Gotta love that headline. It appeared at Earthtimes.org in what was basically a pointer to a longer story in The Hill, a Washington newspaper, about the House Small Brewers Caucus.
The 35 members of the caucus (they hope to have 100 by the end of the legislative session) promote small breweries, trade beer-making advice and drink a few beers together. They even have a website with information about brewing and tips on pairing food with beer.
Not surprisingly, legislators from Oregon head the caucus. The story begins with the fact that Democrat Peter DeFazio brews at home. Both he and co-chair Greg Walden, a Republican, display a link to the caucus website on their home pages.
Just another sign of a different attitude about beer gaining traction with (some) lawmakers.
Thank you for posting this – I’ve been trying to get the word on out this a bit and hope you all can take a minute to email a member of this caucus, letting them know you support their involvement. I suspect each member is also getting emails from those who oppose alcohol – hopefully the positive message can outweigh the negative.
Also, their site states they exist to educate congressional members on beer and the craft brew industry. I am all for this, but also hope that they can at least start a national conversation about alcohol taxation (it’d be nice if it were reasonable) as well as the federal age limit for alcoholic consumption.
Thanks again for the posting and the links.