Anyone see the movie SLC Punk, with Matthew Lillard and the amazing Christopher McDonald? It’s a very amusing day-in-the-life look at anarchic punks living in Utah in the mid-80s. The movie is narrated Ferris Bueller-style, with Stevo breaking the 4th wall whenever he pleases. One of my favorite anecdotes from the movie comes from one of his asides about the state of beer in Utah.
“Beer in supermarkets in Utah is weak, 3 points instead of the normal 6 points of alcohol. It’s the religious influence, and a pain in the ass. Now to me, it makes no sense. If you’ve got alcohol, you’ve got alcohol. So why 3 instead of 6? You know a drunk’s just going to drink twice as many beers to get drunk, so you not only have a drunk on your hands, you have a drunk who’s fat and gross. There’s nothing worse.”
In order to get decent quaff for their upcoming party, Stevo and friends go on a beer pilgrimage to Wyoming. You gotta admire that type of dedication; roadtripping across state lines to buy beer. But I guess that’s what I would do if I was living in Utah, where the liquor laws are so effed up.
Believe it or not, things are even worse in Alabama. Currently, it is illegal to buy or sell beer that is
- Over 6% alcohol
- In a container larger than 16 oz.
This is pure insanity. Luckily I live in California, far enough removed from the midwest that I don’t have to care, but if I lived in Alabama, I would be outraged. OUTRAGED.
The most maddening part? Wine and liquor face none of the same restrictions. Is this some sort of conspiracy between the Top Three breweries to keep Alabama drinking watery, fizzy yellow beer? I don’t understand, and I’m not sure I want to. But if you want answers, take a look at this history of beer in Alabama.
If this subject really fires you up, Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin wrote an excellent article about the Free The Hops movement, and current legislation trying to fix things.
Bruno was right, Alabama is the gayest part of America!
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on Apr 16th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Yeah. Now that you mention it, Alabama’s pretty damn gay.
But we have bonified neo-prohibitionists making our laws. Gotta be impressed by that.
on Apr 17th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Absolutely fascinating. Keep fighting the good fight. They’ll come around sooner or later.
on Apr 20th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I really liked SLC Punk, oddly enough. At the time it came out, I had six inch liberty spikes, red hair and a black leather jacket. I was a total fashion punk, but I was also a guitar player so I didn’t feel like a complete poser. The scene where Stevo talks to the camera and explains why he decided to stop dying his hair made me rethink my entire style, and really got me to grow up.
As for the beer scene, I loved the fact that when the store owners were freaking out, the punks just told them they were from England and everything was cool. Classic!