Originally being from Alabama, I can tell you that there are some things that are in fact backwards and behind the times and that was a huge contributor to why I moved when I graduated college. The “Good Ole’ Boy” mentality is unfortunately still a large part of the operations of the state. But the state is quite beautiful and full of some of the nicest people you’ll find in this country.

I did want to point out some inaccuracies in your writing though. You are completely incorrect to say 2/3rds of the state is dry. 26 of the 67 counties are dry; with a lot of those having a wet city: (http://www.abcboard.state.al.us/wetdry.asp).

Also, the bill was not defeated; it never made the floor. Bama’s constitution has something known as the Budget Isolation Resolution (BIR). It mandates that at any point before the legislature has passed a state budget, every bill must first pass a BIR vote before it goes for a “real” vote. And while a bill can pass a “real” vote with a simple majority, it must pass a BIR vote with a 3/5 majority. In other words, you need MORE votes to pass a BIR than you need to pass the floor. Therefore, even though the bill had a solid majority of votes, it was not sufficient to pass the BIR, and thus it never made the House floor. (www.freethehops.org). There’s still hope!

I also find issue with you stating, “Nothing, really, except that in my mind it would be hard to find a place I perceive as more backward”. It this way of thinking and writing that keeps people stereotyping Alabama. It’s your perception. You’ve probably never even been to the state. I’ve been to 48 of the 50 states and there are backward parts of every state…even California.

I know a lot of people read your blog so I wanted to get the facts straight. Kudos to Free the Hops for fighting for good beer and best of luck to them.

And just a note, this is one of the best beer blogs on the web and I appreciate the work that goes into it.