Way to go Tennessee…stupid laws again, but this time, more dangerous
The nation has already seen how ridiculous Tennessee can be when crafting laws related to the purchase and consumption of beer. The mandatory ID law that was passed earlier this year solidified this state into the hall of fame of legislative craziness.
However…they’ve one-upped themselves now. And this time, it’s far more broad and dangerous.
First, a little background.
Recently, in a move of state idiocy, law enforcement agents have been monitoring the borders to arrest people buying cigarettes from across state lines and bringing them back into Tennessee. 2 cartons of cigarettes brought back into the state counts as a misdemeanor, with over 25 cases being noted as a felony. A felony? Geez.
Now…it’s on to beer.
An article printed in today’s Knoxville News Sentinel points out that this enforcement is now reaching to cover beer as well, with beer being bought from out of state being considered a criminal act. Wow. As if you didn’t think it could get worse (yeah right, never think that when it comes to government).
Currently, the enforcement is only applied to beer bought concurrently with cigarettes, and the beer is confiscated at the time that the cigarettes are. However, it appears that it’s very likely that that could change. The law is aimed an preventing cross-border purchasing that is rampant due to insanely high taxes on beer in the state. Hey, Tennessee…what about lowering taxes as a solution, eh?
In Tennessee, taxes levied on beer are done in several ways. First, two taxes are levied at the wholesale level: a $4.29 tax per barrel(collected by the State Dept of Revenue), and then a 17% tax on value(collected by local city governments where the beer is sold). In addition, the beer is then taxed at the retail level. A state sales tax of 7% is added, in addition to a local sales tax that can go as far as an added 2.75%. These sales taxes are levied on retail price which includes the barrellage tax and the wholesale tax, which means that the tax is a tax on taxes…get it? Further past that, an $18 per barrel federal tax is applied.
Convoluted, eh? Welcome to bureaucracy.
So, all of this brings up an interesting discussion, and one that is exacerbated by the lack of knowledge by the legislators about how beer works in this country.
The most pressing issue is this: comparing the cigarette distribution trade with the beer distribution trade is not equal comparison - akin to apples and oranges.
The biggest example of this has to do with craft beer varieties and manufacturers. In Tennessee, because of the ridiculous taxes, we don’t get much craft beer. Sure, we’re getting more and more, but compared with other states around us, our selection is pretty pitiful. This is fundamentally different that the cigarette trade where almost all manufacturers are sold in every state - a much more homogeneous distribution network nationally.
So, what do we do? We go up to Kentucky, over to South Carolina, down to Georgia, etc… to get the beer we can’t get here. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, to do with taxes. This begs the question, how will the state deal with this difference?
If I drive to Bowling Green, KY to buy some beer that isn’t distributed in this state, and I am then arrested for bringing it back across state lines, I have indeed been arrested for a reason that doesn’t even fit with my motive for buying beer in another state. There is zero logic for this scenario to play out, as it has nothing to do with taxes, which is purportedly the reason behind the enforcement of the law. However, it’s going to happen this way, I promise.
So, what to do? I suppose you could only arrest people buying beer that is also sold in the state, but then that would have to be broken down by region, city, municipality, etc… For instance, if I live in Nashville and drive to Kentucky to buy anything made by Duck-Rabbit, should I be arrested because I can actually get it in Knoxville (which, incidentally is twice as far away)?
This is a major problem that represents a lack of Tennessee government’s ability to take cues from the marketplace and fix a broken system.
How about this Tennessee - lower your damn taxes and stop wasting taxpayer money on enforcing laws that amount to nothing more than a 3 year old throwing a fit because they can’t get their way. Don’t treat the symptoms - cure the illness here - fix the damn system.
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Hops hops hops. That describes this beer, and rightly so. The same brewers of the famous Ruination IPA and Arrogant Bastard have done it again this year with their 11th Anniversary ale. Self-titled as a “Black IPA” (or, IBA), this beer has a sweet nose loaded with citrusy, grapefruit hops that reek of West Coast. The beer sits in a snifter with a thin white head and a dark brown body. The nice medium thick mouthfeel supports a huge load of the same hops that are on the nose, with a sweet carriage underneath to pull the hops through the mouth. Starting slightly candylike on the front, the hop character fades to a heavy and widespread bitterness across the back of the mouth, lingering into a long bitter finish. Some faded dark fruit notes are present as well, but play second fiddle to the hops. Some resiny characteristics also run through the middle of the beer and tend to show up around mid-glass. 
