NABCA Daily News Update (3/13/2018) · debated by AMS Canada: B.C.'s ... Theme: Bridging Divides;...

NABCA News

NABCA’S 25th Annual Legal Symposium Provides Current Content About Alcohol Beverage Law and Regulatory Matters

Control State News

OR: Salem considers allowing hard liquor sales at city parks

License State News

IL: New Initiative Aims to Reduce Alcohol Use in Chicago Teens

International News

United Kingdom: Minimum alcohol price law's first stage debated by AMS

Canada: B.C.'s Liquor Distribution Branch moving to Delta

United Kingdom: EU alcohol sector plans to broaden nutritional and ingredient information

Industry News

Why bland American beer is here to stay

Jim Beam fills 15 millionth barrel as bourbon industry looks toward the future

Drinks Trade Commits To Tackle Calorie Labelling By 2022

Daily News

Alcohol labelling proposal fails to end debate on calories

Science: Mixing Cannabis And Alcohol Can Be Dangerous

States With The Heaviest Drinkers Revealed

March 13, 2018

Please visit NABCA’s new website at www.nabca.org

SAVE THE DATE

Registration Is Now Open for the Legal Symposium! Visit www.nabca.org to register. MARCH 18-20, 2018 25th Annual Symposium on Alcohol Beverage Law & Regulation at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA.

Join government, legal and industry professionals for a symposium that offers the chance to hear the latest on legal issues related to alcohol beverages. Session topics currently planned include Here Comes the Judge, The Lens of Time: 1st versus 25th NABCA Legal Symposium, Trade Practices: A Civil Matter? plus many others. Watch for registration materials in the coming months! Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit is available for many states. For more information, go to www.nabca.org.

APRIL 11-13, 2018 Alcohol Policy 18: Evidence To Action -Building an Evidence-Based Social Movement Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel, Arlington, Virginia. For additional information on hotel, important dates and more, please visit the AP18 Conference website. AP18 Registration Now Open! APRIL 30–MAY 1, 2018 2018 RRForum National Conference - hosted by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and will be held in Detroit.

! MAY 3, 2018 Invitation to Attend the Las Vegas Independent Spirits Expo Modern Distillery Age is a media sponsor for this year's Las Vegas Independent Spirits Expo, which takes place May 3 at the conclusion of the WSWA 75th

Annual Convention & Exposition. A free pass is available to Modern Distillery Age subscribers, independent spirits distillers/ importers, wholesalers/ distributors and others covered all year in Modern Distillery Age. This pass allows entrance to the press/trade part

http://www.nabca.org/



NABCA Daily News Update (3/13/2018)

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of the Expo (5-9 pm) at the Hard Rock Café (3771 Las Vegas Blvd. South). If you want to attend, please RSVP to Dave Schmier, Independent Spirits Expo producer, at this email address - [email protected] - and mention Modern Distillery Age. - There's no need to reply. Dave will maintain the guest

list. MAY 21-24, 2018

!REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE Annual Conference!

81st Annual Conference will be held at the Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ. Theme: Bridging Divides; For more information, visit www.nabca.com website.

JUNE 3-5, 2018 2ND Annual Beverage Alcohol Retailers Conference - Denver, Colorado Registration is open and sponsorship information is available at www.BevRetailersConference.com. Secure your early bird rate before prices increase on February 9.

Seating is limited.

JULY 18-20, 2018 8th Biennial Northwest Alcohol & Substance Abuse Conference Riverside Hotel, Boise Idaho

The Pre-Conference Sessions are on Wednesday. The official conference kicks off Thursday morning. Visit NorthwestAlcoholConference.org for more information.

NABCA HIGHLIGHTS

Native American Nations & State Alcohol Policies: An Analysis

Sunday Alcohol Sales (July 2017)

Alcohol Technology in the World of Tomorrow - (White Paper)

The Control State Agency Info Sheets. Please view website for more information.

NABCA Survey Database – now available for members on the website.

www.NABCA.org

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nabca.org/meetings

http://www.nabca.org/meetings

http://www.nabca.org/meeting/2018-annual-conference


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NABCA NEWS

NABCA’S 25th Annual Legal Symposium Provides Current Content About Alcohol Beverage Law and Regulatory Matters

News Release NABCA March 13, 2018

ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 13, 2018) -- NABCA’s 25th Annual Legal Symposium on Alcohol Beverage Law and Regulation offers attorneys, government officials and industry professionals the chance to remain current about the latest legal issues in alcohol beverage management. It will be held March 18 – 20 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA.

New for 2018, NABCA will provide the option of a Live Webcast for attendees to view sessions and ask questions in real time. The topics offered during this symposium focus on legal issues from the perspective of regulators, policy makers and the alcohol beverage industry.

Presentations for the two-day conference include:

• Here Comes the Judge – During this session, judges from administrative, state and federal tribunals will discuss legal issues, provide insights and offer practice tips from their prospective regarding beverage alcohol litigation.

• 21st Century Technology Meets 20th Century Regulation – This session looks at the best legal way for regulations of yesterday to meet the unanticipated technologies used in the alcohol world of 2018.

• Does Commerce Trump Public Health?—In this presentation, attorneys, research scientist and expert witnesses will discuss the best evidence for studies that can be relied upon in making the public health and safety argument for alcohol regulation.

• Trade Practices: A Civil Matter?-- This panel of legal experts will discuss federal and state trade practice investigations, civil law suits filed between alcohol industry members in state and federal courts, and enforcement trends and the civil litigation of trade practice matters.

A planning committee of attorneys, regulators and industry stakeholders created an educational agenda that qualifies for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits in several states.

For information about this event, visit www.nabca.org and click on the Meetings tab.

CONTROL STATE NEWS

OR: Salem considers allowing hard liquor sales at city parks

Statesman Journal By Jonathan Bach March 12, 2018

A proposal before the Salem City Council on Monday would loosen restrictions on hard liquor sales in city parks.

City code bans the sales of drinks with alcohol content of 14 percent by volume or more, so vendors can generally sell less-potent drinks such as ciders and beers.

But code changes proposed by Jason and Carroll Unruh, who own Oregon Beverage Services in Salem, would open parks, sports fields and other property controlled by the city to harder drinks, including Scotch and vodka.

Oregon Beverage Services manages alcohol sales at events around the state, including the Oregon State Fair.


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In a letter to Mayor Chuck Bennett, the Unruhs argue lifting the ban on hard liquor sales would boost revenue, increase the likelihood of sponsorships and enhance "the fan experience."

"A drink is a drink is a drink," the Unruhs wrote. "If served properly, not one of these kinds of alcohol (beer, wine, or hard liquor) should have more of an affect on the patrons more than another."

To bolster their argument, the owners cite their extensive experience serving hard alcohol at events like the Oregon State Fair and county fairs around the state.

"At many of these large events, we have been serving hard liquor for years with zero problems," the Unruhs wrote.

Jason Unruh did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Interviewed Friday, Bennett said he thinks the proposal has a fighting chance.

"Presumably, alcohol is alcohol is alcohol at these events," the mayor said. "It extends the menu."

For his part, Bennett said he doesn't drink. "I don't have any personal stake in this at all."

Bennett said he will make a motion Monday to have city code reviewed, which will allow officials to examine the proposal's pros and cons.

If the motion is approved, city staff would compare Salem's rules to other jurisdictions' rules and hear from the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, then return to city council members with a recommendation, according to a city report.

If city staff recommend changing city code, city council members will consider doing so after at least one public hearing.

The Salem City Council meets 6 p.m. Monday at Salem City Hall.

LICENSE STATE NEWS

IL: New Initiative Aims to Reduce Alcohol Use in Chicago Teens

WTTW Chicago Tonight By Kristen Thometz March 12, 2018

While a senior in high school, Juan Padilla struggled with depression and resorted to drinking alcohol to cope with his feelings. “I didn’t have the support I needed at home,” said Padilla, who graduated from Steinmetz College Prep in 2016. “I couldn’t talk with my friends or my teachers. The school counselor had a hundred other kids to deal with.”

Padilla’s story is more common than you might think. A 2016 survey of 24,134 Chicago Public Schools seniors found 14,480 students (about 60 percent) reported they drank alcohol in the past year, according to the 2016 Illinois Youth Survey. Some 7,240 reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day in the past two weeks.

“Youth in Chicago face challenges of violence, trauma, education and many other issues – and those challenges, unfortunately, may contribute to young people’s decision to drink,” said Dr. Matthew Davis, division head of academic general pediatrics and primary care at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

On Monday, Preventing Alcohol Abuse in Chicago Teens, a multi-agency coalition of community organizations and governmental agencies convened by Lurie Children’s Hospital, launched a citywide campaign to curb underage drinking through public awareness and school policy reforms.

The campaign, called “I Got This,” focuses on students in eighth through 10th grades, and their parents. “The vast majority of (these youth) aren’t drinking, and the vast majority of their guardians are talking with them and setting rules regarding drinking,” said Rebecca Levin, PAACT co-chair and executive director of Strengthening Chicago’s Youth at Lurie Children’s Hospital.


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“I Got This” celebrates and elevates what youth are doing right, she added. In addition to supporting youth who decide not to drink, youth who do drink need to be supported and connected to the right resources.

“PAACT’s mission is to reduce underage drinking and to promote health and wellness by engaging Chicago’s communities and youth in strategies that work,” Levin said.

PAACT commissioned Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, a youth organizing collaborative for education and racial justice, to conduct a study on underage drinking and to make recommendations on how to improve school discipline strategies for underage drinking. VOYCE shared the study’s findings and recommendations on Monday.

Last summer, VOYCE youth leaders held five citywide focus groups and collected more than 500 surveys on underage drinking and school policies. “Based on the research, some of our key findings show that youth are using alcohol to cope with mental health issues, trauma and school stress,” said Padilla, who was a co-project manager of the research project and VOYCE organizer. Participants also stated that alcohol use is “normalized” in their lives through mass media and widespread exposure, with 60 percent saying the media has influenced young people to drink more alcohol.

Respondents also reported they didn’t feel current school policies are effective in addressing underage alcohol use, with 47 percent saying their schools use harsh disciplinary action to address students who bring alcohol to school. Using disciplinary actions such as expulsion don’t address the root cause of the problem, according to the study.

Jovianne Ojeda Degillo, an eighth-grader at Palmer Elementary School, said last year a friend of hers was suspended after drinking at school and getting into a fight. “Youssef had brought alcohol to school and drank it in the bathroom, and everyone knew he was drinking,” she said. “Everyone knew about this, but didn’t mention it to anyone that could help and the issues were never addressed.”

Degillo said she knew Youssef was having problems at home but didn’t know how to intervene. “I couldn’t believe that none of the staff members noticed he had changed and needed help. ... He’s never been the same and it hurts me to see him in such a way,” she added. “Underage alcohol use is a sign that youth need to be supported, not punished.”

Among VOYCE’s recommendations is for CPS to revise its Student Code of Conduct to remove disciplinary approaches such as out-of-school suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement as a consequence for alcohol use. Instead, VOYCE recommends using a reflection assessment, meetings with parents or guardians, referrals to mental health and behavioral health resources, additional community service requirements, and referrals to programs that address teen alcohol use.

“We don’t want schools to suspend students,” said Padilla. “There’s a serious need for more resources in mental and behavioral health to address the root causes of the issue of underage alcohol use and a divestment of punitive approaches in schools across Illinois. We believe if we do this it will help ensure safer and healthier learning environments across Illinois.”

VOYCE also recommends the Illinois School Code and the Illinois Criminal Code be revised to specifically prohibit the use of school-based arrests for low-level offenses, including for mental and behavioral health issues such as alcohol use and possession.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

United Kingdom: Minimum alcohol price law's first stage debated by AMS A decision on whether a plan to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol should go to the next stage is to be made by politicians in Wales later.

BBC News March 13, 2018

AMs will debate the proposal which has been suggested as a way of tackling harmful drinking.


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Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said evidence from other countries showed a link between price and consumption.

He said minimum prices for alcohol was a "major new and important tool" in tackling harmful drinking in Wales.

But he warned minimum pricing would not work "in isolation" and promised and extra £1m for health boards to tackle substance misuse.

This is amid fears some alcoholics may switch to drugs if prices were increased.

AMs will decide later whether the Welsh Government's Public Health (Minimum Price for Alcohol) (Wales) Bill should pass its first stage and go on to detailed consideration by assembly committees.

If passed by the assembly later in 2018, the measure should take effect 12 months after the bill's royal assent.

"Wales, like so many other western countries, has a problem with cheap, strong, readily-available alcohol," Mr Gething said.

Echoing the findings of the assembly's health committee earlier in March, the minister said minimum pricing was "not a silver bullet" but would be "a major new and important tool in our approach to reducing alcohol consumption".

"By introducing a minimum price, we can make a difference - as we have done with the smoking ban - which demonstrated our determination to create a different future for the people of Wales.

"I've been very clear that it will not work in isolation. Alcohol policy in Wales requires a variety of approaches, which taken together, can generate change.

"That's why we are supporting people throughout Wales to develop a healthier relationship with alcohol, through our Substance Misuse Strategy and end the sad spectre of people dying from drink."

Staff at the Huggard Centre, a Cardiff-based homelessness charity, are among those who have raised concerns at the impact of minimum alcohol pricing on the most vulnerable people.

Chief executive Richard Edwards gave a warning in February, saying: "Raising pricing alone, for legal drugs such as alcohol, may simply change one addiction for another and condemn people to a more entrenched and desperate life on the streets."

The Welsh Government said it spent nearly £50m a year supporting people who misused substances.

Ring-fenced money for health boards to tackle the problem was being increased by nearly £1m to more than £18m.

Alcohol-related hospital admissions cost the NHS in Wales about £120m a year, the Welsh Government added, with 504 deaths in 2016.

UKIP Wales leader Neil Hamilton has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of a minimum unit price.

He wants to change the motion being debated in the Senedd on Tuesday to say the assembly "regrets that the Bill will not produce the desired positive health outcomes for the people of Wales and could have a detrimental impact on vulnerable sections of our communities".

A law allowing a minimum unit price for alcohol was passed in Scotland in 2012 and will be introduced later this year at a level of 50p per unit.

Canada: B.C.'s Liquor Distribution Branch moving to Delta

Richmond News By Sandor Gyarmati March12, 2018

A huge new liquor distribution facility is coming to Delta.


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The province’s Liquor Distribution Branch has been operating through its Vancouver distribution centre on Rupert Street since 1964, but will be on the move to a new space, which will be called the Delta Distribution Centre, at 7003 72nd Street. The branch signed a 10-year-lease for the space which, at 400,000 square feet, is nearly double the current facility.

A LDB spokesperson said construction of the DDC is currently underway. While the timelines depends on a number of construction variables, the branch is hopeful it will be operational starting this summer.

Meanwhile, the branch is currently on the lookout for a separate space in the region to distribute recreational cannabis. The facility could end up in Delta as well.

As the wholesale distributor of non-medical cannabis, LDB will purchase non-medical cannabis from federally licensed producers and distribute the product to both the public and private retail stores across the province. The LDB is the only entity that retail stores can purchase product from. However, it will be up to the retail store to determine which products they choose to purchase from the LDB and then sell in their stores.

United Kingdom: EU alcohol sector plans to broaden nutritional and ingredient information

Food Ingredients First By Gaynor Selby March 13, 2018

Spirits are running high in the EU alcohol debate as the European alcoholic beverages sectors have come up with a self-regulatory, voluntary proposal on the list of ingredients and nutrition information and have submitted this draft to the European Commission for consideration. Currently, there is no EU legal obligation in place for alcoholic drinks above 1.2 percent (ABV) to show nutritional and ingredients information. This means that some alcoholic drinks are sold without on-label reference to aspects like sugar content, which is different to regulations for soft drinks, for instance.

This doesn’t fit in with modern day consumer expectations about what nutritional information and ingredient details should be provided on the label of products.

This is why representatives from Europe’s leading alcohol associations in the wine, spirits, cider and beer sectors have been working to develop a self-regulatory and voluntary solution which addresses such consumer expectations and improves transparency.

The sectors’ objective is to improve consumer knowledge about these products and to empower them to make informed decisions about the products that they choose to consume, they say, although this does not go far enough for the likes of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) which has criticized the proposals.

The organization is accusing the EU alcohol sector of having labeling privileges.

One of the main points of controversy is about where to place such important information i.e. on the label itself or to refer the consumer online to search for listed information.

The main points of the principles drawn up by the European alcoholic beverages sector are:

The nutritional information and the list of ingredients of products will be provided in tailor-made and meaningful ways.

The nutritional information and the list of ingredients will be given to consumers off-label and/or on the label itself.

Off-label information will be easily accessible on the label itself.

Traditional and/or innovative tools will be used and comprehensive modern information systems could be developed.


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Food business operators responsible for food information will decide how to display the information.

Alcoholic drinks escape mandatory labeling rules

The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) says that alcohol makers are failing to meet consumers’ expectations for on-label information, pointing out that important information, such as the amount of sugar in alcoholic drinks will still escape mandatory labeling rules which apply to all soft drinks.

The BEUC’s stance is that the proposal allows beer, wine and spirits manufacturers to choose between on-label and online information, the latter being a “no-go from the consumer perspective.”

It says that these plans are the industry’s reaction to a European Commission deadline to improve the nutrition and ingredients labeling of alcoholic products, but BEUC representatives are disappointed with the conclusion of the alcohol industry proposals.

For BEUC, it is unacceptable that the nutrition information and ingredients list of alcoholic beverages remain optional whereas they are mandatory on all soft drinks such as fruit juice and sodas.

BEUC calls again on the EU for binding rules and to end the alcohol sector’s labeling privileges.

“The industry is granting itself too much flexibility to decide how much information consumers can see. As consumers make shopping decisions in a matter of seconds, it is unrealistic to expect they will take a few minutes to check online how calorific wine or vodka is,” says Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC.

“Let’s not forget that in most countries more than three out 10 consumers do not own a smartphone, not to mention that the signal can be very weak in some places. So on-label information is the best way to reach consumers equally. Even if consumers own a smartphone, manufacturers should make their lives easy and enable them to compare drinks in the blink of an eye.”

“Alcoholic beverages can be calorie bombs, as a glass of wine can contain as many calories as an ice cream. To make healthier choices and know at a glance what an alcoholic drink contains, consumers need the information on the bottle, not screen swipes away.”

“Last year the Commission rightly acknowledged the need to boost alcohol information to consumers. It is good news that some sectors such as beer makers are open to transparency, but this is not enough to ensure seamless information for consumers. For all alcohol makers to label information systematically and in a consumer-friendly way, the only solution we see are EU-wide mandatory rules.”

The Brewers of Europe

The Brewers of Europe has endorsed a joint framework with other alcoholic beverage sectors to voluntarily list ingredients and nutrition information and, through the Beer Annex to the framework, reiterated brewers’ long-standing commitment to transparency in this area.

In a statement, the organization says that in 2015, it committed to voluntarily listing ingredients and nutrition information, in full conformity with EU legislation, with the European Commission, other policymakers and consumer and public health NGOs welcoming the commitment.

It also points to a 2016 survey of more than 9,000 adults across nine countries which showed that 86 percent of Europeans believe alcoholic beverages should list ingredients just like other drinks, and show nutrition information per 100ml, the legal reference volume set for alcoholic beverages and already used by consumers for comparing all other drinks.

The survey also revealed that two-thirds of Europeans would use differing online sources to access ingredients and nutrition information for alcoholic beverages, with 70 percent saying that they would use the label as a key source of information.

According to the Brewers of Europe, 70 percent of beers today in the EU list ingredients on the label, while an estimated 40 percent of the beers are already labeling calories, in full conformity with the EU laws and complemented by information on digital platforms, often including the full nutrition declaration.


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The brewing sector believes that there is no justification for a consumer receiving comparable information on the ingredients list or energy content of a non-alcoholic beverage, but then having no access to the equivalent information for an alcoholic beverage above 1.2 percent ABV.

“We welcome the step forward by the other alcoholic beverage sectors to join the Brewers in a common framework agreement to list ingredients and nutrition information. Europe’s brewing sector has played an instrumental role in pushing for a self-regulatory framework that removes the anomaly of the general exemption for alcoholic beverages from the obligation to list ingredients and energy values,” said Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, Secretary General of The Brewers of Europe.

“I am pleased to see that the other alcoholic beverage sectors are now going to be joining the brewers on this journey. In full transparency we now expect our actions to be monitored and to all be judged on implementation.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Why bland American beer is here to stay

WTOP By The Associated Press March 13, 2018

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Ranjit Dighe, State University of New York Oswego

(THE CONVERSATION) Although craft beer has experienced explosive market growth over the past 25 years, the vast majority of Americans still don’t drink it.

Only about 1 in 8 beers sold in America is a craft beer. For the first time, the three best-selling beers in America are light beers: Bud Light, Coors Light and Miller Lite. Bud Light alone has a greater market share than all craft beers combined.

So while the selection has broadened dramatically, most people’s tastes have not. Even craft beer companies are adjusting to this reality: A recent Chicago Tribune article noted that craft breweries are releasing beers that are “less hoppy and in-your-face” in order to appeal to the majority of Americans who prefer “big corporate lagers.”

In other words, they’re brewing blander beers.

How did Americans come to prefer such bland beer? As an economic historian, I’ve extensively researched the political economy of alcohol prohibition, and the unique history of the U.S. temperance movement might bear some responsibility for country’s exceptionally bland beer.

Unlike European countries with beer preferences and styles that have evolved over centuries, America lacks a homegrown brewing tradition.

The classic American beer is an “adjunct pilsner,” which means that some of the malted barley is replaced with corn or rice. The effect is a beer that’s lighter, clearer and less hoppy than its counterparts in countries like England, Germany and Belgium.

In colonial America, English-style beers and ales predominated, but rum and then whiskey were the drink of choice. Cider, easier to make at home, overtook beer by the early 19th century.

However, the American beer market grew during the great mid-19th century wave of German immigration. German lagers were an immediate hit, partially because the German brewing method of bottom fermentation – which involves a relatively long fermentation period and cold storage – made for a more consistent, storable product than top-fermented ales. The lagers were also mellower, though they were dark and hearty compared to what would become popular later.


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But the “lager bier craze” dovetailed with another big trend: the temperance movement, which at various times sought to reduce problem drinking, reduce drinking more generally and eradicate alcohol consumption completely. From 1830 to 1845, the temperance movement gained momentum as more and more Americans were taking voluntary “temperance pledges” and giving up spirits and cider.

German brewers always maintained that beer was a “temperance beverage,” unlike ardent spirits such as whiskey. And indeed, European temperance movements did tend to regard beer as relatively harmless.

But activists in the American temperance movement – which by then had become more about abstinence and intertwined with evangelical Protestantism – didn’t buy the argument. The 1850s saw the first big push for state-level prohibition laws, which ended up being passed in a handful of states. Those laws didn’t last for a variety of reasons (including the Civil War), but they did serve notice to the brewers that they needed to work harder to convince the public that beer was a temperance beverage.

In the 1870s, American beer would become mellower still with the advent of a new type of lager: the Bohemian pilsner. Clearer, lighter and blander than the Bavarian lagers that had previously dominated the market, pilsners looked cleaner, healthier, more stable and less intoxicating.

As an 1878 issue of the trade publication Western Brewer noted, Americans “want a clear beer of light color, mild and not too bitter taste.”

Brewers and drinkers who wanted to avert the temperance movement’s gaze naturally chose light pilsners over dark lagers. But lighter beer also was a good fit for the long hours of American factory workers, many of whom ate at saloons between shifts. Coming back to work drunk could get you fired, so if you wanted a beer or two with the salty saloon fare, the weakest beers were the best bet.

Pragmatism and personal taste soon became intertwined. Anheuser-Busch introduced Budweiser in 1876 – whose rice adjuncts produced an even milder beer – to great success. Pabst Blue Ribbon, with its corn adjuncts, became a national sensation as well.

In 1916, Gustave Pabst, the son of Pabst Blue Ribbon’s founder Frederick Pabst, told the United States Brewers Association that “the discrimination in favor of light beers (is strongest) in those countries where the anti-alcohol sentiment is strongest.”

Nonetheless, the drumbeat of the temperance movement started getting louder.

By the late 19th and early 20th century, the temperance movement had returned in force. Efficient organizing campaigns by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League led to a new wave of state and local prohibitions and, finally, a push for national prohibition.

National constitutional prohibition, as decreed by the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, was devastating to the beer industry in the short term. But in the long term, it further laid the groundwork for a nation of bland beer drinkers.

Careful estimates by economist Clark Warburton found that alcohol consumption during Prohibition may have actually risen for wine and spirits but fell by two-thirds for beer, which was harder to conceal. Although Prohibition may have introduced a generation of young people to cocktails, they had hardly any exposure to beer – and certainly hadn’t acquired the taste for hearty beer.

In March 1933, eight months before the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition, Congress modified the Volstead Act to allow the production of “non-intoxicating,” low-alcohol beer and wine, with a maximum of 4 percent alcohol by volume.

The new, watered-down beer was a huge hit with the public, which hadn’t tasted a full-strength legal beer since 1917. Dark beers and ales had accounted for some 15 percent of the market before World War I. But in 1936 their share was just 2 to 3 percent. In 1947, researchers at Schwarz Laboratories analyzed the alcohol, hop and malt content of American beers in the 1930s and 1940s and remarked that many of these early post-repeal beers were “too hoppy,” “too heavy and too filling” for consumers’ tastes. The report noted “a corrective trend” in which brewers sharply reduced their hop and malt content.


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More adventurous brewers and drinkers were also stymied by post-Prohibition laws. State and federal policies effectively banned homebrewing, and most states required a “three-tier” system of brewers, distributors and retailers that made it more difficult to make and market specialty beers.

The blandification of American beer continued for another 70 years. During World War II, American troops got 4 percent alcohol beer in their rations, exposing yet another generation to the joys of weak beer. The hop and malt content of beer fell sharply and steadily over this period. Hop content fell by half from 1948 to 1969, and the rise of “lite” beer in the 1970s accelerated the trend. Hop content fell 35 percent from 1970 to 2004.

Despite the phenomenal rise of craft beer, light beers are still dominant. The craft beer explosion is a remarkable story, but perhaps we should stop calling it a revolution.

For now, bland beers are still king.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article here: http://theconversation.com/why-bland-american-beer-is-here-to-stay-91737.

Jim Beam fills 15 millionth barrel as bourbon industry looks toward the future

WDRB March 12, 2018

CLERMONT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jim Beam has reached a huge milestone.

Fred and Freddie Noe filled the bourbon company's 15 millionth barrel Monday afternoon, a count that began at the end of prohibition.

"We're the first distillery to hit that milestone," Master Distiller Fred Noe said. "It just shows that the demand for bourbon is still strong."

The industry as a whole now brings $8.5 billion year to the Bluegrass. However, bourbon has boomed before, only to see consumer preferences shift.

"We do refer to that time, when clear spirits were on the rise and brown spirits were down, we refer to that as the dark ages," said Colleen Thomas with the Kentucky Distillers Association.

So could the dark ages ever return?

"Could it come? We can't say that it won't," Thomas said. "We talk about it in terms of maybe less of a bubble bursting and more of just a leveling off. Of course, everyone prepares for that in their own way with their own business."

Thomas added there are a lot of reasons to believe that is well down the road, if at all. She cited the craft movement, expansion and all-time production highs for feeling the way she does.

If a downturn were to come, Thomas said experts in the business would see it well in advance. Plus, she said there are still places in the world that haven't experienced the drink like its old Kentucky home.

"There are some untapped markets internationally that are just begging for more and more bourbon," Thomas said.

It's proof she and Noe suggested that bourbon will be strong for years to come.


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Drinks Trade Commits To Tackle Calorie Labelling By 2022

The Drinks Business By Lauren Eads March 13, 2018

The Scotch Whisky Association is backing a joint proposal submitted to Brussels by the drinks trade on calorie labelling, which promises to ensure that nutritional and ingredient information will be available on all beer, wine and spirits sold in the EU by 2022.

It follows a report by the EU Commission last year that invited members of the trade to present a self-regulatory proposal within one year to provide calorie and nutrition labelling on alcoholic beverages, if it wanted to avoid being handed a labelling system.

That decision came after members of the European Parliament backed calls for compulsory calorie labelling on alcoholic drinks in 2015.

The changes will make nutrition labelling mandatory across the board, but within a self-regulatory framework for which the drinks trade will have significant input over, if an agreement can be reached.

The aim is to effectively close a loophole within a previous ruling that came into effect in 2011 which made it mandatory for all foods, including alcoholic beverages, to provide an ingredient and nutrition declaration, but which saw beverages carrying an abv of more than 1.2% exempt.

The proposal, submitted to Commissioner Andriukaitis in Brussels, commits the beer, wine and spirits industries to provide nutrition and ingredient information to consumers by 2022.

Notably, the report addresses the different ways in which spirits are consumed compared with beer and wine, calling for any labelling to reflect a typical serving of that spirits, as opposed to per 100ml, a measure it calls “misleading” for alcohol consumption.

“We firmly believe that the most meaningful way to provide energy on spirits labels is per serving size,” the spirits annexe of the report stated, submitted by Spirits Europe. “To ensure consumers always receive meaningful information, we believe all alcoholic beverages not habitually consumed in 100ml servings should provide energy / nutrition per serving. We will work together with the Commission to further explore these elements.”

For example, while a 100ml per serving would appear to the consumer as 224 calories, compared with 74 for wine and 43 for beer. Spirits Europe has proposed that any labelling going forward relate to a serving size “recognisable to consumers”.

“Any declaration of energy per 100ml would contradict the alcohol sector’s messages on responsible drinking (used for years as part of an effort to educate consumers) and official low-risk drinking guidelines developed by Member States,” the report added. “The official guidelines are invariably based on the consumption of alcoholic beverages in recognisable serving sizes, themselves based on the notion of ‘units’.”

A ‘unit’ of 10g alcohol equates to a 30ml serving of spirit, 100ml of wine and 250ml of beer, corresponding to a calorie intake of 67, 74 and 106 respectively, which Spirits Europe believes would be a more adequate representation.

Off label information, with further information provided online will also be made available, with spirits sector “convinced that the off-label option will appeal to consumers and will provide them with far more information, which they can tailor to suit their personal needs, in a way a label could never manage”.

Plans are being taken forward by Scotch Whisky producers to provide energy information on-label, showing consumers how many calories are in a standard 25ml serving of Scotland’s national drink. A standard 25ml serving of 40% abv Scotch whisky contains 55-56 calories.

“The SWA and the industry want all consumers to enjoy Scotch whisky responsibly,” said Karen Betts, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association. “So it’s important that consumers have the information they need to make the right choices that fit with a healthy lifestyle, including on calorie intake.


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“We’re very pleased to endorse today’s commitment to provide calorie information on labels, and to report on progress in October 2019. We believe this information should be provided in a format that is easy to understand and linked to serving sizes.”

Many producers, including Diageo, Treasury and ABInBev, have already made promises to provide ingredient and nutritional information on a voluntary basis. This proposal will eventually form the basis of what will become a mandatory requirement imposed upon producers with regards to the dissemination of nutritional and ingredient information.

DAILY NEWS

Alcohol labelling proposal fails to end debate on calories

EURACTIV.com By Sarantis Michalopoulos March 13, 2018

The alcohol industry presented on 12 March their self-regulatory proposal on labelling, focusing on “flexibility” for wine, beer, spirits and cider. Alcohol makers will be free to decide whether to place information on the label, online or both.

But the industry did not agree on a long-standing dispute over how to inform consumers about the number of calories contained in alcoholic beverages.

If the industry’s proposal does not satisfy the European Commission, the EU executive will launch an impact assessment to review available options, a spokesperson said.

The spirits industry claims that caloric information should be provided “per glass” and not per 100ml, which is the legal measurement currently in force for all drinks across Europe.

The spirits industry argues that the 100ml measure is misleading because few people would drink that much. The quantity is in fact largely above what’s recommended for health and safety reasons. Spirits are usually served in 30ml servings.

‘Different philosophies’

But brewers do not share the same view.

Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, Secretary-General of the Brewers of Europe, told EURACTIV that the joint platform refers explicitly to 100ml.

“There are sensitivities in different sectors but there is a joint agreement, which is laid down that 100ml is the reference as it’s provided in the regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. When it comes to implementation we might see different approaches.”

Bergeron insisted that the alcohol industry should stick to the legislation.

“We have always been strong proponents of the simplest approach that would be helpful for the consumers,” he said, adding: “100ml is legal and an appropriate proportion size.”

Ulrich Adam, Director General of SpiritsEurope, talked about “different philosophies” and emphasised that 100ml is misleading.

Adam said the spirits industry will ask the EU executive to consider allowing energy on spirits labels to be given more “prominently per serving size than per 100ml” and also requires that “all alcoholic beverages not habitually consumed in 100ml servings provide energy per serving”.

“For us, success is that consumers know what they will have inside and not what is on the bottle. We will always label energy information per portion and as required per 100ml,” he added, underlining that this key in order to reach the informative purpose of the legislation.


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The “flexible” proposal

In the proposal, there is a common part accompanied by four sectorial annexes that will explain in more detail what each sector will do (beer, wine, spirits, cider).

The general principle is that individual producers will be able to decide what information they provide on the label and online. Others, including the high number of SMEs and micro-enterprises that produce alcoholic beverages, are likely to use online means only.

The proposal claims that offline information will be easily accessible from the label itself, either by a web-link, a QR code, a barcode or through other direct means with the use of smart technologies.

The industry also pointed out that a “robust” monitoring system would be put in place while the first report of the implementation will be submitted in March 2021.

The European Commission welcomed the industry’s efforts to find a collective deal. “The Commission is determined to find an equitable solution that offers to the EU citizens enhanced information on the alcohol they drink,” a European Commission spokesperson commented.

Last week, a Commission official told EURACTIV that the industry proposal should meet consumer needs and expectations; however, the EU executive is still unclear regarding the increasing role of online labelling.

Consumer needs and expectations should be the main drivers in defining alcohol labelling, a European Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV.com when asked about the effectiveness of online labelling, an option the alcohol industry wants to introduce.

NGOs react negatively

The publication of the industry’s position triggered the strong reaction of public health NGOs which said that the industry “failed” to responsibly inform EU consumers.

“Consumers have a right to know. Often, they may not realise that many alcoholic beverages contain a lot of sugar. This fact shouldn’t be hidden somewhere online,” said Dr Jacques de Haller, President of Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME).

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) lashed out at the industry calling for binding EU-wide rules.

“The industry is granting itself too much flexibility to decide how much information consumers can see. As consumers make shopping decisions in a matter of seconds, it is unrealistic to expect they will take a few minutes to check online how calorific wine or vodka is,” BEUC said, adding that more than 3 out 10 consumers do not own a smartphone.

The industry, on the other hand, claims that online there is much more space to include more information for consumers. It also insists that in a digitising world an increasing number of consumers rely on online information for the products they consume.

Science: Mixing Cannabis And Alcohol Can Be Dangerous A lot of things can happen when you mix these two.

The Fresh Toast By Mary Schumacher Mach 12, 2018

There are many things that can occur when mixing alcohol with other substances and cannabis is definitely one of the no-nos after you’ve been drinking. Sure, a casual cocktail or two with a puff or two isn’t likely to send you over the edge, head in toilet, unable to speak, but if you go a good four or five cocktails deep and then smoke a fat doobie, chances are you’re going to regret it.

But why? Alcohol and cannabis are two of the most widely accepted recreational mind altering substances there are. Shouldn’t they play nice together? The short answer is no, though of course, everyone’s bodies will handle the


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combo differently. Your reaction may not be so extreme, but you are a lot more likely to clam up, space out and maybe get the spins if you drink and smoke.

According to reporting by VICE, two studies on the topic, published by Scott Lukas, who is a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, take a deeper look at what’s going on in our bodies when the two substances are imbibed together. One study examined how cannabis affects the absorption of alcohol, the other looked at how alcohol affects the absorption of marijuana, specifically the cannabinoid THC.

While the first study showed that smoking before drinking actually lowers your blood alcohol level, it turns out that if you drink before you smoke instead of smoke before you drink, your THC levels go through the roof. It seems that alcohol opens up the blood vessels in your digestive parts, welcoming THC through the expanded pathways and leading to an intense high.

So logic can only insist that dabbing, eating edibles or even vaping after drinking are special no-gos. The more THC you ingest, the higher that alcohol is going to get you and the more likely you are to get nauseous and, in the best case, feel a strong urge to lie down.

Just think before you imbibe, whether it be the alcohol/cannabis combo or one of the two substances respectively. If you have experience with one or both, you know your limits, at least separately. Just tone it down a few notches if the evening is going to get layered.

“If you’re sitting alone in your bedroom, and you’ve got pillows all around you,” explained Lukas, “and you’re well hydrated, and the bed’s not too far off the ground, the risk is low.”

So don’t take the risk! Don’t get intoxicated to the point of no return on alcohol and then think a few dabs before hitting your pillow-filled bedroom is a good idea. It just isn’t. Keep your head about you and enjoy responsibly.

States With The Heaviest Drinkers Revealed

The Fix By Paul Fuhr March 13, 2018

The Midwest has some of the highest rates of excess drinking in the country, according to a new report.

inancial news site 24/7 Wall St. released its annual special report on America’s “drunkest states” last Thursday, ranking all 50 states based on a far-reaching array of data, factors and methodologies.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 90,000 people die every year from excessive drinking. (And according to the new report, “those who die as the result of alcohol abuse do so 30 years prematurely, on average.”)

The report draws an eye-opening map of alcohol abuse across the United States, with the highest rates of excess drinking located in the Midwest and the lowest rates located in the South. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed heavy drinking data from the CDC, census bureaus, as well as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in order to complete its comprehensive report.

To fully understand the report’s implications, it’s important to understand what “excessive drinking” actually means. The CDC qualifies an alcoholic “drink” as something that contains 0.6 fluid ounces of pure alcohol. Excessive drinking, the CDC contends, includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking by pregnant women or people younger than age 21.

For women, it means drinking four or more drinks in a single occasion, while for men, excessive drinking requires five or more drinks in one sitting. (Women who consume at least eight alcoholic beverages per week, and men who consume at least 15, are categorized as “heavy drinkers” by the CDC.)

The 24/7 Wall St. report shows that while 18% of Americans drink to excess, that number varies wildly between states. Among the states ranked lowest are Tennessee, West Virginia, Utah, Alabama and Mississippi. The dubious


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honor of being counted among the nation’s “drunkest states,” however, goes to Illinois, Montana, Alaska, Wisconsin and North Dakota.

The latter is #1 with a bullet, too: 24.7% of North Dakota’s adults drink excessively. The Peace Garden State also had the nation’s highest number of alcohol-related driving fatalities (a whopping 46.7%). In the lowest-ranked state, Tennessee, only 11.2% of its adults drink excessively—well below the 18% national average.

George Koob, the director of the NIAAA, told 24/7 Wall St. that “there is a clear correlation between a state’s excessive drinking rate and income.”

The states with the highest excessive drinking rates had similarly high annual median household incomes. Of the top 25 “drunkest states,” 14 have incomes that exceed the national $57,617 average. Of the 10 “least-drunk states,” nine have household incomes well below that same median.

However, Koob claimed that this correlation isn’t as simple as it seems. The same goes for health statistics.

According to the report, “states with the highest excessive drinking rates tend to report better health outcomes than those with lower rates” (#1 North Dakota has a low number of premature deaths, for example, while #50 Tennessee has an above-average one.) “If you look at individuals, the [drinking-to-household income] pattern is somewhat different,” Koob cautioned.

While the report suggests that a large percentage of affluent individuals frequently drink to excess, they don’t appear to drink as heavily. It’s the low-income individuals who make up that difference: while they appear to drink to excess less frequently, when they drink, it’s consistently heavy. (Koob reasons this is because alcohol is expensive.)

Still, other factors certainly come into play when it comes to problematic drinking, Koob says, acknowledging the “availability of alcohol, taxes, cost of living, and even the weather.”

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