Read My Lips...

The fine people at Heavy Seas recently sent around an E-mail on new legislation being offered in the Maryland legislature to increase taxes on alcohol beverages. Beer In Baltimore touched on this issue as well. HB 121, the Lorraine Sheehan Health and Community Services Act of 2011, increases the state tax rates for alcoholic beverages sold in Maryland from $1.50 to $10.03 per gallon for distilled spirits, from 40 cents to $2.96 per gallon for wine, and from 9 cents to $1.16 per gallon for beer. The House bill has more than 50 sponsors and the Senate counterpart (SB 168) has almost 20 sponsors. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee held a hearing on the bill today and the House Ways and Means Committee on March 3, 2011.

State budgets are hurting across the country (we're looking at you Wisconsin) and commodity prices are going through the roof, which means prices for food - and beer - are going up too. We understand beer is a bit of a luxury item for some and it's not quite the same as putting food on the table. Maybe more people could afford a little luxury, or even a little tax increase, if wages had increased at all since the 1980s. With the current state of the economy employers have good excuse not to increase wages. What this means is no pay raise this year but the grocery bill is going up and that little six pack of heaven is about to get taxed like a cigarette.

Anyway, we're not saying you should oppose this bill but if you live in Maryland you should oppose HB 121/SB 168. You can voice your opposition at http://www.savemymdjob.com/.

If you live in Wisconsin, we're not saying you should support the unions but you should support the right to collective bargaining.

-Image courtesy of Heavy Seas.

Frogger Never Had it so Good

We've mentioned before our affinity for purchasing a brew simply based on labeling (read a great post by Beer in Baltimore on the art of beer labels).  Hoppin' Frog was not one of these impulse buys.  In this case we were browsing the "aisles" at D'vines looking for something different.  A frog holding a beer is certainly different.  No telling what happens when you kiss the frog.  Anyway, this is one Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout.

B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout is quality. It pours thick like molasses and creates a thick dark brown head.  Like any good Imperial stout the body is dark as night.  Like others we've tried, including the oak barreled stouts, the aroma kind of kicks you in the teeth (note: Hoppin' Frog offers a barrel-aged version).  What sets BORIS apart from other imperial stouts is flavor.  Yes, it has the requisite deep roast, full bodied flavor but BORIS has a greater balance of hops than any stout we've tried.  It's thick in  your mouth and goes down very smooth but doesn't fill you up - which is how we were able to pound the entire pint plus bottle.  By the way, it's 9.4 percent ABV so pound at your own risk.  It doesn't crush you, as Hoppin' Frog would have you believe, but BORIS reminds you that it could crush you but it chooses not to. 

This is the first Hoppin' Frog we've seen inside the beltway and they clearly focus on the brew and not the label art.  And that's OK.  If nothing else, this brew should serve as a reminder not to judge a beer by it's label.  While we search for the next great swill to drink we're going to dig up our Atari 2600 and fire up the Frogger.