No good deed goes unpunished. As some of you have heard me say, "Bureaucrats
are the only form of mammalian life with no brains, only rule books." Eric
PS, Some of you outside the primary recipient group keep hitting "reply all"
when replying to my notes. I then have to disapprove the post. Let's keep it
simple--If you are not a group member, please don't reply to the group. Eric
If you thought 2020 couldn't get worse OMG WE HAVE TO SAVE OUR
BEER!!!!!<https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/12/31/2005038/-If-you-thought-2020-couldn-t-get-worse-OMG-WE-HAVE-TO-SAVE-OUR-BEER>
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Thursday December 31, 2020 · 6:20 AM EST
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Hand sanitizer handed out by our local brewery, Warfield. Ketchum, Idaho
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I apologise for the all caps but y'all, THIS IS SERIOUS!
Whether you love or hate microbreweries and craft beer, this is an injustice
that we cannot let stand. I say this only partly in jest.
Back when lockdowns started to happen, a lot of local breweries across the
country got to work creating hand sanitizer. Remember back in March and April
when it was impossible to find any? Brewers stepped up and instead of making
locally sourced craft beers they just made the alcohol to in turn make hand
sanitizer.
Some of them sold the sanitizer at cost; others, like Warfield, pictured above,
simply made it then handed it out for free to essential businesses, like the
one I work for.
Well, it turns out the FDA is going to punish
<https://www.google.com/amp/s/reason.com/2020/12/30/when-there-wasnt-enough-hand-sanitizer-distilleries-stepped-up-now-theyre-facing-14060-fda-fees/%3ffbclid=IwAR1a9YCqi5M1u1aSgZpsR3VJNluZYJo67wz2MBSWE6HwaSXsEI37z0Csh2I&>
them for that.
When the onset of the pandemic led to a massive increase in demand for hand
sanitizer this spring, many distilleries stepped up to alleviate the sudden
shortage. The main ingredient in sanitizer is ethanol, which they are in the
business of making, albeit typically in more fun and tasty formats. More than
800 distilleries pivoted from spirits to sanitizer, offering it for sale or in
many cases donating it to their communities free of charge. Their prompt action
helped ensure supplies of sanitizer when it was otherwise unobtainable. (Even
then, the FDA needlessly complicated things, imposing additional requirements
on top of guidelines published by the World Health Organization for emergency
production. The FDA's mandate that all alcohol used in sanitizer first be
denatured—rendering it undrinkable—created a bottleneck that raised costs for
distillers and slowed production.) Producing sanitizer is viewed as a point of
pride in the distilling business, a way that they were able to help their
communities in a fearful time of crisis. Now, however, that good deed is
being punished with unanticipated fees by the FDA. "I compare it to surprise
medical billing," says Becky Harris, president of the American Craft Spirits
Association (ACSA) and of Catoctin Creek Distilling in Purcellville, Virginia.
This article states that the fine is as high as $14,000! For an industry that
is mostly made up of local, small business owners who've already lost a lot
this year, this is an unforgivable ask which will likely force many of them to
shut down.
2020 has been a year of living in a sci-fi hellscape. I've learned to live
without and give up a lot of small pleasures in life. But goddammit this is
just a bridge too far.
Besides spending time with my family, the one thing I can't wait to do after
the pandemic is over is to settle into a nice patio seat on a warm summer day
and drink locally made beer while waiting for a hamburger.
There's nothing like coming back from a long hike or bike ride and getting that
cold microbrew.
But all is not lost. Here's how we can help:
Here is a list of ways to contact the
FDA.<https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/contact-fda>
Hereis the docket number for reference when you contact them:
FDA-2020-D-1106
We’ve all been through a lot this year and I know so many of us spent a lot of
energy to GOTV, and in a lot cases are still working for the chance to dispose
of Mcconnell as “leader.”
But on this last day of this awful year, maybe we can make one more final push.
We've sacrificed so much already. This is just too much.
#SaveOurBeer!
*Note: I'm reading through the FDA policy on this because what else would I do
at 4 in the morning? I'm trying to find the specific language regarding this
policy but won't be able to post it until after I get some sleep and can see
straight. I hope to have an update soon but I REALLY need to sleep first.
Thursday, Dec 31, 2020 · 12:37:50 PM EST ·
BoiseBlue<https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/12/31/2005038/-If-you-thought-2020-couldn-t-get-worse-OMG-WE-HAVE-TO-SAVE-OUR-BEER?pm_source=story_sidebar&pm_medium=web&pm_campaign=recommended#update-1609436270000>
Update: I apologise for such a sloppy post. I wrote this after working a late
shift and am now operating on three hours of sleep. To clarify my use of
breweries and distilleries, I think this might be specific to my state. Many
microbreweries also have distillery operations.
So I apologise for the confusion. I tried researching this but I really need a
nap before it makes sense to me. One thing I did learn is that any beer above
4% ABV is taxed as wine, but I don't know that that is relevant here. My
apologies and I'll update after I take a nap.
