I’m happy to see I’m not the only one bothered by Gilroy’s decision to ignore local brewers in favor of an Anheuser-Busch distributor and their flimsy, unconvincing excuses for the same. Cynthia Walker publishes a weekly column in the Gilroy Dispatch and her most recent one takes on this issue. In addition to simply preferring Coast Range’s beers, she also makes her case based on aesthetics, economics, ethics and a sense of justice.
I think one of her most compelling arguments is that if the food served at the garlic festival is meant to showcase garlic’s uses and its gourmet pedigree, you don’t pair it with an industrial beer, you pair it with a craft beer.
She concludes her passionate obloquy with the following:
At the end of the day, the Chamber of Commerce is in the business of promoting Gilroy businesses. Promotion would be better served by allowing the breweries and wineries to promote themselves by selling their wares openly at the Garlic Festival.
Bust the trust. Open the gates. Let the good times roll.
Amen.