———————————————————–

(Montgomery, AL) – Free the Hops, a foundation of people promoting the rise of the Alabama ABV limit from 6% to nearly 14% was able to get the House to approve the bill. The bill will now move to the Senate. Law is complicated, though, and as some of the group’s leaders note, there is no guarantee that the bill will go before the Senate by the end of the current session. If I interpreted Wikipedia correctly, there are 105 days in the session following February 5 so this could go on into late May. To put into perspective the plight of Alabamians and their affinity of craft beer, they have in-state access to only one beer of the top 100 listed on Beer Advocate. To hear some of what was said when the bill went to the floor, this is must-listen audio. As Lew Bryson from Seen Through a Glass points out, the politician who comes on at the 5:33 mark is classic…or frustrating, depending on how you look at it.