257327 Tue Oct 30 14:10:31 -0800 2001 20 21 The Best 0 1361850 Transplanted Sligo gal here, homesick for Smithwick's beer. Any ideas of where it's poured? Cheers! Tue Oct 30 14:10:31 -0800 2001 0 NiamhCurrad 1 1361852 To the best of my knowledge -- complete as of earlier this year -- Smithwick's beer is not imported into the US. It is available in Canada, and rumors have been flying for a couple of years about its impending arrival in the States but it has not happened yet. Tue Oct 30 15:56:47 -0800 2001 1361850 0 Ddeven Black 2 1361858 There is an Irish red on the market in my area (northern Virginia) from a microbrewery in Carlow. I don't have the name handy, but you can call the importer at 843.958.0123 if interested in finding it in your area. I haven't had this beer or Smithwick's enough to make comparisons, but I can tell you that the stout (O'Hara's) is very nice. Wed Oct 31 07:40:12 -0800 2001 1361852 0 Jim Dorsch 3 1361859 New York is always among the last states to get newly imported beers. Well, I guess Texas and Utah come after us, but you folks in the D.C. area, and especially those in New Jersey, are way ahead of us. I'm going to drive across the state line and look for O'Haras in a good beer store in Bergen County. Thanks for the tip, Jim. Wed Oct 31 09:21:04 -0800 2001 1361858 0 Deven Black 4 1361860 I would have thought that an area like NY, especially NYC, would be first to get new imports. Any idea why not? Wed Oct 31 10:27:23 -0800 2001 1361859 0 Jim Dorsch 5 1361862 State liquor laws. In most states, the liquor laws are designed to preserve monopolies. In NY, the law requires beer to pass through a distributor before it reaches a retailer, and there are just a small handful of distributors. They have no incentive to search out interesting new beers for tiny numbers of customers. In many states (though not yet NY), these monopolies are protected to the extent of making it a FELONY to import alcohol without a proper license. Fatuous lawmakers justify these laws with pious crap about protecting minors, but oddly the same laws don't apply to alcohol produced and shipped in-state. Wed Oct 31 15:33:09 -0800 2001 1361860 0 Josh Mittleman 6 1361863 NY has all kinds of bizarre liquor laws. I have to go to Massachusetts or NJ to get my favorite anisette because it has a twig in it that sugar crystals grow on. NY state liquor laws forbid any the import of any liquor that contains any large pieces of organic material. So no liquors with whole pears, either, but Yaegermeister (gold-flecked cinnamon schnapps) is okay. Very lame. Wed Oct 31 15:48:06 -0800 2001 1361862 0 Beth Pizio 7 1361865 The ban on organic material must be fairly recent. I know I've stocked and sold Pear William with whole pears in it. And if you think NY's liquor laws are odd you should see those of other states. Wed Oct 31 17:11:13 -0800 2001 1361863 0 Deven Black 7 1362102 Have you checked out CT laws. I can;t buy beer after 8:00pm anywhere. I can't even buy beer in the gas stations. Something for all you drinks, have you checked out the new Arctic ICe Shots? Take a look at their website. You want to talk about refreshing shot. It;s an edible shot glass!!! you take a shot and then chew the glass. What an idea!!!!!!!! Sat Jan 19 16:51:28 -0800 2002 1361863 0 Desire 7 1362110 I never heard of any such law. I worked in the liquor / wine industry for over ten years and never came across anything like that. I know many stores ( Zachy's, Wine Emporium, etc.) in Westchester County selling the liquers with pears or fruit in the bottle as well as that liquer with the rock crystal sugar in it. Jonathan Sun Jan 20 15:40:36 -0800 2002 1361863 0 The Rogue 6 1361867 The three-tier system you mention is common to all states, so that wouldn't explain why new beers are slow to appear specifically in NY. Now, Deven mentions brand registration fees, and that's believable. I don't know a lot about these, but I know that in some states they are substantial enough to effectively keep smaller brands off the market. As an aside, some states (like VA, where I live) have franchise laws that make it very difficult for an importer or brewer to terminate a distributor. These laws were designed to prevent large brewers from arbitrarily terminating a wholesaler, but unfortunately, it gives wholesalers the ability to arbitrarily stop selling a smaller brand, with no recourse for the supplier. Thu Nov 01 06:47:42 -0800 2001 1361862 0 Jim Dorsch 7 1361868 There once was a time when having 50 different sets of state liquor laws might have made sense, and on some levels it still does, but I can't help but think that a great number of the laws regarding how beer may or may not be sold on the wholesale level violate the prohibition of laws restricting interstate commerce. There must be some kind of exemption for alcoholic beverages. Immediately after prohibition it may have made sense, but any enlightened approach to adult beverages would see that that exemption is out of date and is anti-consumer. Then again, when has there ever been an enlightened approach to alcohol regulation? Thu Nov 01 09:39:52 -0800 2001 1361867 0 Deven Black 8 1361870 Yes, it's amazing that we still have these antiquated laws, and some states are strengthening them by making it a felony to ship wine across state lines, effectively barring small producers from the market. As strong as the wholesalers are, it'll be a long time before we see their government-mandated cartel challenged. Thu Nov 01 11:14:11 -0800 2001 1361868 0 Jim Dorsch 9 1361874 I think only part of the problem with byzantine liquor laws comes from the power of the wholesalers. Another major part of the problem is a continuing pervasive puritanism regarding the use of beverage alcohol. Many of the liquor laws that most directly affect consumers, for example the prohibition of nutrition labeling of beer or spirits or the recently reversed prohibition of proof disclosure on beer, stem from the paranoia that if people knew about what they were drinking they would want to drink more, so much more that it would be excessive. Isn't it nice to know that our Congress and state legislatures think so little of the the people who elect them? Thu Nov 01 16:38:05 -0800 2001 1361870 0 Deven Black 10 1361876 Yes, you're definitely right about the puritanical streak. It puts states like mine in an interesting position. They've chosen to be the exclusive liquor retailer, from which they want to make money, but they don't really want people to buy the stuff. Fri Nov 02 06:26:18 -0800 2001 1361874 0 Jim Dorsch 11 1361878 The licensing authorities should confront the paradoxes of their existence: they would disappear in a vortex of self contradiciton! Fri Nov 02 10:10:39 -0800 2001 1361876 0 Deven Black 5 1361864 My friends in the import beer business tell me it has to do with several factors including: the shortage of distributors; the expense of the media and advertising market (but it is the same in NJ); and the brand registration fees the NY State Liquor Authority charges. Wed Oct 31 17:08:56 -0800 2001 1361860 0 Deven Black 1 1361991 Just came back from Ireland. I really liked the Guiness but I just loved the Smiddick, as they call it in Ireland (love Christy Moore's "Delirium Tremens" too). The closest thing I could get to a Smithwick here (in San Diego) was a microbrew, and those are inconsistent, at best. Unfortunately there's no comparison between the Guiness here and the real thing. Fri Dec 07 22:21:21 -0800 2001 1361850 0 Ric 2 1361993 I don't think it's accurate to say microbrews are inconsistent at best. There are many microbreweries producing consistent, top-quality product, as evidenced by the many people who buy them religiously. If you're in San Diego, you should really be trying the great local micros like Stone (San Marcos). I believe Pizza Port is close to you as well in Solana Beach; Tomme Arthur is making some amazing beer there. If you like Smithwick's, try Caffrey's or Murphy's Amber. The canned and draught Guinness sold in the US is essentially identical to that sold in Ireland. Sat Dec 08 07:19:45 -0800 2001 1361991 0 Jim Dorsch 3 1361995 It goes a bit further than that, Jim. The draught Guinness sold in the US IS the draught Guinness sold in Ireland. The perceived differences between Guinness in the US and Guinness in Ireland are the result of how the beer is stored and dispensed, and the temperature at which it is served. And a very large amount of the perceived difference can be attributed to the very different cultural experience of drinking Guinness in Ireland as opposed to drinking it anywhere else in the world (did you know that Guinness in the second most popular beer in Nigeria, for example?). As I think about this, it seems to me that the cultural context in which one ingests food or drink has a large role in the process of taste. Would the arepa that is so good in Jackson Heights taste the same in, let's say, downtown Capenhagen? I think not. Nothing happens in isolation, and place is part of the gestalt of the experience. Sat Dec 08 10:58:41 -0800 2001 1361993 0 Deven Black 4 1361999 I think the Guinness sold in so many countries in Africa and elsewhere is Foreign Extra Stout, which is quite a different beer than Draught Guinness. You're right about the context in which something is consumed. Stephen Beaumont once wrote in The Malt Advocate about a very ordinary wine that tasted just fabulous in the city (I think it was Venice) where it's consumed everyday. I think the context is what people remember when they seek the boring light lager they had in whatever country they visited on vacation. Sat Dec 08 18:23:58 -0800 2001 1361995 0 Jim Dorsch