"Beer, it seems, is no longer what's for dinner."

Five Thirty Eight

I love stats like that. Even though there aren't always causations in effect, it's interesting to see how the different dynamics play out. Sometimes the relationship between things seem mundane or wholly unrelated. But every once in a while something is stumbled upon that makes a connection appear. You know who's kind of good at flushing those out? Justin Timberfake. I like reading those seemingly benign questions and watching the connections made.

It's probably why I liked " The Tipping Point " , " Blink " and " Outliers " by Malcolm Gladwell so much. He asks such good questions and then really finds out why this or that happened, when was expected to be shown, was something entirely different.

For instance, in " The Tipping Point " he cites the case wbout how, when and why the Hush Puppy Shoe company enjoyed such an out of the blue resurgence when they were on the brink of bankruptcy. It turns out that they became trendy again - through no effort on their part. They wondered why and traced it back to 5 New York City club kids that decided that Hush Puppies were cool and people followed suit.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/09/applying_gladwells_tipping_poi.php

" After dwindling into obscurity, Hush Puppies went from anemic sales of 30,000 in the early '90s to more than 400,000 in 1995. The Few turned out to be a small group of kids in New York City's East Village and Soho who started wearing the shoes specifically because no one else was wearing them. The company fed off of the trend started by these few kids and started answering the requests of noted Manhattan and Los Angeles designers who had been infected with the fashion statement. From those small, localized beginnings, the epidemic spread."

I just plain dig that kind of stuff.

So what do you all think about the proposal to raise the tax on alcohol in Oregon? I don't drink so I don't care. What do others think? An extra 15 cents a drink too much for you?

Heck no. That seems resonable to me.

It's not an extra 15 cents. It's a 1900% increase in the tax on a barrel of beer. A pint of beer will go up by $1-$2 a pint and a 6 pack would go up by $3 or more. I'm completely against it as it would kill the craft brewing industry here in Oregon which is part of our local economy.

That seems like an overly high increase. Couldn't this be something that could be introduced incrementally over time?

Like Andrew I don't drink alcohol but at some point it's gotta hurt somebody pretty hard.

lets see 15 cents times the three after work times 5, times 52 ,I am to liquored up to even attempt the math. but, since i live in washington i will cease drinking in Oregon, CHEERS

I've heard some conflicting figures - not sure where they are coming from - such as in this story:

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2009/02/18/news/top_story/5aaa01_beertax. txt

I would like to hear a response from the proponents of this bill. I know the guy who proposed it; I'll have to ask him.

http://www.kgw.com/video/index.html?nvid=332228

For those of you who don't know. Portland is the brewing capital of the world. More beer is produced annually, per capita than any other in the world. Including Munich, Prague (located in the biggest beer drinking nation, per capita, in the world), or
Moscow (yes the Russians chase their vodka with.... beer.)

I personally am opposed to most vice taxes (with the exception of cigarettes). No more beer tax. The OLCC has enough power as is.

Whatever they do, we who DO drink should pitch in and help our local economy by drinking more!

I'll drink to that.

Seriously though, I still don't have an issue with paying more. Even the amount shown by Vitalogy.

Enjoyed a nice cup of tea this evening.

Yeah well I remember some kind of revolt regarding a tea tax too.

"You say you want a revolution...."

People, we're going to have to pay for Bush's errors no matter what, so we might as well drink to it.

I say we tax Oxycontin and let Limbaugh pay off the whole debt.

"I love stats like that."

I do too CJ! Here are two more doozies from U.S.S.M. to ponder:

Immediate Impact of Ken Griffey on the Greater Puget Sound Ecomony

Chart Comparing the Current Economic Stimulus of Griffey and Ichiro

You know I could get into Malcolm Gladwell.

We are already paying part of this tax. Bud, Coors and others sell their beer across the nation at near the same price, no matter what the state tax if.

Oregon is 250% below the national average, so the tax should be increased by at least 250% and there will be no increase seen, just fewer trips to Hawaii given by the beer lobbyists to Legislator's (Mostly the GOP).

I think exemptions should be made for small local brewers. One reason they seem to have prospered in Oregon is the low tax rate. I wouldn't want to put the pinch on them in tough economic times.

But I would shed no tears if Coors and Budweiser had to pay more in tax - believe me.

Last time the beer tax came up there was going to be an exemption for those under 10,000 barrels a year. (So Coors and Bud would be the only ones hit.).

So they went to the Speaker of the House (Member of the GOP) and said if the bill was killed they would get a trip to Hawaii. They justified the killing of the bill as it would be ubfair to give the higher price microbrews an advantage over national crap beers.

Well, Bud isn't a national brand anymore. The King of Beers is owned by the Stella guys now!

I'm for flat out giving the micro brews an advantage.

I'll drink to that, Missing!

Nope. No breaks for any brewers. If a "sin tax" is how we're going to pay for everything, rather than step up and fund stuff properly, then nobody gets to opt out.

People pay this, not brewers. It's passed on down the line to the end user, we the people. So, why should the Widmer demographic get to avoid the tax, leaving the Budweiser demo to foot the bill?

You can look at the funding for SCHIP the same way. Big Tobacco ( RJR and Phillip Morris ) just gamed our new Pres into killing their competition, by supporting an increase on roll your own tobacco, from $1.0969 per pound, to $24.78. Who rolls their own? People who can't afford ready-made cigs any more. Ready made are only increasing 62 cents per pack. (These figures do not include Oregon's tax, since we don't have those calcs yet.) Also, a floor tax is imposed on all inventory held on March 31.

Only one tobacco product got a pass: large cigars. No floor tax for the Cohibas and those precious Macanudos, and a cap of 36 cents increase per stick. So, the country club set just got to opt out of helping to support SCHIP, while the rest of us get hammered.

Yep, I'm scrambling to find new product lines to keep my little store open and my employee employed.

Sorry, beer drinkers, welcome to the wonderful world of sin taxes. I'll be paying that one along with you, too.

Entre_nous!!

Been a while!

I'm with you on that actually. I was just pointing out, if we go down the bad road of favoring, just keep the idea that Bud isn't a national brand in mind!

They've been very VERY low key about it. I, on the other hand, mention it frequently. It's no longer an American beer.

...and I drink so little beer, they could do a buck a bottle and it wouldn't matter, and I would be happy to pay.

Hi, KSKD

I have missed you all, and have checked on you from time to time, but didn't want to "drive-by" post...I've had precious little time for anything outside my business plan lately.

You are absolutely right! The last thing Anheuser-Busch wants is to be tagged "multi-national". Tough. They are. And, like Big Tobacco, will support this if it means the competition ( who resist selling out to them ) will take it in the shorts.

I am not in favor of sin taxes. They do impact sales, especially as we consumers all tighten our belts.

Sin taxes are politically safe. Pair an unpopular activity against a popular program, here comes the money! And since a minority of voters will object, little impact on the next election cycle.

If small brewers were exempt from the tax, and a pint of Bud suddenly was the same price as a pint of Full Sail, who'd drink Bud? Not me, and I would not be supporting whatever program those tax dollars went to.

If small brewers were exempt from the tax, and a pint of Bud suddenly was the same price as a pint of Full Sail, who'd drink Bud? Not me, and I would not be supporting whatever program those tax dollars went to.

Hell, I wouldn't drink Bud if it was only 25% the price of a pint of GOOD beer!

And I grew up in St. Louis. Budweisers (former) home!

Second that, Skybill, with a pint o' the Guinness ( no Widmer Hef on tap at home ).

If Bud was the last beer on Earth, Crown Royal would send me a thank you note

Sadly, I know people that would choose the Bud. Not me though. I'm a micro kinda guy.

Me too. When I drink beer, I like really great beer!

Lots of good micros to choose from. Always enjoy it. Drinking Bud is like drinking box wine. When you get there, you have to and that kind of sucks.

. . . but drinking local brew is like drinking brake fluid.

For some reason I just cannot stomach micro brew . . . I don't know why . . . a sip will send me running to the 7/11 for a diet coke.

I had a six-pack of big cans of Budweiser in my fridge. I consumed three of them ... in a big pot, with sauteed onions, boiling brats and cheddar dogs for my Super Bowl Party. The other three will wait for the next time I boil brats for the barbecue.

It is not worth consuming in conventional methods. I'm much too much of a beer snob.

I will say this, we in the Northwest need to embrace our beer snobbery! In so many parts of this fine nation of ours, they don't have the option of being beer snobs. A trip to any store in Wisconsin, or Michigan's upper peninsula I sadly found out, offers Michelob and MGD as its highest-brow wares. Simply unacceptable for my palate.

IMHO, Oregon isn't exactly in a position to harm its local businesses, with unemployment where it is, the tax base dwindling. I realize that it is a "sin tax", but maybe a break for the local kids?

Oh and Entre ... welcome back chicky!

Blasphemy!

LOL!!!

That's one great way to consume Bud Brian. I'll use it that way too. It's an excellent spice.

Beer is just a rental anyway. You pay, and then you pee! (h/t to the Rachel Maddow show for showcasing that little bit.)

Skep, I'm gonna piss off a whole other group of people and say that micro beer is just like wine. There are lots of flavors, spread out across a few classic formulas, and you choose it like you do wine, depending on the food at hand.

...or just Widmer, with fresh lemon.

Missing is exactly right.

Beer should be paired with food like wine. For example if you are eating a fish dish, you probably wouldn't want Guinness Stout.

Similarly you probably wouldn't want a Mirror Pond with lasagna or spaghetti.

Then again, you wouldn't want Bud, Miller or Coors with anything at anytime!!!!!

Personally, I've never met a Deschutes Brewing Co. beer I didn't like!

Hai, Brianl! Thanks!

My physiology has taken beer snobbery to a whole new level: I've been drinking beer carbonated with nitrous so long that anything on CO2 gives me hiccups! A lime soaked in bitters cures that ( and is available in a real bar ) but I get funny looks from bartenders who don't know that old trick.

I liked Wid Hef much better before they started bottling it. Less fizz, more sediment. My distributor back then told me that it didn't look as good in the bottle, so they altered it. They used to deliver and store our kegs upside down, so that when tapped, the sediment would settle throughout, and dispense evenly.

My first rule of beer: If I can see through it, I'm not drinking it!

My first rule of beer: If I can see through it, I'm not drinking it!

I used to have that exact same phillosiphy!

Which meant that I stuck pretty much to Porters and Stouts. However, I really like a good IPA and there are a few good ambers too. I really like a beer that is very hoppy.

I've been drinking beer carbonated with nitrous...

I think you mean nitrogen, right? Although nitrous oxide would make for some "funny" times while drinking beer! It might even make the beer come out your nose!

Nitrogen is used because it is an inert gas and won't dissolve into the beer like CO2 will.

http://www.yeastbank.com/features/mainbar2nd2000.htm

Oops! I was in a hurry when I wrote that, Skybill! You are correct: nitro!

Note to self: proofread...hahaha

My favorite beers:

Deschutes: Black Butte Porter, Obsidian Stout, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Jubal Ale.

Widmer: Hef (my all time fave), Drop Top Amber Ale, Brrrr.

Full Sail: Amber Ale

McMennamins: Rubinator (half Ruby, half Terminator), Hazinator (half Purple Haze, half Terminator).

Sierra Nevada: Pale Ale

Guinness Stout

When it comes to lighter beers: Coors, Rolling Rock, Becks, Heineken, Miller High Life, and when camping or fishing, Busch Light Draft in a can.

Rolling Rock is okay ... in a pinch. If I want to pound it, that'll suffice.

I LOVE a good IPA. Widmer Brothers Broken Halo is right on the top of the list ...

I LOVE a good IPA. Widmer Brothers Broken Halo is right on the top of the list ...

Me too! Never tried Broken Halo, but I will. And soon!

Pretty much agree with Vit's list too although there are several on there I've never had.

However, I'll drink diet Coke before any of the beers in the last sentence!!!

Black Butte Porter is probably one of if not my favorite all time beer!

Guinness ranks right up there too, as long as its tap poured. The stuff in a can isn't very palatable. Although the little nitrogen ball in the can is pretty cool. Being a techie, I HAD to cut one open and see how it worked!

Widmer Brothers makes my favorite Hefeweizen as well, there are some that I just can't stomach as well. Henry's, I like their red, but their Hef just doesn't do it for me.

I like Guinness out of the can, another one like Guinness is Boddington's ... you can get a hold of it at specialty stores. It has more of a bite, not as smooth as Guinness, and it also has the nitrogen ball ("The Rocket").