Jackson Free Press

Butch Bailey thinks Mississippians are missing out on something divine: gourmet beer.

"Mississippi bans 80 of the top 100 beers of the world. And these are gourmet products like fine wines. They're made in small batches by artisans," he says.

For the past year and a half, Bailey has dedicated his free time to repealing state law, which prevents people from buying or selling beer with more than 5 percent alcohol content by weight. Many specialty and international beers have an alcohol content that is more than 5 percent.

Along with four other beer lovers, Bailey founded Raise Your Pints in 2007, a volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to this cause.

"We are the only state in the country with this ridiculously low cap." Bailey says. "...We got tired of it, and we saw other states where they were successful in changing this law, and we said: 'If they can do it, we can do it.'"

Bailey, 33, grew up in Pearl and attended Mississippi State University where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in forestry. He currently lives in Hattiesburg with his wife and 9-month old son, and works at MSU's forestry department in Hattiesburg where he teaches forestry education and licensing classes to professional foresters and forest landowners.

Bailey's approach to widening the beer availability in Mississippi is two-fold. First, he goes directly to the state Legislature to lobby lawmakers, emphasizing that the state loses money when people have to go to other states to buy beer. Second, he goes to the people and engages in community organizing.

"Our biggest problem is ignorance. Most people don't know we have this law, even most beer drinkers. We're trying to educate the public on what beer can be. ... there's a whole world of stuff out there," he says.

Raise Your Pints worked with the governor's office for the inaugural "Mississippi Craft Beer Week," which Gov. Haley Barbour declared for July 24 to 31. The week ends with the Top of the Hops Beer Festival on July 31, 2 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex. Abita Beer is hosting the event, which includes sampling of more than 150 craft, import and domestic beers; cooking seminars; live music and food. Tickets for the event are $35 in advance and $40 at the door, and are available at Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Previous Comments

ID

158819

Comment

You go, Butch! Give the people what they want...even if they don't yet know they want it. A Jackson native, I now live in Maryland and work in D.C., where wonderful beer abounds. I never knew what I was missing. And you're right about changing laws...if Utah can come around on their tight alcohol laws after all this time, so can MS.

Author

awaykate

Date

2010-07-23T12:49:28-06:00

ID

158823

Comment

Just curious about the 5% cap. Is Steel Reserve not 6%? Also, I think Utah may have a lower cap, even Coors Light is 3.1% there. It seems that they could still allow the higher percentage beers to be sold, just in liquor stores. This is silly, I know, but if they are worried about some danger of letting strong beer loose on the streets, then just keep it in well regulated liquor stores, that already handle the hard stuff...

Author

jrt

Date

2010-07-23T14:10:27-06:00