Filed under: Olde Main News, Restaurant & Pub | Tags: brewery tour, iowa beer, iowa beer equality bill, Iowa Brewery, lift the limit, Olde Main, SF 2088 iowa, virtual brewery tour
Photos galore! We’ve added some great pictures of inside the brewery. From the basement where we brew, store, and bottle to the restaurant & brewpub where we enjoy food and beer, the reward for our hard work. All is featured in our new photo gallery at oldemainbrewing.com/photos.html. The pictures were taken during a photo shoot for the 2010 Iowa Wine and Beer Directory.
If you haven’t taken a brewery tour yet, please do! Just send an email to our head brewer Jeff “Puff” Irvin to arrange a time.
On another note, the Iowa Beer Equality Bill is making it’s way through the process! It’s now under SF 2088, a state government reorganization act. It passed the House unanimously yesterday with amendment H 8045, which will allow Iowa breweries to make and sell beer up to 10% ABW. Now it goes on to the Senate for a vote.
We’re starting to get excited! We’re currently not able to brew about 30 percent of the beer styles out there due to the 5% ABW limit Iowa sets. Hopefully that will be changing very soon! What to make first… ?
Filed under: General Beer Industry | Tags: iowa beer, Iowa Brewer's Guild, Iowa Legislation Beer, lift the limit, SF 2091 Iowa beer
Tell Iowa legislators to support the Iowa Beer Equality Bill (amended version of SF 2091).
Iowa breweries are at a competitive disadvantage because they are prohibited from selling beer above 5% ABW. Out of state breweries are not subject to this restriction and are currently distributing through the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division.
SF 2091 bill was introduced in the Iowa Senate yesterday. An amended version will be presented and voted on in the Senate’s State Government Committee THIS THURSDAY.
Please email the members of the Senate’s State Government Committee TODAY and encourage them to support the amended version of SF 2091. The amended version of SF 2091 will…
• Provide an equal playing field for Iowa breweries and brewpubs to manufacture and sell beer up to 12% ABW just like out of state breweries are already doing in Iowa
• Allow Iowa’s beer wholesalers to distribute all beer up to 12% ABW, rather than the current distribution through the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division
Also help us spread the word by joining the I Support the Iowa Beer Equality Bill group on Facebook. Learn more about all the breweries in Iowa at IowaBeer.org.
Senate’s State Government Committee
Staci Appel (D, District 37), Chair
staci.appel@legis.state.ia.us
John P. (Jack) Kibbie (D, District 4), Vice Chair
john.kibbie@legis.state.ia.us
Randy Feenstra (R, District 2), Ranking Member
randy.feenstra@legis.state.ia.us
Dennis H. Black (D, District 21)
dennis.black@legis.state.ia.us
Thomas G. Courtney (D, District 44)
thomas.courtney@legis.state.ia.us
Jeff Danielson (D, District 10)
jeff.danielson@legis.state.ia.us
Dick L. Dearden (D, District 34)
dick.dearden@legis.state.ia.us
David Hartsuch (R, District 41)
david.hartsuch@legis.state.ia.us
Jack Hatch (D, District 33)
jack.hatch@legis.state.ia.us
Wally E. Horn (D, District 17)
wally.horn@legis.state.ia.us
Pam Jochum (D, District 14)
Pam.Jochum@legis.state.ia.us
James A. Seymour (R, District 28)
james.seymour@legis.state.ia.us
Steven J. Sodders (D, District 22)
steve.sodders@legis.state.ia.us
Ron Wieck (R, District 27)
ron.wieck@legis.state.ia.us
Filed under: General Beer Industry, Olde Main News | Tags: alcohol content in beer iowa, beer alcohol content iowa, beer limits in iowa, Iowa Brewer's Guild, Iowa Public Radio, lift the limit
Iowa Public Radio reports on Iowa brewers efforts to produce gourmet style beers. Current Iowa law prohibits in-state brewers ability to produce beer higher than 5 percent by weight alcohol content. This limits us to the styles of beer we can brew, but people can buy at their local stores from out-of-state breweries. This puts Iowa breweries at a competitive disadvantage.
Olde Main, along with the Iowa Brewers Guild are currently working on a bill to change this law. Listen to the Iowa Public Radio piece featuring Olde Main head brewer Jeff Irvin.
From Iowa Public Radio: “Supporters of the brewery industry in Iowa are pushing for legislative action that would allow pubs to make beer with higher alcohol content. They say such a move would level the competitive playing field between the state’s microbreweries and those in much of the rest of the nation. Rob Dillard prepared this report.” Listen to the report here.
