Headlines from October 2017 on THE BEER BEAT.

Previously, I've explained why this blog has gone on hiatus, adding that my thoughts about beer will be posted alongside my utterances about everything else, over yonder at NA Confidential.

You'll find them there via the helpful all-purpose tag, The Beer Beat.

However, whenever the urge strikes -- I seem to have settled on monthly -- I'll collect a few of these links right here. Following are October's ruminations, with the oldest listed first.

Some are more topical than others. In October, there were several travel-related postings using "The Beer Beat" as a label, but not as a title. I hope this isn't overly confusing.

Thanks for reading, if belatedly.

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THE BEER BEAT: "Craft," "quality" and other beer semantics -- but independence genuinely matters to me.

One conclusion of Bryan Roth's piece on the beer semantics of craft and quality is that relatively few beer consumers as yet care very much about the ownership of the brewery so long as the components denoted by "craft" are present.

In short, whether the brewery is independent or monolithic/corporate just isn't a consideration because it tells consumers little about "quality" as this concept is applied to the denominator "craft."

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The 2017 Poperinge Hop Parade, Part One: One must pour the proper foundation for maximum parade enjoyment.

Back at the Grote Markt, there were leftover tokens from the previous day's visit to the "Lekker Westhoeks" beer sampling. As we sipped again on Sunday, the visiting band from Wolnzach in Bavaria serenaded the denizens of nearby sidewalk cafes.

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The 2017 Poperinge Hop Parade, Part Two: The procession itself, and where to dine afterward.

Poperinge's triennial hop parade seeks to tell the story of the magic cone used in the production of beer, as placed in the historical context of the Westhoek ("west corner") region of Flanders, embracing this vicinity in Belgium as well as a slice of nearby France.

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THE BEER BEAT: From Sunday sales in Indiana to garlic tastings, an overview of informative news items.

Having recently returned from fact-finding mission to Belgium and the Netherlands, and while in Haarlem enjoying enjoyed more than one session at the Jopenkerk, it's an excellent time to remind readers that there's no better use for a shuttered church than to trasnform it into a house of beer worship.

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THE BEER BEAT: The Second Annual Harvest Craft Beer Hop takes place on Friday, October 13.

Last year restaurateur Ian Hall and his crew at The Exchange pub + kitchen organized the first Harvest Craft Beer Hop. This year it's bigger and better, featuring a stellar lineup of downtown New Albany's food and drink establishments ... 13 in all.

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Out there in the fields, or a visit to De Plukker Hop Farm Brewery outside Poperinge.

Luc had decided that with the weather as yet variable, he'd use the car, and so off we went for an inspection of De Plukker, an organic hop farm and brewery.

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THE BEER BEAT: Beaumont's list of top-notch airport bars somehow prompts a Super Bock memory.

For some unknown reason, Stephen missed the Super Bock Lounge at Francisco Sa Carneiro International Airport in Porto, Portugal. Seeing as it will be the next "airport of call" for the Confidentials come February, I may have to heed the call of duty and investigate.

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THE BEER BEAT: Louisville KY Craft Beer Week VIII begins today ... in Jeffersonville.

For a dram of perspective, let's glance back at the inception of the celebration in September, 2010.

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ON THE AVENUES: I'd like nothing more than to go for another ride.

Regular readers know that Diana and I recently traveled to Europe, spending the bulk of our time in Poperinge, Belgium and Haarlem, Netherlands.

Kevin was a big fan of both these places, and when we returned to them a month ago, each bicyclist I saw pedaling past – there were hundreds in all – reminded me of the epic beercycling times we had.

It will surprise absolutely no one to learn that our acquaintance began in the late 1980s over beer, not bicycles. Kevin started patronizing Scoreboard Liquors, the package store where I worked, and after a brief lull (I believe he moved away for a short time) we met again when the Public House came into existence in 1992.

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THE BEER BEAT: "One hundred years ago, Britain nationalized hundreds of its pubs — and invented a better drinking culture."

Simply stated, speaking as one who is fascinated by World War I and British pub culture and the notion of prohibition, this is a worthy digression to which I'll be returning.

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But it isn't really a "ban" if there are Sunday alternatives (hint: Indiana breweries and wineries).

The effort is underway again this year.

Bill to lift Sunday alcohol sales ban has fewer store rules (Associated Press)

A new proposal to lift Indiana's eight decades-old ban on Sunday carryout alcohol sales would impose fewer new restrictions on grocery stores and pharmacies than a bill that failed in the Legislature last year.

The measure represents a fresh attempt by Indiana House Public Policy Chairman Tom Dermody to end the state's status as having the last such statewide "blue law" in the U.S.

Rep. Dermody, who seems to be bidding for recognition as the Great Alcohol Emancipator (well, it works for me), also has proposed a measure to reverse one of MADD's greatest legislative wins.

Will the institution of Happy Hour return to Hoosier shores?

I was in my early twenties when Indiana banned the promotional practice of happy hours (alcoholic beverage discounts predicated on time of day) and also favoritism in pricing (i.e., ladies night).

Back to Sundays, and a convenient summary of how Hoosiers work around the Sunday ban.

8 ways to get alcohol on Sundays, by Amy Haneline (IndyStar)

A legislative effort in 2015 brought the state closer than it has ever been to lifting the Prohibition-era ban on Sunday alcohol sales for carryout. But sure enough, the liquor stores and big-box couldn't come to a compromise. Luckily, there are plenty of workarounds to getting an adult beverage on Sundays.

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Dermody hatchets Sunday sales bill.

In the end, the entities with the most cash refused to accept a plan that would compel them to spend some of it.

Credit the package store lobby in this round: Artfully played, indeed.

And remember: There IS NO BAN on Sunday carry-out sales as they pertain to beer and wine produced by Indiana's small breweries and wineries.

UPDATE: Indiana lawmaker kills Sunday alcohol sales bill, by Mark Peterson (WNDU)

INDIANAPOLIS The scene that played out at the Indiana Statehouse today could have been called, ‘Death of a Sunday-sales-man.’

“It’s been made clear, I don’t have the votes,” said Ind. Rep. Thomas Dermody, (R) LaPorte, as he decided to give up on H.B. 1624 which would have lifted Indiana’s 80 year old ban on Sunday carry-out alcohol sales.

Greencastle, localism, craft beer and distance.

I've no idea whether Chris Weeks already lived in Greencastle before conceiving of a brewery there. Kudos to him either way.

I'm often cold-called by chambers of commerce and economic development entities, all of them interested in someone (anyone) coming to their locales, accepting a negotiable degree of civic largesse, and building a brewery.

Unfortunately, not only am I contrarian, but we're fairly skint at this point in time.

To me, given that brewing becomes ever more localized in proportion with greater distance from bigger population centers, perhaps local insights and origins are the single most critical components. In more isolated places, you simply gotta know your local market. The more local involvement, the better.

Maybe we need more communes.

Donovan Wheeler makes a succession of god point, and his rant is appreciated. Rock on, and good luck in Greencastle.

Go West Young Brewmaster, by Indiana On Tap Senior Editor Donovan Wheeler

(Editors Note: This editorial from Donovan reflects his own personal views and not the views of Indiana On Tap).

Last week, Greencastle’s Chris Weeks of Wasser Beer Company announced that he’d finalized a deal on a downtown location, marking the start of the first significant brewery west of the Greater Indianapolis area. For those of us living more than a 40-minute drive west of the nearest craft beer operation, this is a big deal. And given that I’m writing this on a Sunday…it’s actually a much bigger deal.

The 80 Year War: Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana.

Personal opinion time again.

Prior to the short legislative session in 2014, the House Public Policy Committee had been helmed for too many years by Rep. Bill Davis, who was an unapologetic prohibitionist and made no bones about his preference for emasculating virtually any alcoholic beverage bills to come within whiffing distance of his hypersensitive nostrils. Since all of them had to pass through Davis's committee, there was predictable carnage.

Last year, not a lot happened in the committee on the adult libations front; then again, it was the first passage with a new man at the wheel, and a half-session.

In 2015, things have been crazy.

Look at the Onion map above. Picture Indiana small brewers, the wholesaler lobby, the groceries 'n' big boxes, and the package store group, all slugging away at their legislative agendas -- and in the process, pounding the stuffing out of each other. My theory is that after those many legislative sessions, in which Carrie Nation Davis kept reforms bottled up at committee level, suddenly there is a new sense of unfettered possibility ... and frantic maneuvering therein.

In the few days since the following was written, I'm told that the grocery chains and big boxes have turned against the package store proposal. It isn't hard to see why. One merely wonders about the extent of the collateral damage.

Deal brewing on Sunday Indiana alcohol sales, by Tony Cook (Indy Star via Louisville Courier-Journal)

Lawmakers have crafted a proposed compromise that would allow Sunday carryout alcohol sales in exchange for new restrictions on how drug and grocery stores can sell beer and liquor.

House Public Policy Chairman Tom Dermody plans to introduce the compromise measure on Wednesday.

RELATED | Bill loosens rules for combined Indiana alcohol sales

It would allow Sunday alcohol sales at any store with an alcohol permit, but it would create more stringent restrictions on retailers other than package liquor stores.

Those restrictions would require hard liquor to be sold from behind a counter and would require beer and wine to be located in a single aisle or a separate room. Clerks would also have to receive alcohol server training and permits.

RELATED | Fate uncertain for Sunday alcohol sale ban bill

Those new requirements are causing a sudden role reversal among grocery and liquor stores, which have been battling over the issue for years.

A bill has been filed to allow Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana.

But without the key legislative player whose authorship was sought by proponents.

I'll be asked this numerous times in the weeks to come, and so allow me to answer again: Neither NABC nor the Brewers of Indiana Guild has a stake in this fight. We're neutral. The fact that NABC can sell Sunday carry-out growlers owes to legislation from 2010 defining our position as a small brewer, within the framework of brewery licensing. The bill described below is cut from a different bolt of legal cloth.

Rinse and repeat.

Bill filed to allow Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana, by Tony Cook (Indy Star)

A bill that would allow Sunday alcohol sales at groceries, pharmacies, and liquor stores has been filed in the Indiana House, but the man who will decide whether it gets a hearing is not the author.

Some, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, had hoped that House Public Policy Chairman Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, would author the bill and in doing so signal his support for the measure.

That would have been a big victory for those who want to overturn the Prohibition-era ban because the bill must pass out of Dermody’s committee to get a hearing in the House.

The Brewers of Indiana Guild and Sunday sales in Indiana.

This issue is destined to be a prominent feature of the forthcoming 2015 Indiana legislative session.

"Package store owners want to keep the cork in Sunday sales in Indiana."

There are 98 breweries currently operating in Indiana, and the Brewers of Indiana Guild works on their behalf. Accordingly, it's important to remember the guild's official position with regard to the expansion of Sunday sales.

You've probably seen Sunday alcohol sales in the news and may have even been asked about the issue by your patrons and others. Brewers of Indiana Guild stands neutral on Sunday sales and any other issue that is not part of our legislative agenda.

Brewery owners and representatives, please be aware simply that one's personal opinion always should be kept separate from collective policy. Indiana's small breweries and wineries already possess the right to sell their products for carry-out on Sunday. Beyond that, we don't have a dog in this fight.

Disagree? That's quite possible, and if so, please consider getting involved with the guild. The guild's legislative positions are derived from the viewpoints of membership. If we don't know your viewpoint, we cannot discuss it. We cannot learn from it.

I've been a director on the board of the guild since at least 2009; quite frankly, I cannot remember exactly, although I'm up for re-election in 2015. Simply stated, the legislative agenda is of critical importance, and we've gotten quite a lot done in recent years. Apart from that, all the other things we try to get done definitely impact all of the state's brewers. The guild is imperfect, but it can be a valuable tool.

And tools don't matter much unless they're used. Drop me a line and I'll let you know what's happening.

"Package store owners want to keep the cork in Sunday sales in Indiana."

Clever, these headline conjurers.

I've no official position on the matter; it doesn't affect me. However, it's always seemed only a matter of time until the money finally managed to talk. What makes it interesting is the conflict within Indiana's dominant Republican Party as it pertains to alcohol sales and other aspects of "sin." On one side's the big money; on the other, more than a little lingering Puritan instinct. You can see the little figures perched on each shoulder, whispering into their ears.

Maybe this time ... or not.

Package store owners want to keep the cork in Sunday sales in Indiana, by Maureen Hayden (News and Tribune)

... The General Assembly appears ready to resume the fight over carryout alcohol sales on Sundays — an effort that’s started and stalled for nearly a decade as Indiana has slowly chipped away at its restrictive liquor laws.

Earlier this week, the influential Indiana Chamber of Commerce came out in support of allowing liquor stores, grocers and convenience stores that now sell alcohol six days a week to sell it on Sunday, too.

At a legislative preview event, chamber president Kevin Brineger let slip that the powerful gatekeeper of alcohol bills, House Public Policy Chairman Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, might author a Sunday sales bill — giving it legs it never had previously.

Dermody has been uncommitted publicly. But he spent the summer meeting with supporters and opponents of a measure that’s been stymied in past years by his predecessor, retired Rep. Bill Davis, R-Portlabd, a teetotaler who fervently opposed Sunday alcohol sales.

At NPR: "Guess Who's Fighting To Keep Indiana Dry On Sundays?"

"Indiana is the only one where you can't buy packaged beer, wine and liquor on Sundays."

Wrong.

In fact, even reporters based in Indiana invariably miss a key point: You most certainly can get cold beer to go on Sunday in Indiana ... from the state's 65+ small craft breweries. The first day for such sales was July 4, 2010.

Indiana's small wineries have been able to sell their wine to go on Sunday for many years, too.

Guess Who's Fighting To Keep Indiana Dry On Sundays?, by Sara Wittmeyer (NPR)

When you think summer, you might think of cold beer at a barbecue, maybe a bottle of wine with a Sunday picnic. A lot of people take it for granted that they can just go to the store and pick up alcohol.

Not in Indiana.

While many states have laws restricting liquor sales, Indiana is the only one where you can't buy packaged beer, wine and liquor on Sundays, and it's the only state that regulates alcohol sales based on temperature. Only liquor stores can sell cold beer.

Indiana's ban on Sunday carry-out sales stands. See you at our local breweries and wineries this Sunday (hint: we can).

This decision means that for the time being, Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana look like this: On-premise licenses can serve on their own premises, and carry-out Sunday options remain restricted to small wineries and small breweries.

Indiana Sunday Alcohol Sales Bill Won't Get Vote, by Rick Howlett and the Associated Press (WFPL)S

The chairman of an Indiana House committee says the panel won't vote on a bill that would end Indiana's longtime ban on Sunday retail alcohol sales.

House Public Policy Chairman Bill Davis says he's decided against holding a committee vote on the measure. Davis' decision means Indiana residents who want to buy carry-out alcohol on Sundays will have to wait at least another year.

Coming soon to a Hoosier legislature near you: Sunday alcohol sales, with huge question mark attached ...

Sikich's overview is one of the best I've read, given that  "booze on Sunday" in America is more totem for tribalism than topic for dispassionate discussion. The author duly notes the Sunday exceptions for Indiana's breweries and wineries. I might add that while the Brewers of Indiana Guild has interest in a few bits of legislation possibly being considered in 2013, this isn't one of them.

As a guild director, believe me when I say that we have our own side of the street to work -- and we're doing so. This particular issue isn't our fight.

Speaking personally, part of me is eternally annoyed that "moral" considerations as defined by religious interests should be a part of the Sunday equation. Another part entirely understands that small independent business will suffer if big boxes go into Sunday sales. I'm forever willing to sock it to the preachers and health fascists, and at the same time, giving an inch to mega-retail is odious to my own inner moral structure.

When I'm declared dictator, it's an easy call: Let the indie package stores open if they wish, and keep the chains shut. Then again, some might say I'm an extremist. In the end, Senator Alting probably is right: Change will be incremental, in bits and pieces, because such hesitancy truly reflects a state of division.

Need I add: Support your local breweries and wineries. That's the best solution, and it beats the Silver Bullet every damned time.

Sunday liquor sales battle brewing: An effort is afoot to change Indiana's law, but owners of liquor stores say the move would be devastating, by Chris Sikich (IndyStar)

Indiana is the toughest place in the nation to buy take-home beer or liquor on Sundays.

While most states limit Sunday alcohol sales in some ways, Hoosiers face the broadest restrictions.

Indiana prohibits Sunday sales of beer, wine and liquor at grocery and packaged liquor stores. Connecticut lifted a similar ban in May, leaving Indiana standing alone.

The longtime ban has remained in place for religious and economic reasons. And though it has been eroded somewhat in recent years, state lawmakers trying to do away with the ban this year aren't hopeful.

Dumbass AP reporter misses super point about Sunday sales in Indiana.

Indiana's small breweries and wineries can sell their own beer and wine for carry-out on Sundays, Jim Suhr.

Indiana liquor law could crimp Super Bowl parties

INDIANAPOLIS — Rich Pontolillo might merit a toast for his Super Bowl party preparations. He has beer and liquor stocked up ahead of the first Super Bowl ever held in his home state.

In Indiana, he didn’t have much choice about planning ahead: The state is among a handful that ban carryout liquor sales on Sundays, even with the NFL’s most-celebrated spectacle on the schedule

Indiana's lingering legislative blue law fetish dooms Sunday off-premise alcohol sales in Indiana ...

... except for small breweries and wineries.

It amazes me that our Indy-centric legislators prattle endlessly about economic development, and at the same time, never seem to understand that drinkers living on state borders travel to where they can spend their money on Sunday, namely surrounding states.

Also, Indiana's legislative contingent continues to endorse the doltish notion that it's better to go to a bar on Sunday to drink, and then drive home, as opposed to taking the alcohol home to drink.

And then there is Rep. Davis's comment to the effect that six days in a week is enough to buy alcoholic beverages. The same might be said for groceries and restaurants; if you plan ahead and buy supplies earlier in the week, do you really need to go anywhere at all on Sunday? Why permit any shop or store to open on Sunday, according to this reasoning? Is it 2012, or 1812?

Of course, Rep. Davis's blue-law-friendly internal rationalization is not how it works in real life -- and increasingly, real life is a place that few of these political dullards seem to inhabit, although Ideologyland is fairly bursting at the seams.

Sunday alcohol sales dead in Legislature, by Maureen Hayden (CNHI Statehouse Bureau)

INDIANAPOLIS — Depending on what happens in the Sunday-dry state of Connecticut, Indiana could soon become the last state in the nation with a Sunday ban on alcohol sales.

Legislative leaders in the Indiana General Assembly have decided against scheduling committee hearings on a bill that would have lifted the decades-old prohibition on the Sunday sale of alcohol for off-premise consumption.

Their decision effectively kills the bill.

“Surely we can buy enough alcohol in this state six days a week that we don’t need a seventh day to do it,” said state Rep. Bill Davis, the Republican chair of House Committee on Public Policy where the bill had been assigned.