The pain continues...

I just got my monthly Devil's Canyon newsletter which delivered some bad news: they are forced to raise the cost of a pint at Beer Friday to $4 due to the ever rising cost of materials to make the beer. Read the newsletter here.

Even worse, they mention some legislation currently pending in the California assembly that will cause even more pain for the craft brewer's of Cali. Anheuser Busch is pushing a bill that will increase the limit on how much "tchotchke" a brewer can give away to retailers and consumers by 1600%. Think about how many small breweries can afford to give away t-shirts, pint glasses, etc. vs. the budget the big breweries have for such giveaways. Until now there was a pretty low limit, which helped level the playing field, but if big "beer" has their way, that limit will effectively disappear. If you live in California, contact your assemblyperson, especially if they are on the Appropriations Committee (next stop for the bill).

On another note, we finally popped open the bottle of Arbor Brewing's Sour Blonde. Suffice it to say, it does NOT go well with pizza. M and I both thought it tasted too much like hard cider for our tastebuds. Neither of us could finish even a small glass. Oh well, it was worth a shot!