Today is Harry Schumacher’s 43rd birthday. Harry covers the business side of beer news at his wonderful Beer Business Daily. Our paths cross only occasionally, but I had the pleasure of getting to know Harry well during a press junket to Bavaria a few years ago, and he’s one of the warmest, thoughtful and funniest people I’ve met. And he’s a beertard, too. Join me in wishing Harry a very happy birthday.
With fellow beer writer Horst Dornbusch in Bamberg.
Harry and me enjoying a meal in the Hallertau region of Bavaria.
Today is also the 42nd birthday of John Pinkerton, founder and brewmaster of Moon River Brewing in Savannah, Georgia. John is also involved in Beer America TV. He also brews some terrific beers and is great fun to drink a beer or three with. Join me in wishing John a very happy birthday.
At All About Beer’s “World Beer Festival” in Durham, North Carolina in 2008.
John getting showered with hops at the “Me So Hoppy Lupulin Slam” at the Falling Rock during GABF in 2005.
Today is Chuck Skypeck’s 57th birthday. Chuck is a founder of Bosco’s, a brewpub which has three locations in Tennessee and Arkansas, and also more recently Ghost River Brewing. I met Chuck at BA functions several years ago and he’s always been one of the warmest, most genuine people I know. Join me in wishing Chuck a happy birthday.
Chuck and me at the Craft Brewers Conference in Seattle in 2006.
Today is also the birthday of Atlanta Journal-Constitution beer columnist Bob Townsend. Although he wouldn’t tell me how old he is when I met him in Boston two years ago, I suspect because he’s even older than me. Regardless, we hit it off immediately; kindred souls, to be sure. Join me in wishing Bob a very happy birthday.
Judging the finals of the Longshot homebrew competition in 2009, with Tony Forder on the left, Bob in the middle and me at the far end.
After judging the finals for the Longshot Homebrew Competition in Boston. From left: Jason Alstrom (from Beer Advocate), Tony Forder (from Ale Street News), Bob, Jim Koch (founder of the Boston Beer Co.), yours truly, Julie Johnson (from All About Beer magazine), and Todd Alstrom (also from Beer Advocate).
According to Fox TV Channel 14 in El Paso, Texas is reporting that the Texas state legislature is considering a law which could make it legal to arrest people who’ve had as little as one beer or a glass of wine.
According to Fox News:
The proposed law doesn’t saying people are drunk at that level, but it does say that drivers are “buzzed” at that point. The law targets drivers with a blood alcohol level between .05 and .07. It’s called the DWAI law, or driving while ability impaired.
I know I’ll take heat for saying this, but it seems to presuppose that any person whose BAC is below .08% is “impaired” to the extent that they’re a danger to themselves or others by driving. But that’s exactly the presumption we already made when we lowered the BAC standard from .1% to .08%. Even though it’s suggested that the penalties for driving “impaired” will be less than driving “drunk,” it will still have a chilling effect on businesses that serve alcohol and even further criminalizes legal behavior.
I’m not in favor of people driving drunk, but continually lowering the standard by which we measure that does nothing to actually stop the real problem drunk drivers. It’s not the solution, but it appears to be the extent of lawmakers and neo-prohibitionists’ creativity.
Fox News concludes with the time table for the new law. “The Texas Senate will discuss the proposed law and possibly pass it in January.”
