Mississippi Senate to vote on raising ABW in beer from 5%

redbuddha

redbuddha

As I sit here watching my Jiffy trays for the first sign of pepper activity I've got one eye on my twitter feed for news of a vote in the Mississippi State Senate. Taking our frequently last in the nation stance to heart we are the only state that limits alcohol by weight in beer to 5%. This makes it really hard to find anything but the mega brewery's swill (Bud, Miller, Coors) on the beer aisle. If you get the sudden desire for a nice hoppy craft brew mid way through chomping on a 7 pod and your car tag says Mississippi you are truly screwed. After five years of trying, a bill to raise the ABW to 8% has finally made it through the state house. It's the senate's turn to vote and they have delayed, skipped, and recessed away a vote on our bill for the last 4 days. If you know someone from Mississippi I suggest you buy them a high gravity craft brew to help them deal with this very anxious and trying time.


For more info on our plight: http://raiseyourpints.com/


To monitor the political shenanigans: https://twitter.com/#!/raiseyourpints
 
5% still ain't bad. I remember back in the day of the caveman and dinosaur here in Texas when it was 3.2%. Good times.
 
I wish you the best on this one man. I just went out to a small local brewery last night and tried out their showing of 6 beers ranging from 6 to 10.5% ABV. It just wouldn't have been the same at 5%. Hopefully sometime soon you will be enjoying the glory that is craft beer.

texas blues said:
5% still ain't bad. I remember back in the day of the caveman and dinosaur here in Texas when it was 3.2%. Good times.
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If you like craft beer, 5% is not just bad its devastating. It's like telling a wine drinker that they are stuck with only boxed wines.
 
I dont know Miss. Law but if they can sell hard alcohol (?) then why does the ABV matter. Its ridiculous. If they think about it, it would generate more bussiness and new bussiness. This in turn would bring in more money for the state and a decreased unemployment. Stupid people=the guberment.
 
3/5King, that's the argument we've been making for years. We have a rather strong Baptist contingent down hear in the Bible Belt and they fight anything to do with demon alcohol tooth and nail. I've never known a Baptist to refuse a cold beer though...funny huh? Homebrewing is Illegal in Mississippi...I think we're the only state in the nation on that one too. This makes my legally purchased homebrew rig illegal to use. Every time I fire up my cooker I have to look over my shoulder for Boss Hog and Sheriff Coltrain. We had a bill to legalize homebrewing this year as well but it died in committee. I just learned the Senate postponed everything on the docket till Monday because Newt Gingrich came to visit...thanks alot Newt.
 
Stone Levitation Ale at 4.4% abv and Surly's Bitter Brewer at 4% abv. both great beers. Not sure about abw though...
 
The problem is that most craft breweries that produce quality lower gravity beers can't commit to shipping to Mississippi if the rest of their product line can't be sold because of the 5% ABW limit. Not only is our beer weaker but we also have a weaker selection of weak beer. :banghead:

The Mississippi Senate just passed our bill to raise ABW in beer from 5% to 8%!!! There were a whole lot of no's but it still made it through. Here's where we stand:

We had two bills this year to maximize our chances. Our House bill passed and now goes to a Senate committee before a Senate floor vote. Our Senate bill passed and now goes to a House committee before a House floor vote. Either one that makes it past the next vote will then go to the Governor for his signature. The bills are exactly the same so the stage is set for our bill to actually make it to the Governor. History is being made in Dixie. Even though I'm getting ahead of myself I'm taking it to the pub for stuffed jalapenos and the best legal beer available right now.
 
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I guess that means WV was only second last. They only raise the limit in 2009 from 6% to 12%. It never made any sense to me, because you could buy all the hard alcohol and wine you wanted at higher ABV. Apparently, not wanting to rush into any rash decisions, WV was still using laws from the prohibition era that were created to work around prohibition by defining beer below 6% alcohol as non-intoxicating. It only took them 70 or so years to realize prohibition had been repealed, so such a law was no longer needed.
 
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