[Note: I have been well chastened by a generous application of the facts by Mr. Stephen Pugh in the comments and now am compelled to consider his objections to the format of the tax subsidy far more seriously. This post has been edited accordingly but done so in a way to ensure continuing admission of my blockheadedness.]

Still with the news out of Britain, it appears Adnams of Suffolk is none too pleased with the recently retired Labour government's tax break for small brewers if this letter by Stephen Pugh, Finance Director of Adnams, to the Financial Times is anything to go by:

The undeniable truth that markets do not always create an optimal outcome was taken by Mr Brown as an excuse to regulate and tinker to an unprecedented extent, often with unforeseen consequences. An example from my own industry is the introduction of "small breweries' relief" in 2002. The taxpayer now provides a small brewer producing around 5,000 hectolitres of beer with an annual duty subsidy of about £170,000 (and even more for those brewing stronger beers). The relief is so highly tailored to the small brewer that those brewing slightly more are likely to be in the position that even if they could brew their beer for nothing, their duty bill would still make them more expensive than a microbrewer.

Southwold, home of Adnam, is in solid Conservative country on the south-east English coast so it may not surprise that they are comfortable speaking out about the end of overt leftist politics (as opposed to the apparent covert leftist politics of the new coalition.) But it is interesting to note the slagging of concern for small brewers by a medium-sized brewer - especially one which lists it product lines in the following order: wines, kitchenware, beer, gifts. They have hotels, too. At what point are they not really brewers anymore but small to medium conglomerates producing a variety entertainment packages?

If Adnams has passed that point, what is Mr. Pugh really saying? He does make an important point about non-graduated duties but that is not a fault with a subsidy program but one that has too few steps unlike the sensible one we have in Canada. But isn't he really saying that tax relief for small brewers (aka the inversely described "duty subsidy") is unfair to firms that are not small brewers. Like firms that are small to medium conglomerates producing a variety entertainment packages?

So, when the government gets the boot and is replaced by a coalition you know that what plays out is the true feeling of the population mixing with the true intentions of the parties. And, all of the sudden, it seems like the pub is not the flavour of the month with the new British government:

The association, whose members account for 98pc of beer brewed in the UK and own more than half of Britain's 54,000 pubs, believes that the increased cost of a pint could have a damaging impact on trade. It is so concerned about the effects that a VAT rise would have that it is planning to ask the Government for a compensatory reduction in beer duty. George Osborne, the Chancellor, is widely expected to increase VAT from 17.5pc to 20pc as part of the Government's plan to cut the UK's deficit. Experts have warned that the potential impact of a VAT rise could leave some ordinary families £3,000 a year worse off.

Where is the two dimensional Minister of the Pub now? What says Clegg, the LibDem Deputy PM, about the over taxation of pubs? We need to face facts. In the early 1990s Canada went through this and our great centre-left Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, led the way. He cut and taxed to avoid the nightmare scenario of a country unable to control its own finances. That is what the UK faces and what the UK must face. How much better to face it with a scheme to pay the way through a national program to pony up for the beer and the full taxes levied against it. Beer would truly be best if the result was fiscal stability. Beats the hell out of buying a savings bond every pay cheque.

Josh Rubin has a good article in the Toronto Star today about Creemore Springs and the real or perceived pressures it faces in moving its business model forward. Let's count them, shall we:

• A former owner who remains vocal and opinionated.
• A brand that is too closely tied to location.
• A village that is fearful of short term expansion and long term abandonment.
• An opportunity to bring greater financial stability and jobs to a rural community.
• An absentee owner that operates at a massively larger scale.
• Unhappy if friendly neighbours.
• A new CEO being parachuted in Whose favorite beer is favorite beer is Molson Export.

For the craft beer fan, so much of this is a side show. Creemore has expanded their range and won me over despite earlier suspicions. But good beer can be made in large facilities or on equipment that can fit in your living room. It can be made in rust belt urban cores or pristine countryside. I think the former owner might be living in his own dream if he thinks that to some "a beer made by elves, lost in some little village, has more appeal" unless we are speaking about people who have no real sense of beer. People out antiquing. See, "local" can be a distraction.

I have had nothing but great relationship with the fine folk who work at Creemore and it makes me sad - even frustrated - for them. This story is a poignant example that the obsession for local and whatever that means to any give person, like nationalism, can sometimes also be the recourse of cowards, a curse - even as much as it is a source of pride and motivation making the best. Compared to the boom that is being experienced with relative ease at the other end of southern Ontario at Beau's, the news sounds like they are weighed down by so many forces that have ultimately little to do with their good beer.

I got a very nice email this week inviting me to be a speaker at Ohio Brew Week. We've never been in southeast Ohio and July needed a new destination assigned to it so this may well happen. But what to talk about? What theme should I focus on?

• Economics: walls filled with rapidly flashing power point graphs as the audience uncomfortably waits for a pause to rush the bar?
• Autobiographical: why I type about beer when I could just drink the damn stuff?
• New Media: how to drink alone with greater social acceptability.
• History:all the things I did not know and still don't.
• Sociology: patterns in beer blogger bickering during the century's first decade.
• Geography: all beer has terroir. It's just that you don't like where it's from.

There's so much to offer Ohio, isn't there. But maybe I need a little help. What should I glean for the over 2,000 posts and nearly seven years of doing this that someone could sit for an hour or so and take something from? And if you are from southeastern Ohio - where are the good diners?

OK, with a month to go to World Cup soccer from South Africa I am glad this has been cleared up... at least for Toronto:

The sun will be over the yardarm a little bit earlier during the FIFA World Cup, thanks to Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone. “We’re approaching more of a European attitude to alcohol — that is, in moderation it’s good,” Pantalone said, shortly after his motion to allow bars to open an hour early during the soccer championship starting in June passed at city council. “It will be appreciated by the general public and it will be appreciated by the people who enjoy a good game of football with a glass of beer in the hot days of July and August.” The games are being played in South Africa and will air early in the morning here in Toronto. The changes will allow bars to start serving at 10 a.m. instead of 11 a.m. Closing time will remain 2 a.m.

Frankly, if I am having a breakfast beer I am having it in my jammies and fuzzy Netherlands slippers at home. I have booked a few days off work through the first round of the tournament to make sure I get, you know, my Portugal v. Brazil fix. I have a flag of one and a jersey of the other, you know. But I don't know if I want to sit in a bar all day slugging beer. I mean I may have a hefeweissen with my eggs on toast but after that I expect to get all sleepy and nap well before extra time. How do people do these things? Is that what those little tiny coffee cups are for?

I haven't mentioned Ommegang's Rare Vos in something like seven years of being aware of it. I haven't mentioned other things but I keep them to myself. It is called a Belgian-Style Amber Ale on the neck label. Sad that the regulators of such things couldn't have settled on Belgianesque instead of that "-style". Maybe it should be "-arama." Belgianarama... -esque.

Amber also becomes a difficult word with a beer like this. It's like calling something very medium. What quality is it supposed to convey? The brewer actually goes on and on about it. At 6.5% it is reasonably quaffable, enhanced by the soft water characteristic of central New York as well as a measure of richness. Grainy with caramel along with little wee nods to apple, raisin and tobacco. Black tea hoppiness sits there quietly doing its job. It gives off floral aromas that may well include orange but could as easily be a hedge in mid-June. Earthy and green twig.

Fabulous and understated. Was there ever greater BAer love for a beer you can buy for $7.50 a corked 750 ml at a grocery store near me? One of the best values in beer going. How do they do it?

Reading a book on Mohawk political figures called The Two Hendricks when I came upon a few facts that may become relevant to the Albany Ale question:

• In 1721, Albany developed a trade in flour and bread to the West Indies.
• In the 1740s, the loyalties of the Albany Dutch were held suspect by the British and the Mohawk. There was even rumour of Montreal - Albany alliances based on the smuggling trade that saw one half or more of the French fur trade rerouted through Albany rather than through French Royal channels.

Point? Albany traders had an independent streak, were culturally distinct over two generations after British take over in the 1660s and also they had pre-existing distant trading relationships. They also had surplus cash crop grain. Just the sort of thing that might lead to wealth through a vertically integrated local farming, malting, brewing and exporting enterprises.

As I think you all might know, I live in eastern Ontario and have often cast an envious eye towards other nearby jurisdictions especially New York but also recently Quebec. I was south just yesterday to buy some Ommegang, Brooklyn, Sierra Nevada and Goose Island at a grocery store. A grocery store. Next Saturday, I have managed to set up a plan that includes an hour and a half to hit an SAQ for some Belgian beer as well as Marche Omni, my favorite dep, for a few of Quebec's finest. But things have been happening in Ontario that have been tipping the balance back towards parity:

• As Steve from Beau's has discussed, he is co-chair of Ontario Craft Beer Week set for June 20 - 26, 2010 organized by my sponsor the Ontario Craft Brewers. Twenty-five of the province's small and medium sized brewers are taking part and should make for some interesting promotions at the breweries. Trouble is Ontario is a big place with something of a Toronto-centric habits. I am not sure how much the event will reach out to the bars in other cities and towns, let alone into oligarchical - yet wonderfully named - Beer Store owned by the big three or the governmentally monopolistic LCBO. It's a practical problem as Ontario include 344,092 separate square miles. Bigger than France. Bigger than Japan. Almost as big as France plus Japan. Getting the product to the auslanders is a heck of a task. I will keep an eye on that but let's be clear - good step for good Ontario beer.
• I even have a bit of trouble getting Ontario samples. It's just not done as much as in the US or elsewhere. But the week before last a truck from Creemore Springs rolled up into our suburban driveway and an eight-pack of this year's version of their well-respected Kellerbier was dropped of. Nice touch with the use of multi-ton machinery. The beer is a delight - smooth and malty, nutty with a neatly placed hop bit to cut the cloy. Not an extreme anything or a double imperial whtchamacallit. Just quality beer.
• And the Speaker of Ontario's legislature, Steve Peters, has announced the annual selection of the Member of Provincial Parliaments' six favorite beers. The Speak added his own selection, choosing Dead Elephant Ale from Railway City Brewing from St. Thomas, in honour the 125th anniversary of the death of circus elephant Jumbo. Quite an appropriate as Jumbo was killed by, you know, a train. That's your Ontario fact for the day.

I've yet to have a DEA as St. Thomas, where the beer is made, is 453 km from here, a distance greater than Prague from Munich. or here to Scranton PA for that matter. As I said, Ontario is a big place. Where things are happening.

That's not very clever. Or polite. But one must pun as one can. And one has to be always on watch for indulgence - especially when it comes to marketing... or is it marketability. That is what Stan mentioned: "Collaborations are good business, good marketing, good fun and often result in interesting beer." Or a bit of what he said... or implied. Sorta. But can they also result in bad business, poor marketing, tedium and dull beer? Of course they might. If not, what point would there be to this month's edition of The Session?

This brew is a good illustration of the quandary, Brewmaster's (sic) Collaboration Signature Ale #1 which resulted from a brewing get together 3 years ago and two months ago between Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing and Dirk Naudis of De Proef. It pours a deep rich varnished pine under thick rocky clinging off white head. The aroma includes pine sap and nutmeg, bubblegum and marigold. The mouthfeel is very soft and compelling but turns on you with the twin bite of hops and alcohol. There is pear and honey in the malt. All very attractive yet it's a bit of a muddle. It's overly hot from just 8.5% alcohol, the hops also burn and the malt's a wee bit flabby. There is a bit of brett or some other sour tang a bit down there as well as a little of spice. But the furniture polish hops overwhelm it all. As they usually do. Like using the fuzz or the waa-waa pedal or a car with an intentionally bad muffler. The label claims that "these notes could be out of balance were it not for the generous maltiness that holds the beer in check." I am not sure I agree.

Could be that time or the shelves of the middleman have taken a toll? I think not. This beer is like a decent Belgian golden strong ale got mixed up with a good California double IPA which stumbled into little dubbel. Plenty of BAer love but hasn't this been done? A hundred times? Could be by now - but had it "been done" back in March of 2007? Three years and two months is a lifetime in craft beer marketability trends. It took until 2009 before folks got a bit jaded on the idea. Maybe this was one of the first inquiries into the collaboration idea that branched into or at least was working with into that early late mid-decade Belgian double IPA idea. When collaboration was new and interesting.

Collaboration might be a great idea but it also might be an idea with less universal applicability or longevity than one might have hoped a few years ago. Let's be honest. All craft beer is collaboration. Brewers work with other brewers, were trained by brewers and were inspired by brewers. Does it really matter that one craft brewer held the basket of hops as they were shaken into the other's brewing kettle? After taking a jet?