HOT TRUB
December 13,
2000
Edited by: Peter LaFrance (peter.lafrence@beerbasics.com)
Presented by: American Brewer
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Vol.1 No.8
This newsletter will post items of special interest to brewers, members of the
brewing and distilling community, and members of the media that covers the
beverage alcohol business.
Should you wish to contribute in any way to this venture please contact Peter
LaFrance at peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com
If you wish to be dropped from this list please respond to this posting to peter.lafrance@beerbasics.com and
include the word remove in the Subject: line.
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This morning the Associated Press reports that, based on litigation pending in several states, the battle over direct wine shipments has shaped up as a conflict between 21st Amendment rights - state authority to regulate alcohol - and constitutional guarantees covering the rights of interstate commerce. Thirty-seven states have significant restrictions that make it difficult to ship wine (beer or spirits) directly from producer to consumer.
Advocates for interstate wine shipments call it restraint of trade. Supporters of the laws contend it's a health issue for minors (?), a tax issue for state government and a competitive issue for distributors.
According to the Associated Press report, “Phil Wayt, director of the Washington Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association in Olympia, says distributors have legitimate worries - unfair competition and the possibility of direct shipments expanding to beer and spirits.” Many in the wine industry blame big distributors or wholesalers for tying up the interstate market with what they call protectionist legislation in their home states under the guise of concern for minors.
Yesterday Reuters reported that U.S. President Bill Clinton rounded off a tour of the Irish capital with a pint of Guinness at the historic St. James Gate brewery. According to the Reuters report, “The president was ushered up to the Gravity Bar, an elevated, glass-walled enclosure at the Guinness Storehouse visitor center, to pay homage to the stout and lay to rest scurrilous rumors he had avoided Guinness on earlier visits.”
The president was then Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's guest at Fagans pub in Drumcondra where he sipped a half pint of light ale (!!) with Ahern, a confirmed fan of the English beer Bass.
Business Wire reports that Wayman F. Smith will retire as Vice President - Corporate Affairs, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. Smith joined Anheuser-Busch in 1980, as the first member of the Corporate Affairs Department, responsible for the company's outreach to the African-American community.
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