Jackson Jambalaya

Interesting list of those who received a total of at least $25,000 in contributions. AB seems to be spreading their wealth around MS in hopes of their donations being remembered in future benefits.

AB appears to be spreading their wealth around MS by contributing, to those listed in the post, in hopes of being remembered by receiving future benefits. Buying favoritism is not a new concept nor one likely to be abolished.

You may disregard the 2nd post, Kingfish, as I assumed your protection assumed that I was a robot :/

I still say they don't want Craft Beers b/c it does not benefit their business model. The Bud Light juggernaut still reigns, even while Bud slipped in rankings amognst most cases this year to Coors Light.

While the money certainly is supportive of "Craft" beers, watch for them to bring in a bunch of InBev beers to take space from craft beers.

This is a game of space management. Currently the A/B and Miller/Coors control majority of it. Watch for A/B to try and move in on M/C space through the use of InBev Craft Beers.

Some of the local "Craft" beers will gain some space through Miller, but the Giant is awake. And they are formidable competitors.

Craft beer is no threat to AB, Miller, ect.

Think gourmet foods. While one might make a beer run down to the Kroger to pick up a case of Miller Light for the Saint's game, they aren't going to pick up a case of Sprecher Black Bavarian just to gulp down with their nachos.

If I'm not mistaken, Mississippi is the only state that prohibits craft beer.

We can buy legal moonshine (Everclear and Bacardi 151) all day , but sipping a new beer from the Russian River Brewing Company will probably cause our society to break down.

Its a threat to space in the grocery aisle.

Kapt Roo,

Think about this for a moment.

Craft beer is not intended for consumption by the average beer drinker.

Craft beer is targeted to a small group of fans.
Much like wine aficionados.

Some will argue that passing legislation to allow Craft beer (with a higher alcohol content)
will enable teenagers to get drunk faster.

Not true. Craft beer is quite a bit more expensive than Bud, Miller, Coors, ect.

Most teens will go for the cheapest/nastiest productt available: Milwaukee's Best for example.

Beer sales have been flat for several years now. The only segment growing is craft beer. Up to 10% in some states. That is huge and means a lot of money to the bud lobby.

Yes, i will agree on the point of growth. But, you have to look at who is distributing (in MS) the most craft beer. As a business person, the minority does not drive the profits. The economies of scale on the primary brands are what sustains them at this point. The craft beers cost the primary brands profit.

If I were a betting man, craft beers will get their legislation. Beyond that it is a business issue. Space is a premium commodity. The alcohol content is irrelevant. What might be cool is an expansion of the beer industry, one of the earliest in this nation, into retail distribution. I'm talking home brew and specialty beers. Just thinking out loud here.

DO NOT bring underage drinking into this discussion. I am opposed to marketing and selling to minors. It is a crime. If you go that route, you are going to find a stiff resistance. Beer is not, never will be, marketed to underage constituents. The documentation on any marketing, regardless of target is analyzed and the analysis internally to a Beer Co., is extreme.

Now, for the politics.

Not clear to me if "for" or "against" the push.

If for, then this is a HUGE coup-de-ta.

If against, then I guess, AB is cold standing alone in it's influence over legislation.

We will see.

My prediction: AB is still against this. The minimal expense is enough to confuse the issue and show no loyalty to any side. They contributed to the right people. They are in control of the future of the message. It will be a watered down, "you can brew at home legislation" and then it will not go through. Unless, another influence in this town decides to get involved, but they are winning, so it's not an investment for them to make. They already own the "craft" brew segment.

Who wrote that presser? ugh.

If supermarket space is the issue why not just sell craft beers in the liquor store? No more fighting for shelf space at Kroger, etc.

Why are they fighting over what has to be the last, most backward and least profitable battleground they could pick?

I love it when the 'starched drawers' crowd pontificates about the quality of designer beers as opposed to what they consider the 'el cheapo' products consumed by the rif-raf of society. The same crowd that gets their evening powder-high through a straw.

Shadow, this is about the ability for a US citizen " to build a better mousetrap" and compete in the market against the big corporations.

Bud started out as a family brewery and competed with other family breweries based on product , price and promotion. They just don't want others to be able to do the same.

The ability to develop a better and more innovative product or compete as a small enterprise is nearly non-existent these days.

The irony, is that many of the " health" and " environmental "regulations are slipped in with a check by huge corporations that can afford to or already can meet the " new requirements" but they get to easily shift the blame.

By the way, talk to a small winery salesman about trying to get MS to allow them to sell their wine here. They can't even ship it to us.

And,how about Ralph Reed organizing religious opposition to gaming for some Indian tribes while taking money from competitng Indian tribes " laundering" his payments through a front company in headed by a lifeguard at a computer.

Follow the MONEY or be duped.

Shadow, you must read the JFP too much. That whole "The same crowd that gets their evening powder-high through a straw." was one of their favorite in-jokes.

I have never in my life read the JFP, never. And you should know by now I'm anything but a liberal.

@8:50; if you believe this 'is what it's about', God help you: "... this is about the ability for a US citizen " to build a better mousetrap" and compete in the market against the big corporations."

At it's core it's about the Hal and Mal's and Fondren crowd who want to consume seven different types of 'art-beer'/'designer-beer' on a given Sunday. Coming in second behind that are the liquor stores who want a wider variety of designer wines. I suppose the crowd you envision is in line somewhere too.

Actually, it's about the droves of craft beer drinkers that make a point of buying beer when they are out-of-state (some even driving specifically to buy beer out-of-state) and those who brew their own beer at home (and many more that can't be grouped into these 2 categories). There's a reason that Top of the Hops beer festivals bring in thousands of attendees every year (Biloxi & Jackson, among other states) even at a price point of $40+ a ticket. This group of people can not be tied to any one location or establishment - there are at least four organized homebrew groups in the state, ranging from the Coast to the Delta to the Golden Triangle area. Raise Your Pints has nearly 4,000 members on their facebook group - that's a healthy number.

AB Inbev realizes that they were fighting a losing battle, and its better for them to be on the "winning" side when the laws change, so that they save their reputation somewhat. They see the writing on the wall, which is why you're starting to see a shift in product and marketing. Bud Light Platinum anyone?

AB Inbev has been clogging up the shelf space for years. Just take a moment next time you're at Kroger and really look at the wall of beer. You'll quickly realize that you can buy Bud Light (among other AB beers) in 12 oz cans, 12 oz bottles, 16 oz cans, 24 oz cans, singles, 6-packs, 12-packs, 20-packs, 24-packs, etc. Why so many choices in size? To take up valuable retail space of course! All of these choices are stacked together to create essentially one giant AB billboard in Kroger (not just Kroger, its like this almost everywhere beer is sold).

If you have some time, I recommend you read this guy's blog - he's an expert in the field of beer distribution and you can learn a lot from his posts:
http://johnconlin.typepad.com/conlin_beverage/

It is all about Days of Supply and consumer demand. More people drink the beers you see so prominently featured. If it doesn't sell it perishes. And at the price levels you are talking about DOS is a very real concern when you are throwing out or selling out of date beer.

Aint' no skanky craft beer.
Craft beer does not languish on the cooler racks.

Let me go to the cooler tonight and check some dates.

PBR is the best !

@1:31: Here's your comment ~ "Actually, it's about the droves of craft beer drinkers that make a point of buying beer when they are out-of-state (some even driving specifically to buy beer out-of-state) and those who brew their own beer at home (and many more that can't be grouped into these 2 categories)"

I shortened it to the 'Hal & Mal & Fondren crowd just to save space.

I'm astonished that even if one buys into the notion that the " Fondren crowd"( reverse snobbery is a form of insecurity) wants craft beer, what you self proclaimed conservative capitalists are arguing against is allowing individuals and small breweries to sell to an existing market that is not being served. That is not capitalism and I don't need " God's help" to know that, just a copy of WEALTH OF NATIONS!

And, you all make it rather obvious that you don't travel much. Craft beer is hugely successful in many markets. And, THAT competition is what Bud wants to keep out!

I rarely drink beer because of the calories but I've been to restaurants in even small cities that brew their own beers on site,. In larger cities, I've been to restaurants that serve over a hundred different kinds of beer. It's in those places I've had the best beers.

I can't believe beer drinkers wouldn't want the chance to purchase experience a good variety.

I don't care about AB's profits.

I don't care how much shelf space, if any, Chimay gets at Kroger.

I don't care if Fat Tire is available at Trustmark Park.

As long as I can make a run to whatever specialty store is going to stock up craft beers, I'm happy.

Next up...remove the gravity limit entirely (alas, I think Chimay is just outside the 8% cap).

You nailed it.

That is what you will be left with after the bill passes.

There's a difference between "alcohol by weight" and "alcohol by volume."

1% ABW = 1.25% ABV

Mississippi's beer laws are so archaic that they still refer to ABW whereas the rest of the world goes by ABV.

Chimay Blue (the strongest ABV Chimay beer) is 9% alcohol by VOLUME. The proposed bills will raise the limit from 5% alcohol by WEIGHT to 8% alcohol by WEIGHT. 8% alcohol by WEIGHT = 10% alcohol by VOLUME.

Therefore, all Chimay beers will be legal for sale in Mississippi if the proposed bill passes.

I, for one, am proud of our Legislators for taking such a virtuous stance to limit the choices (and, consequently, mistakes) that the people of Mississippi can make.

Before we all in up in one, big sinful orgy, complete with gourmet foods, displays of art and literature from around the world and the free expression of ideas, I suggest a bill to limit everyone to driving a white pick up truck, wearing uniforms and working 6 days a week. Either that, or I'm moving to China and eating nothing but baloney sandwiches everyday.

4:13 You left out jobs with name tags and hair nets...

Who the hell wants to go to a 'restaurant with a hundred beers' on the menu board? That's like going to a Chinese restaurant that advertises 'We cook cat over a hundred different ways'. Hell, just bring us a beer. And if you really enjoy beer, you don't have to worry about the shelf-life dates in your fridge. The pipe and slippers crowd here makes me cringe.

I'm with 4:13PM but I would add, a blue-tick hound, a shotgun, a .45 strapped to my hip, and a beautiful Mississsippi country gal by my side.

SF, you are the ONLY one who, given a choice between two identical restaurants, one that offered a hundred beers and one that offered only one beer, would go to the restaurant that only had one beer. (although everyone who reads this blog knows you would park your obnoxious ass, prominently, at the bar of the restaurant with 100 beers, just so you could tell anyone who would listen how much you hated having so many beers to chose from, how horrible people are that like drinking different beers, how, in your fucked up world, drinking only one beer all the time is somehow a virtue, etc.)

However, that is not the point. The point is: how could anyone object to having more choices? And if no one objects to having more choices, and many people want to have more choices, what is the justification for saying "no"?

We're only talking about beer this time, but if our legislature will give us all "the finger" and do the bidding of a corporation that will line their pockets from time to time (and it didn't take much), then why assume they are acting in our best interests on ANYTHING, where our collective best interests collide with that of a large donor?

11:23; ditch the bad attitude. (I thought KF didn't allow the F word on here).

Would it be safe for me to assume you're part of the 30-something pink-flamingo crowd running down to Louisiana every other weekend for a trunk full of designer beers? Oh, of course in 100 different brands.

I'd suggest our legislature has more pressing issues than increasing the availability of artsy beer for the proletariat.

Pee Ess: I go to a restaurant for a meal, not to count beer brands lined up in front of a mirror.

"I'd suggest our legislature has more pressing issues than increasing the availability of artsy beer for the proletariat."

I think most people here would disagree, and say that competition and a free market are vital to our economy, closely identified with being "American" and, generally, a good thing.

The point, again, is this: what is the justification for killing the bill? I know you don't, personally, want more choices, but what is the argument that more choice and more competition in the marketplace is bad for our citizens or our State?

The most logical explanation for the repeated death of this bill is that the people elected to act on our behalf have chosen to ignore us and act, not in our best interests, but the best interests of a large donor. We have all become so jaded that we accept this from our government (even consider it normal), and when you apply that same working model of governance to all the decisions our representatives are making about education, healthcare, our State's natural resources, our system of justice, our economic development, the air we breath and the water we drink, that's scary.

To some, it's about choices, liberties and freedom. To MS, it's about job creation, increased revenue and tourism. Lazy Magnolia has lost contract brewing business due to not being able to brew over 5%abw, which means MS lost out on that extra revenue.

The other 49 states have capitalized on a huge growing market (how often have you heard the word "growing" over the past few years?), yet MS doesn't even get looked at when large breweries seek expansion locations. NC just landed Sierra Nevada and will likely get New Belgium as well - how? They changed their laws to be brewery friendly.