Say it isn't so!!

Holy cow... California assemblyman Jim Beall has proposed a 1500% increase of state tax on beer- from 2 cents per can to 30 cents per can, or $1.80 per 6-pack. (As if the rising cost of raw materials for brewing beer weren't enough!) Beall said the tax would generate $2 billion a year to fund health care services, crime prevention and programs to prevent underage drinking and addiction.

Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., calculated that the tax on a barrel of beer would go from $6.40 to $89. "We would all be looking for jobs," he said.

The proposal likely won't go anywhere, though, as enacting this tax would require a two-thirds vote in the Assembly and Senate - and then it would have to be approved by voters, because it's a constitutional amendment. It also conveniently avoids the one topic our CA legislators don't like to talk about: the REAL problem, overspending. (find more information here)

But on to a happier topic: BEER! The weather has been incredible in the Bay Area this weekend: my car thermometer read a whopping 86' this afternoon, and we were walking in San Francisco last night WITHOUT JACKETS. (It felt like summer in the midwest!) So in honor of this loverly weather (yes, I said loverly- you got a problem with that?), I'm sipping on a New Belgium Springboard Ale in the backyard. Aged in oak, this brew combines oats, ancient Chinese herbs and Mt. Hood hops for a balanced springtime treat.