The Iowa 6.25% law
Well out with the old, and in with the new. I wish we could say that about Iowa’s 6.25% alcohol by volume law (or 5% by weight). Maybe I will by next year. We have been loosely organizing against this law here in the state of Iowa. Most notably, a man named Mike England has been working to draft a bill to change the law, and several other silly laws in this state regarding alcohol.
The .08 BAC mania is over and .08 has been passed in every state in the Union, thanks to federal blackmail. That right, the feds threatened to withheld federal road money if states did not pass the law by 2004. It worked. Its a perfect example of a heavy handed federal goverment overpowering states rights. For example, Iowa had less traffic fatalities last year per capita, than many states who had passed .08 many years ago.
Anyways, I digress. Something else is occuring that may be of help to us. The ATF is ruling on whether or not to allow FMB (Flavored Malt Beverages) to be defined as beer. This used to be ok, but recently it has been discovered that beverages such a Smirnoff Ice, unlike good old Zima, get most of their alcohol from ‘flavorings’ which are mainly comprised of… Smirnoff Vodka!! We expect that the ATF will rule in our favor, since plainly Smirnoff Ice is NOT beer, and is just a way for hard alcohol companies avoid other laws preventing them from advertising their products.
When the ATF redefines the federal definition to exclude FMB’s, then all of the states will have to change their definition as well. This is a perfect time to eliminate the language stating ‘less than 6.25% alcohol’. Currently, anything over that is handled by the remnants of the state liquor system, the ABD (alcohol beverages division), which handles all the hard alcohol in Iowa still. They have all the strong beers shipped to warehouse in Ankeny, and then deliver it to the stores. They do not like to handle all of these beers, so they charge an exorbinate tax. Some of these beers are taxed more than 25%… more than vodka is taxed. For example, St. Sixtus 8, a belgian trappist monastery beer, at 10% ABV, is taxed at 13.09$ per gallon, whilest Seagrams Vodka at 50% ABV, is taxed at 11.46$ per gallon. Now if I was some young kid, wanting to get drunk for handful of bucks, I think I know what type of alcohol I would buy!!
The amount of these strong beers, lets call them Gourmet Beers, sold in Iowa has doubled in the last year. On the east and west coast, new beer styles called double IPA’s are becoming popular. Here in Iowa, they are almost completely unavailable. It is very sad for us beer aficionados here in iowa.
If we can get this law changed, I will make some special beers. First I would make a double bock, or dopplebock beer. This has always been one of my favorite beers, but it would necessarily be 8% alcohol. I would make it around this time of year, right after our Bock beer! It would be a great winter warmer. Then in the fall, we would make a barley wine. This style of beer has huge amounts of hops and malt, and would clock in at 9% alcohol, and about a 21 degree plato starting gravity. I have already made a 5 gallon ‘test batch’ of this beer, using schild brau first runnings. It came out very much like Anchor Steams famous Old Foghorn beer.
Currently If I wished to make a beer like this, I would have to have it all shipped out of state, and then shipped back in to the ABD. It would be very expensive!
There are other things to be changed too. Currently, brewpubs cannot sell growlers directly to customers in this state. For some reason, they have to be sold to a wholesaler, and then bought back. Pretty stupid. Also, there is still a clause in the books that technically makes bottling beer at home illegal! I know, shhh! don’t say anything, because we are all breaking the law!
Well time has come. If you are reading this, then you need to write your states senator. If you don’t know who is your Senator or Representative, go to this site http://www.vote-smart.org/.
You can download more information in a .zip file here
Please write. We need many individual voices to speak and show that there is popular support for this bill. There are many forces aligned against us. Neo-prohibitionists, large wholesalers (who don’t care, its too small a volume for them). We must unite. Use the comments below to express your opinion!!
Aaron