NJ College Pres. Hates His Students

Earlier this year, a bunch of college presidents got together to form the Amethyst Initiative, which asked for a dialogue on our de facto national drinking age.

It turns out — and I know this is going to shock you — that lots of kids on college campuses drink. I know, I’m surprised too. Don’t these kids know the law? Anyway: College campuses have developed a dangerous drinking culture, perhaps in part due to the 21-plus drinking age, and these college presidents were all wondering if the federal government could reconsider its policy.

The reaction to this from nearly all political and media quarters was that of horror. The New Jersey Senate held a hearing yesterday and decided the solution is just a little more law enforcement. “We’ve got to tighten these laws up to deal with this unfortunate problem,” said said the committee chairwoman.

But a special award goes to Stockton College president Glenn Miller, who requested the police arrest his students more often:

There is currently no law forbidding underage drinking, said Miller. Instead, under state statute, underage drinking outdoors is against the law, but underage alcohol consumption behind closed doors is not illegal.

“I think we should refine the statute to make it an actual violation to drink underage,” said Miller, who also called for harsher punishments for those who buy alcohol for underage adults.

“We are dealing with a population of young adults aged 18 to 22 and they are learning, most for the first time, how to live as a responsible member of the community. Students will make mistakes — however, when a community member does not learn from their mistake or refuses to accept the mistake they have made, enforcement needs to be taken.”

Let’s say you’re a 19-year-old at Stockton College, and you drink on the weekends like everybody else at school. You’re breaking the law, sure, but you don’t throw up like when you were 16 and you don’t get really hammered much anymore. You’ve somehow managed to become a responsible drinker. There is nothing you need more than enforcement.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is this: Yesterday, a Moorestown policeman pled not guilty to charges of having sex with girls and cows. While this was going on, the Senate was debating how to best fail at the impossible task of preventing all underage drinking.

Talk about fiddling while Rome burns. Or, I guess, fiddling while someone is diddling cows? Something like that.

Photo by cytoon used under a Creative Commons license

We’re #2!

Here’s something you might not have guessed: With Anheuser-Busch’s sale to InBev, the second-largest brewery in the United States will be Yuengling when the sale is complete. (Samuel Adams is #1.)

Incidentally, InBev makes such beers as Stella Artois and Beck’s, so a merger with Budweiser seems appropriate. Actually, I don’t remember if Beck’s is any good, but I do know Stella is freaking disgusting.

Update: And Crown Holdings (nee Crown Cork and Seal) makes most of the beer packaging in the U.S., too, right? it’s a Philadelphia party in the beer market!

Anheuser-Busch Sells [Foobooz]

Beer Truck Crash Fails To Spill Any Beer

Ha ha, a truck carrying Yuengling crashed on the ramp off I-95 at Woodhaven this morning, tying up traffic and not even spilling any beer on the road. Geeze, what’s the point?

Photo via David Swanson/Inquirer

Speakeasy Sports Bar What You Expected

Can we sum up this new sports bar in the old Zanzibar Blue spot in one sentence? Why, yes, yes we can. Suzy on JL Sullivan’s Speakeasy: “I kind of saw it as a university of sorts if McFadden’s was the high school.”

Excellent: Explaining the bar in just one sentence. She adds, “Not that this is a bad thing,” but I think we all know how we personally feel about McFadden’s.

Spreading the word about Philly’s new “Speakeasy” despite their deep affection for mass produced witbiers [I'll Have Another Stout]

Could Beer Be Easier To Buy?

KYW 1060 reports on the latest case the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is hearing: The Sheetz convenience store chain wants to be able to sell beer at its locations.

John Rafferty (R-Chester, Montgomery Counties) is chairman of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, which oversees liquor issues. He thinks the court will rule in favor relaxing beer sales: “I have a feeling that – and this is strictly a gut feeling – that the court is going to open the windows for us, and that there will be a more liberal ruling, if you will, widening the market for selling beer.”

Making beer easier to get? Who knew Pennsylvania could even do that? Hopefully the court will rule with that “gut feeling” clause in the state constitution.

High Court Ruling Could Make Selling Beer in Pa. Easier [KYW 1060]

Airport Actually #1 In Something

DRAFT Magazine — a magazine, apparently — recently ranked the top 10 airports for beer, and what do you know, Philadelphia International Airport ranked first, having 48 taps at several terminals.

Thanks to Jet Rock, Philly features the rare jewel of a big-selection airport bar in not one, but four terminals. The rock ‘n’ roll-themed restaurants in terminals B, C, and D pull 48 taps (24 in F) with a mix of local micros and big-brewery lagers.

The idea of a rock ‘n’ roll-themed restaurant sounds pretty terrible — ever been to Hard Rock? — but with 48 taps, there’s certain to be a beer you’ll like. It makes sense, though: Only a lot of beer could make PHL palatable.

PHL tops in hops [Food & Drinq]

Beer! Cheese! The End Of Prohibition!

Joe “Don Russell” Sixpack reminds us today that it’s the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition April 7. Personally, I’d like to celebrate it by arresting some marijuana smokers, but perhaps you’re a little more of a beer-and-cheese kinda guy.

And, hey, here we go: Suzy (a board certified Friend of D-Mac™) is holding a beer and cheese party tonight with Sly Fox’s Brian O’Reilly and “cheese monger extraordinare” Hunter Fike. Ha ha, cheese monger! It’s at DiBruno Bros. and starts at 6, and costs $45. They will have Pikeland Pils, the current greatest beer in the world, naturally.

After the jump, more beer fun with a recent 6 ABC segment on Joe Sixpack’s book and Philly’s status as the best beer-drinking city in the world, helpfully shown on April 1, a while after the end of Philly Beer Week.

More »

You Will Soon Know More About Cask Ale

Hey, so how’s this for a specific blog: Philadelphia Area’s Cask Ales.

The blog, by Kevin Rowe, is all about the “a beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide.” That’s the CAMRA definition, and the site also helpfully defines CAMRA (”the Campaign for Real Ale, is an independent, voluntary, consumer organisation which campaigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights”).

Rowe updates apparently every day about what is on cask at different area bars. This is a feat more impressive than summarizing (PWD definition: not summarizing) the Daily News columnists every day; there’s also a list of all the cask ales available during Philly Beer Week.

Philadelphia Area’s Cask Ales

Beer Fight!

Our state lawmakers in the House have recently been so kind as to consider allowing beer distributors and takeout beer joints to sell 6-, 12- and 18-packs. All good, right? Duh, of course not: Now the state’s lawmakers are pissed because it’s going to give Bud, Miller and Coors et al an edge.

Under Pennsylvania’s current liquor law — brought down via stone tablets by William Penn himself — beer distributors are only allowed to sell cases of beer (generally 24-packs), kegs and the like. Takeout beer places can sell up to 12 beers at a time. The new rules would allow distributors to sell as few as six beers at a time and let takeout places (delis, bars, etc.) sell as many as 18 beers at once. Neat!¹

But local brewers don’t have the packing gizmos to make 18-packs, since they haven’t been allowed to sell them up to this point. The beer giants have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars bribing (”lobbying”) our state lawmakers to pass this new law; Anheuser-Busch spent $200k last year lobbying Pennsylvania legislators and Miller spent $100k.

The state’s beer makers are not happy, though the head of the union for microbrewers says he wants to do “what’s best for beer.” It’s not beers like Yards, Troegs (both quoted in the article) that would be really hurt by the law but beers like Yuengling, which compete more with the corporate beer. Nobody’s choosing between a six-pack of Yards Love Stout and an 18-pack of Bud Light; Dougie Fratboy might be willing to get an 18-pack of Coors instead of a 24 of Lager.

Er, anyway, look how emphatic and angry this “consultant for Iron City Brewing Co.” is! “Who’s this bill going to help? It’s certainly not going to be the little guy. There’s not one microbrewer in this state that can make an 18-pack, not one.”

The article notes the state may give brewers a ton of money to upgrade their machinery. If only I had a brew pub on the Chester waterfront! I could get the state to pay me to not make beer.

¹ Pennsylvania’s liquor laws are, shall we say, a bit stupid, and I may have screwed up this description of it. Just assume if it makes it easier for you to acquire your beer you’re not allowed to buy it that way.

A six-pack of controversy to go [Inquirer]

TV News Reports On Beer, Women

Above, NBC 10’s weekend report on In Pursuit of Ale, the Philadelphia women’s beer club. (Friends of Philadelphia Will Do!) With so much incredible editing during this report, you’ll wonder whether you’re watching the local news or a movie!

[via Foobooz]