MT House Bill 400: Make beer above 8.75% legal!

Montana House Bill 400 is going to it's final vote this Thursday or Friday (1 or 2 days from now). It basically prevents any beer over 8.75% alcohol from being sold in Montana. That cuts out awesome styles such as Belgian Tripel, Double (Imperial) IPA, Barley Wine, and a lot more. If rum, tequila, and frickin' Everclear is legal in this state, then why can't beer with much less alcohol be legal? Plus the selling and purchasing of beer will help the economy, and we all know how much help that needs...

Anyway, you should scroll to the WAY bottom of this post, find out with representative you have, then go here to contact your Montana representative, and tell them you like a good glass of strong beer.

Here is an email from Allan at Worden's attached with more information. Special thanks also to Mark at Worden's (who will never read this) for all his tips and tidbits over the counter councerning HB 400.

Dear Subscribers,
I am taking the liberty to send this message to you, as we feel this is an issue that is
important to all Montanans, especially folks like you who enjoy fine beverages and value
your right to have access to those you are interested in. The issue at hand is the
recently enforced law banning the production by local breweries, and sale by local
businesses, of beers with an alcohol content above 8.75%. The affected brews
are high quality, low production, craft ales and lagers that are some of the finest in the
world, and were recently made unavailable in Montana. Please take the time to read the
following message, and act as you feel is appropriate.

Thank you,
Allan Nielsen
Wordens' Market

HB400 - Revise Alcohol Content of Beer to 14% ABV PASSES HOUSE BUSINESS AND LABOR COMMITTEE 14-4

HB 400 passed the House Business and Labor Committee this morning with a vote of 14-
4. This is very good news for this initiative, and it now will be heard by the entire House
of Representatives, likely on either Thursday or Friday. This is a very good time to send
messages to all of your House members in and around your district in support of HB
400.

Tell him or her in your own words that you support because HB400:

Expands the portfolio of craft beers that brewers can produce and distributors can carry
Expands market access within and outside of Montana
Meets consumer demands
Helps small Montana businesses grow
Provides for greater use of Montana agricultural products
Provides access to craft beers that are generally available in all surrounding states, and
in most states nationwide

You can contact your legislator in two ways:

Call the legislative switchboard at 406-444-4800 and leave a message for your legislator
Go to this link http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/61st/legwebmessage.asp and fill out the online form.

Remember the House debate will likely be Thursday or Friday at 1pm.

HOUSE MEMBERS SORTED BY CITY WITH BREWERIES NOTED
District Name Party Town Brewery 1 Brewery 2 Brewery 3 Brewery 4 Brewery 5
86 Dan Villa Democrat Anaconda Quarry
17 Russell Bean Republican Augusta
9 Scott Reichner Republican Bigfork Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack Great Northern
42 Carolyn Pease-Lopez Democrat Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
46 Ken Peterson Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
47 Dennis Himmelberger Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
48 Wanda Grinde Democrat Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
49 Kendall Van Dyk Democrat Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
50 Tom McGillvray Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
51 Robyn Driscoll Democrat Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
52 Arlene Becker Democrat Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
53 Elsie Arntzen Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
54 Margaret Macdonald Democrat Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
55 Cary Smith Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
56 Don Roberts Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
57 Penny Morgan Republican Billings Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
32 Tony Belcourt Democrat Box Elder
63 Jp Pomnichowski Democrat Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
64 Franke Wilmer Democrat Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
65 Brady Wiseman Democrat Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
66 Mike PhiLlips Democrat Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
67 Gordon Vance Republican Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
68 Scott Sales Republican Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
69 Ted Washburn Republican Bozeman Bozeman Madison River
28 Roy Hollandsworth Republican Brady
39 Lee Randall Republican Broadus
30 Dave Kasten Republican Brockway
16 Shannon Augare Democrat Browning
41 J. David Roundstone Democrat Busby
74 Art Noonan Democrat Butte Quarry
75 Edith McClafferty Democrat Butte Quarry
76 Jon Sesso Democrat Butte Quarry
19 Mike Milburn Republican Cascade
77 Scott Mendenhall Republican Clancy Blackfoot Lewis & Clark
43 Duane Ankney Republican Colstrip
27 Llew Jones Republican Conrad
87 Ron Stoker Republican Darby Bitterroot Blacksmith
11 Janna Taylor Republican Dayton Tamarack Flathead Glacier Lang Great Northern
85 CynthIa Hiner Democrat Deer Lodge
72 Jeffrey Welborn Republican Dillon
78 Jill Cohenour Democrat East Helena Blackfoot Lewis & Clark
90 Ray Hawk Republican Florence Bitterroot Blacksmith
70 Michael More Republican Gallatin Gateway Bozeman Madison River
38 Dennis Getz Democrat Glendive
18 Jesse O'hara Republican Great Falls Harvest Moon
20 Deborah Kottel Democrat Great Falls Harvest Moon
21 Anders Blewett Democrat Great Falls Harvest Moon
22 Bill Wilson Democrat Great Falls Harvest Moon
23 Cydnie (Carlie) Boland Democrat Great Falls Harvest Moon
24 Brian Hoven Republican Great Falls Harvest Moon
25 Sue Dickenson Democrat Great Falls Harvest Moon
26 Robert Mehlhoff Democrat Great Falls Harvest Moon
88 Bob Lake Republican Hamilton Bitterroot Blacksmith
83 Harry Klock Republican Harlowton
71 Bob Wagner Republican Harrison
33 Bob Bergren Democrat Havre
34 Wendy Warburton Republican Havre
15 Frosty Calf Boss Ribs Democrat Heart Butte
79 Chuck Hunter Democrat Helena Blackfoot Lewis & Clark
80 Mary Caferro Democrat Helena Blackfoot Lewis & Clark
81 Galen Hollenbaugh Democrat Helena Blackfoot Lewis & Clark
82 Mike Menahan Democrat Helena Blackfoot Lewis & Clark
84 Richard (Mike) Miller Republican Helmville
3 Dee Brown Republican Hungry Horse
44 William Glaser Republican Huntley
5 Keith Regier Republican Kalispell Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack Great Northern
7 Jon Sonju Republican Kalispell Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack Great Northern
8 Cheryl Steenson Democrat Kalispell Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack Great Northern
58 Krayton Kerns Republican Laurel Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
1 Gerald Bennett Republican Libby
2 Chas Vincent Republican Libby
61 Joel Boniek Republican Livingston Neptune
62 Bob Ebinger Democrat Livingston Neptune
40 Bill McChesney Democrat Miles City
91 Timothy Furey Democrat Milltown Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
92 Robin Hamilton Democrat MissouLa Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
93 Dick Barrett Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
94 Dave McAlpin Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
95 Diane Sands Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
96 Teresa Henry Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
97 Michele Reinhart Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
98 Sue Malek Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
99 Betsy Hands Democrat Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
100 Bill Nooney Republican Missoula Bayern Kettlehouse Big Sky
60 David Howard Republican Park City Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
31 Margarett Campbell Democrat Poplar
73 Pat Noonan Democrat Ramsay Quarry
59 Paul Beck Democrat Red Lodge Red Lodge Ales Montana Brewing Angry Hanks Carter's Red Lodge Ales
45 Tom Berry Republican Roundup
35 Wayne Stahl Republican Saco
12 John Fleming Democrat Saint Ignatius Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack Great Northern
36 Julie French Democrat Scobey
37 Walter McNutt Republican Sidney Beaver Creek
10 Mark Blasdel Republican Somers Tamarack Flathead Glacier Lang Great Northern
14 Gordon Hendrick Republican Superior
13 Pat Ingraham Republican Thompson Falls
89 GAry Maclaren Republican Victor Bitterroot Blacksmith
4 Mike Jopek Democrat Whitefish Great Northern Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack
6 Bill Beck Republican Whitefish Great Northern Flathead Glacier Lang Tamarack
29 Edward Butcher Republican Winifred