First of all, let us apologize to our many friends in the beautiful state of Alabama who have to deal with these elected officials. In case you never quite imagined with Free the Hops is up against, here’s your chance to be in the know. Witness this absolute splendor of a debate on the “Gourmet Beer Bill” by watching this video. It’s hard to imagine that the opponents even took the time to actually read the bill or even pretend to understand it. There’s discussion of cans, getting these “gourmet” beers into the hands of teenagers, and god forbid we bring in “foreign” beer! Nevermind that Alabama laughs all the way to the bank when it takes huge bundles of tax money from Mercedes, which has its largest U.S. manufacturing facility just outside our former home of Tuscaloosa. Oh, and then there’s the issue that you can buy 190 proof liquor in any state-owned ABC store.