Free The Hops, a grassroots Alabama based organization advocating for better beer laws in the state has issued statement about todays news story.
Hop City is opening a second location in Birmingham, and was raided by liquor board agents. Hop City was not yet open for business at the time.Several weeks ago we made an announcement that although Free The Hops will be advocating for new legislation during the 2013 Alabama legislative session, we will not be taking on homebrewing legalization. As we pointed out then, a devoted group of homebrewers called Right To Brew has been working on that issue for several years and are on the cusp of success. We believe their efforts will very likely cross the finish line next year, so we’ll take the lead on another issue and simply lend our support to them wherever possible on the homebrew issue.
Perhaps you don’t homebrew and don’t really see what the big deal is. Well, the importance of homebrew legalization just came into focus for a lot of people when news broke that Birmingham ABC enforcement agents raided Hop City Craft Beer & Wine and confiscated $7,000 of homebrewing equipment.
This issue doesn’t just matter to homebrewers, it matters to small businesses who will lose out on revenue they could otherwise be making off equipment and ingredients for making beer and wine. And it matters to the future of local breweries in our state because most craft brewers start out homebrewing.
Free The Hops supports the efforts of Right To Brew 100% and we hope you will, too. Subscribe to their newsletter. Let your state Representative and Senator know of your support for legalizing homebrewing so Alabama can join the 48 other states where stores can sell brew kettles without fear of armed government agents raiding them. And we in FTH will do whatever we can to assist in the effort.
This ridiculous law needs to change as soon as possible. Let’s make 2013 the year. [FreeTheHops]
