start showing up in their offices. Even though everyone detests the tax and there is major organized opposition to the tax.

Governor-wreckless-Ed-Rendell was asked about instead taxing revenue from the boardline legal poker machines that seem to be well loved fixtures in Allegheny County bars. Ed said hands off the gambling revenue even as quasi-legalizing these machines and providing legal payouts would compete with the monopoly given to the slot parlours / casinos who paid a mere $50 million for their licenses.

So inevitably in Pennsylvania's fashion of being 100 years behind schedule just like a Port Authority bus - the whole drink tax fiasco will end up in the courts and possibly on the ballot in Allegheny county.

A group of restaurateurs and bar owners have already filed suit against the Allegheny County tax. They say if the tax isn't eliminated soon they will use their resources to start a referendum to end the tax come November's election.

But someone needs to tell the restauranteurs and bar owners the story of another referendum back in 1997 that voters unanimously rejected. A referendum that was put on the ballot in 11 counties in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan region and rejected by voters in all 11 counties. A referendum to raise the sales tax from 6% to 6.5% to pay the city and county debt of $209 million to be incurred to build a new stadium for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers to play their sports in and a new convention center in downtown Pittsburgh.

After losing decisively the good ole' boy leadership of Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania went around and against the voters voices psuedo-legally and got themselves not one but two new stadiums, a new convention center and a slew of other tax payer funded goodies.

After two decades of Pittsburgh being lauded an affordable, up-and-coming, changing city it remains deeply rooted in poor leadership and short-sighted. Pittsburgh's veneer is wearing thin. Those who weathered the downfall of metal industries and remained in Pittsburgh had been driven from their neighborhoods by crime, decay and poverty. Now rising taxes, increasing property values and an antiquated government are driving people out of Pittsburgh. Cranberry Township, Butler County, North Strabane, Washington County, Peters Township, Washington County, Penn Township, Westmoreland County these are all place that have experienced growth from out migration of former Pittsburgh'ers wanting to stay in the region but tired of the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Never mind that Pittsburgh leads the population loss column still lately only trailing New Orleans, Louisiana, a city ravaged by hurricane Katrina.

The business-as-usual big corporation suit-and-tie guys are continuing their yuppification - using taxpayer money to build ammenities to lure and retain mid and upper level management. The Port Authority is busy wasting additional new tax payer money digging a hole under the Allegheny river (where bridges are commonplace and walkable) to run the subway under the river (Pittsburgh's own BigDig) all the way to the new stadiums so those managerial types don't have to walk to the game or their new Northshore dwellings like the normal folks. The $435 million 1.2 mile extension with two stops (one for each stadium) is already being mismanaged by the Port Authority with expected cost overruns and closure/destruction of one existing subterranean station.

Just like the Whiskey Rebellion, there is a voice of discontent. When the government taxing authorities finally come to their senses they might realize that the silent protest while still existing - has left and that the taxing burden of government excedes the means of the people to provide for such unnecessary expenses. In Pittsburgh, It Would Be Wise To Remember 1794.

Black Star Co-op Aims to Be First

2008-02-22T00:00:00-05:00

Happy progressive Austin, Texas the liberal ideas and forward thinking are free flowing. Introducing Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery. Nope, not a real place - not yet. But they hope to become real very soon.

They aim to be the world's first cooperatively-owned and worker self-managed brewpub.

Over 450 paying members have this venture on it's way to becoming a reality.

Amazing no one has done this already. Makes the whole beer world seem like a bunch of greedy old oil barons sitting on bags of money.

Lucky Lab Brews with Solar Heated Water

2008-02-21T00:00:00-05:00

Cloudy, dreary, Portland, Oregon, February.

Up on the roof the sun heats the water to over 100 degrees. Downstairs the brewer goes to work filling the mash tun with hot water to saturate malted barley.

It's no different at the Lucky Labrador in Portland, Oregon (Hawthorne), except for the solar heated water part.

Brewing beer is hot water intensive. Hot water requires lots of money.

They are using 16 4x10 foot panels to gather heat from the sun. It's low 40's outside and their solar water is up to 145 degrees already.

Lucky Lab is already in the process of working on adding solar power water heating to their other locations. Way to go guys!

The Celebrator Beer News Turns 20

2008-02-18T00:00:00-05:00

The always enjoyable Celebrator Beer News Magazine turns 20 today.

Congrats to them and here's to another fine 20 years of beer!

Olde Peninsula Brewpub Implements New Green

2008-02-15T00:00:00-05:00

Olde Peninsula Brewpub reopened after about two weeks of being closed.
The closure was for efficiency upgrades.

A new ice machine, fryes, griddles, refrigerators, hand dryers and compact fluorescent bulbs.

Estimated savings: 18,000 kilowatts of electric per year.

They are also making a once a month run to a local recycling facility for the wine and liquor bottles.

Only in Utah Part Two

2008-02-14T09:00:00-05:00

Imagine owning a bar, pub or brewpub and being told you couldn't sell your business.

In South Salt Lake, Utah, that's exactly what owners of such drinking establishments are being told. To add to their pain they are being given a
mere four-months to sell their businesses. Otherwise, the only way they can
sell is if the business moves out of South Salt Lake.

Council Chairman Roy Turner said "There's irrefutable evidence . . . that there is a very close correlation between crime and the consumption of alcohol."

Only in Utah!

Broadway Ale Work - The Little Brewery That Might Never Be

2008-02-11T09:00:00-05:00

Downtown Fresno, California a plan is brewing between two friends and one of their wives.

A former furniture in the family since the 1920's provides the backdrop.

The plan is to open a micro brewery in downtown Fresno. A privately owned small business that would provide a center of commerce, night life and social interaction in the transitional neighborhood.

But the City of Fresno along with Cleveland, Ohio based developer Forest City have other ideas for the privately-owned space. Last year Fresno gave Forest City sole rights to redevelop a six-block area in which the slated brewery building is within.

So now the brewery is in limbo while Forest City readies it's plans.

Heavyweight Brewing Pair Back with a Lightweight Brewpub

2008-01-30T09:00:00-05:00

Tom Baker and Peggy Zwerver, owners of the well-regarded and shuttered Heavyweight Brewing are back with a new place being in the pre-opening phase.

The duo had longed for a small bar where they could sit at the end of the bar and chatter with friends and patrons.

It's pizza, soups and salads along with four beers brewed on premises aside eight other local microbrews that will make up the new Earth Bread + Brewery location in Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.

New Beer Bar Waits Six Months for License

2008-01-29T09:00:00-05:00

Imagine working hard to open a new beer bar. Finding space for your new venture, suppliers, tables, glassware, lights, flooring, building modifications, health department permits, local building permits, occupancy permits and the notorious LIQUOR LICENSE.

The Beer Table in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York has been in legal
limbo for almost six months with their liquor license still pending approval by the
New York State Liquor Authority.

Justin and Tricia Philips, the owners of the now shuttered-pending-licence beer bar both remain optimistic that opening day might arrive sometime in 2008. In the meantime months of rent, utilities and the costs it takes to open a new place are mounting.

Will Beer Table open? Will they survive the first year? Well the bureuacrats at the NY State Liquor Authority sure could not care.

New Belgium Brewing Joins 'One Percent for the Planet'

2008-01-28T09:00:00-05:00

New Belgium Brewing joined One Percent for the Planet. One percent of New Belgium's sales will go towards the fund launched in 2001 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Matthews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies of Bozeman.

Since 2001, 1% members have donated more than $30 million USD towards environmental projects.

New Belgium will also continue giving one dollar per every barrel of beer sold to non-profit organizations.

Quite the environmental leader, New Belgium was the first brewery to buy wind power for it's operations.

Hops Provide Active Anti-Cancer Agent

2008-01-27T09:00:00-05:00

A preliminary study out of Munich, Germany has determined xanthohumol, found in hops inhibits a family of enzymes that can trigger the cancer process.

Xanthohumol also helps the body detoxify carcinogens stopping tumor growth at an early stage.

Xanthohumol contains more powerful antioxidants than vitamin E and some studies indicate it helps reduce oxidation of bad cholesterol.

At Oregon State University they have shown xanthohumol kills breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

Legislators Trying to Ban Cold Beer

2008-01-26T09:00:00-05:00

Only in Utah would elected officials try to ban the sale of cold beer. That's exactly what some politicians in Utah are trying to do.

The Utah Senate's Republican Caucaus came up with the brilliant idea to ban the sale of cold beer in an ill-fated attempt to stop on premises drinking and over-drinking by purchasers.

Now someone give me a cold one, before we can't get one in U-ta-aaa.

Mogollon Brewing Producing Ethanol

2008-01-26T08:00:00-05:00

After producing vodka the lads at Mogollon Brewing decided that brewing ethanol made good sense.

The new venture called Earth Friendly Fuels includes plans to build a production facility outside Flagstaff, Arizona capable of 50 million gallons of ethanol annually.

The brewery is currently the only bar in Arizona permitted to produce ethanol.

Heartland Raises $35 Million in Loans

2008-01-25T10:00:00-05:00

GE Capital Solutions, Franchise Finance has loaned Heartland Brewery $20 million in senior term debt, $10 million in a revolving line of credit and $5 million in a development facility.

The $35 million is intended to open new Heartland locations.

Ontario Rounds Up 50,000 Beer Fridges

2008-01-25T09:00:00-05:00

Ontario's great beer fridge roundup claimed some success in it's first year. After having rounded up 50,000 old inefficient fridges last year, they have set a goal of eliminating 100,000 outdated fridges during 2008.

Old fridges on average cost $150 per year to operate. Most end up in the basement storing the occasional beer or the summer beverages.

Eliminating 100k fridges this year will save enough energy to power 15,000 homes.

Barley and Hops and Steel Add to Beer Prices

2008-01-25T01:00:00-05:00

That flowery citrus taste in your favorite beer might start costing you more. Worldwide hop harvest in fall 2007 was mediocre. Add to that the falling dollar and strong Euro and lots of the hops are finding their way to the other side of the Atlantic.

It takes about three years to get a hop field to production state. In the US there are an estimated 45 hop growers down from over 2,000 back in 1978.

Time for breweries to start experimenting with other bittering agents.

Barley, another staple of beer production saw prices increase over 17% during 2007. Part of the increase is attributable to farmers dedicating more acreage to more lucrative crops like corn (which is currently being gobbled up for making Ethanol).

The prices of aluminum and stainless steel are on the increase also as Asia feeds it need for raw materials.