News: Drinkers sue to stop A.B. sale

According to the Associated Press ten angry beer drinkers are trying to derail the largest brewery takeover in history.

The group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming Belgium-based InBev’s $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. would violate U.S. antitrust law if completed as planned in the coming months.

The suit, filed in Anheuser-Busch’s hometown of St. Louis, does not seek financial damages but asks a judge to block the deal. The Department of Justice often reviews large acquisitions to determine if they are legal under U.S. law. But attorneys behind the lawsuit said they want to halt the deal regardless of the verdict in Washington.

Really, does it matter?

Review: Brooklyn Oktoberfest

An Oktoberfest/Märzen brewed by
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, New York USA

ABV: 5.5%

Glassware: Pint glass

Poured from the bottle an amber color with a nice tan or beige head. The head was solid and stuck around for a bit. The aroma was spicy and malty with some bread like characteristics. On taste it instantly hits you as a sweet beer, almost English and not German. It seems a bit light in body for what the aroma was and nicely carbonated. A lot of malt flavors in the body and it finished slick. I don’t think this is an Oktoberfest I would hunt down again, though it wasn’t bad and I wouldn’t turn it down if offered.

Beer Advocate food pairing suggestions: Cuisine (German) 

My ratebeer.com score: 3.1

News: Liquor license changes cause snags in Idaho

The Coeur d’Alene Press is reporting that  Idaho lawmakers changed the state’s liquor license rules last year to try to keep recipients from holding the licenses indefinitely but the plan is backfiring.

The article reads:

But some would-be northern Idaho businesses say the move has backfired – while there’s now less of a wait to get one of the limited number of licenses, there’s not enough time to get a bar up and running before they are revoked.

Liquor licenses are issued to those on a waiting list who paid $375 for the privilege a decade or more earlier. The new rules, which went into effect in March 2007, require license holders to go into operation within 180 days, with a 90-day extension possible. They cannot be transferred until after two years of operation, and the person who holds the license must be the owner of the business that uses it.