Tom Wark writes the Fermentation blog. In it, he describes the absolute mockery of testifying before a committee that isn’t going to do anything regardless of the testimony. Yes, this is how democracy really works in Maryland. Too bad it was regarding the proposed Direct Wine Shipping bill (HB 716) that I’ve talked about so much before.
| According to this article in the Baltimore Sun, it looks like the bill is dead. My older coverage is here: |
|
| I’m not really concerned with whether or not you agree with this legislation, but you can no longer argue the fact that Maryland’s legislature is run via back-room deals and special interest money. The fact that the majority of the committee supported the legislation, but the legislation was not allowed to come up for a vote overwhelmingly proves this. |
| The irony is that Maryland, still known as the “free state”, uses a moniker that was earned during the 1920’s during protests of the federally mandated prohibition of alcohol. Yes – I live in the “free state” unless I want to drink wine from that other country none as California. |
| Hey folks, remember that tomorrow is the scheduled hearings for the direct wine shipping bills that I’ve previously discussed here. |
| Vinotrip is reporting this tasty nugget. “Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws will be holding a press conference on Friday, March 5 at 12:15 PM on Lawyers’ Mall in Annapolis. The press release mentioned that there has been “an understanding reached with the alcohol industry concerning HB 716/SB 566.” |
| Now if we could just get Senator Joan Carter Conway to abandon her false claims that this bill would increase under-aged drinking we may just get there. |
| Interesting chatter regarding The Lorraine Sheehan Health and Community Services Act of 2010. Further background here. |
| I had sent an email to all members of the House Ways and Means Committee and received this response from Delegate Frank S. Turner: |
Thank you for contacting me concerning HB 832 – The Lorraine Sheehan Health and Community Services Act of 2010.
This bill is scheduled for a hearing on March 11, 2010 before the Ways and Means Committee. There is no chance any tax bill will pass in FY 2011.
I appreciate hearing from you regarding this issue.Very truly yours,
Delegate Frank S. Turner
House Ways and Means Committee
Chairman, Finance Resources Subcommittee
District 13 – Howard County
410-841-3246/301-858-3246
Fax: 410-841-3986
E-mail: frank.turner@house.state.md.us
http://mlis.state.md.us/
| Score one for the little people. |
After a long hiatus, the house beer makes a triumphant return. This batch will be a little higher in alcohol as compared to the last few as the efficiency seems to be around 75%. This is a straight forward American Pale Ale. A touch of caramel ending with citrus notes from the hops. Originally derived from Abita’s Restoration Ale. For those of you counting, this is batch #36 on the brew rig.
Brew session went well. Looking forward to having this on tap again!
Ingredients:
| 20# | 2-row Maris Pale Malt |
| 2# | Carapils |
| 24 oz | Crystal 40L |
Hops:
| 1.5 oz | Cascade | 7.5% AA | 60 Min |
| 1.0 oz | Centennial | 9.2% AA | 15 Min |
| 0.5 oz | Centennial | 9.2% AA | 0 Min |
Yeast:
| (2) US-05 Fermentis Safale – Fermentiing ~@65F |
Yield:
| 10 Gallons |
Stats:
| OG: 1.064 | IBU: 27 | SRM: 9.1 |
| Had the pleasure on Thursday evening to head into the city. Hopes were running high as we wanted to try the latest trick on the beer engine from Stephen Jones, the brewer at Pratt St Ale House. |
| From Wikipedia – “Typically, beers of this style are of a copper colour but vary from golden to almost black, and as the name suggests the origins of this style lies in the tradition that it was matured/cellared for a period of time once bottled (and most sealed with a cork), to be consumed later in the year, akin to a Saison.” |
| This beer was delightful and something that grew on me the more I had. 5.5% ABV, dark amber color, a medium mouth-feel, pronounced maltiness and a little fruity character upon warming made this worth the trip! |
| As an added twist, it just happened to be the 100th firkin Thursday @ Metropolitan with several notable members of SPBW in attendance. |
Interesting chatter over the last few days about a new alcohol tax bill in Maryland. Over the past weeks I’ve outlined Maryland’s Wine Siege. Now this gem. Deceptively named the “The Lorraine Sheehan Health and Community Services Act of 2010”. The house bill is here. The senate version is here.
Increasing the State tax rates for alcoholic beverages sold in Maryland from $1.50 to $10.03 per gallon for distilled spirits, from 40 cents to $2.96 per gallon for wine, and from 9 cents to $1.16 per gallon for beer; providing for the distribution of the additional revenue to special funds to be used only for the purpose of providing additional funding for specified health services; etc.
Brandon Miller-Millhouse summarized as following:
“A Maryland Brewery" Brews 40 Barrel batches
40 bbl = 1240 gallons presently taxed at $111.60
with bill passed that same single batch would be taxed $1,438…So lets say a brewery right now sells a gallon of beer for $5 (just an example) this tax makes them to have to raise the price of their product to say $7.50-$8 per gallon. The Distributor has to mark it up to retain their profit margin ($10-$11)and the retailers have to mark it up retain their profit margin ($13-$15) and WE are left paying Stone Six-Pack Prices for everything…oh and I almost forgot the 6% MD sales tax.
BTW – Brandon reads this blog, so if you’d like to leave him feedback, do it here. I won’t be handing out his email address.
Just another example of how clearly broken Maryland’s three-tier distribution system remains. I completely understand wanting to raise the taxes to be more in-line with other states, but don’t provide that comparison to me regarding states that don’t have a bogus three-tier distribution system in place. The reality is, the distributors don’t care because they are going to add their costs on regardless of what this bill does just as Brandon has previously outlined.
Opinions and comments welcome.
Last evening, I had the pleasure of trying Troegs Nugget Nectar on firkin. A seasonal brew they describe as a Imperial Amber. Coming in @ 7.5ABV and 93 IBU’s, this beer can be a real beast.
While the beer was OK, it wasn’t the experience I had hoped. I don’t think it was cellared properly. While you may think this isn’t too big of deal, the beer was as cloudy as many of the primary fermentations I’ve run and so active that they were pouring foam into pitchers, then into my glass. The result – real ale with all the natural carbonation knocked out of solution. 
On the positive side, it was amazing how 93 IBU’s were masked in this beer. It was extremely easy drinking and enjoyable outside of my other experience.
I hope my little story tells you how important a good cellar man is to real ale. You can’t have one without the other.
Update #1 (2/19/2010 1pm): This is not an attack on the place of business that served the firkin, I really enjoy the variety of beers served, the food and the staff. In fact, I purposely didn’t even mention their name because I didn’t want Google holding onto that forever. I merely wanted to tell of my experience and elicit feedback and thought. FWIW, I will continue to enjoy great beer at this great pub. I am fascinated by real ale and will continue to seek it out.
| Update 02/20/2010: According to Alexander D. Mitchell IV via the Harrisburg Patriot News, the bill may not be dead yet. “Sen. Joan Carter Conway, has scheduled a hearing on Senate Bill 566, the direct wine shipping bill, on Friday, March 5” |
| Update 02/19/2010: According to this article, Adam "Borden said Conway has said she will schedule a Senate hearing for the bill after it passes in the House, which is where his organization is now concentrating its efforts. The House version of the bill, HB716, has a hearing scheduled for March 5." |
|
Well folks, she did it. No surprise there. The surprise is “Carter Conway refused to bring the bill up for a hearing, effectively killing the legislation this year”. I’m not sure how this is democracy when the legislation had the support of 106/188 state legislators. If her argument was sound, she would have let the hearing occur. |
| Coverage here. Maryland’s Wine Siege Continues!. |
| I urge you to let her know how wrong she handled this legislation. Here are her contact details. |
| JOAN CARTER CONWAY Democrat, District 43, Baltimore City
11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 841-3145, (301) 858-3145 1-800-492-7122, ext. 3145 (toll free) e-mail: joan.carter.conway@senate.state.md.us fax: (410) 841-3135, (301) 858-3135 |
 |
At what price point does a bottle of wine leave you thinking “Is this really worth it?” This article on MSNBC is fascinating. “Napa Valley is facing the worst wine downturn since the early 1980s. Premium wines priced between $50 and $125 were "a dead zone" in 2009” Not only are the values of the finished product going down but so are the costs of the raw materials. “Grapes he would have paid $5,000 a ton for in 2008 cost him only $1,000 in 2009” |
I know many wine collectors and connoisseurs alike that claim they can taste the difference in a ~ $100 bottle but I’d say that most would fail a blind taste test if it was put together correctly.
Mitchell Pressman, owner of Chesapeake Wine Company in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood, describes this very situation. “The folks at Black Ankle Vineyards (Mt. Airy, Maryland) invited me to a blind tasting on Sunday. The theme was "Crumbling Rock ‘07 vs, The World" – at which they pitted their Bordeaux blend against similarly priced Bordeaux blends from France, California and South Africa. It is the third such event they have staged and it speaks volumes about their goals and aspirations. Oh, by the way, their Crumbling Rock ‘07? It won, with 18 out of 30 first place votes (runner-up wine received 8 first place votes)!”
Moral of this story – There are plenty of really nice bottles to be had in the $20-40 range. Branch out and be a little more adventurous.
Follow me on