Alabamans Attempt to "Free the Hops"

The plight of Alabama beer drinkers has received attention in the media, but so far attempts to change the state's draconian beer laws have gone unsuccessful.

...in Alabama, home-brewing beer has long been a Class A misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. It’s another Class A misdemeanor to sell or distribute any beer with more than 6% alcohol content. That puts off-limits 85 of the 100 top-rated beers in the world, as ranked by BeerAdvocate.com.

In order to change this, beer-loving Alabamans have joined together to form Free the Hops and lobby for legal changes.

Stuart Carter, the president of Free the Hops, counters that most of the higher-alcohol beers do not appeal to teenagers. They’re thicker, more complex, often more bitter. They’re also considerably more expensive. To him, craft beers have nothing to do with getting drunk. They’re all about flavor. To prove his point, Carter has been known to offer lawmakers an illicit taste of a Yeti Russian Imperial Stout, with 9.5% alcohol content.

“It looks like used engine oil – black, thick, sticky. It will glue your lips to the glass,” he says.

“The first taste you get is the bitterness. Then you taste coffee. Then dark chocolate. Then caramel, with a hint of plums or raisins. The aftertaste is pancake syrup,” Carter says. “You give it to these legislators and the look on their face is priceless.”

Free the Hops' new Montgomery chapter had its first meeting last Thursday and the momentum appears to be building. Good luck, Alabama!