Liquor regulations in BC have changed.  British Colombians can now bring their own bottle of wine into select BC restaurants and enjoy a more affordable, potentially more palatable drink.  This could make drinking cheaper.  Society might just come apart as public drunkenness becomes an affordable luxury causing a plague of alcoholism, consumption and hysteria to sweep through Canada’s western most province. Will this be the end of us?   No.  A corkage fee anywhere from $5.00 – $60.00 will apply helping to ensure that getting drunk in a restaurant remains expensive.

To generalize, many North Americans share the opinion that alcohol is dangerous (it’s the devil’s water) and that we best protect ourselves from overindulgence and excess by heavily regulating the sale and consumption of all spirituous beverages.  I do not share this opinion.  I believe alcohol should be treated like everything else we eat.  Eat, Drink, Enjoy – too much and one will get fat, too little and life loses its luster.

I am happy to see liquor laws deregulated.  It is just alcohol after all.  We have been drinking the stuff since we stopped hunting and started farming.

Missing from the BYOB regulation change is bottled beer. Some beer fans are a bit upset about this, and rightly so. CAMRA is actively lobbying for craft beer to be including in the BYOB deregulation.  As a beer geek, I would like beer to be included in this movement and I wish CAMRA success in their efforts.  But with the current messaging, I think the odds are against CAMRA succeeding.   The CAMRA campaign is titled Bring Your Own Craft Beer or BYOCB for short.  The name in and of itself poses a problem; it is exclusive.  Most British Columbians don’t drink craft beer; they drink no-adjective-necessary beer. This campaign has effectively cut out the majority of BC beer drinkers and, as a result, CAMRA’s voice is small.

I enjoy helping people drink better beer and I am a strong supporter of better beer for the masses.  Food and drink is an important part of my everyday life. I believe by appreciating the small things, such as great beer, life becomes that much more enjoyable.  Including Beer in the BYOB movement would be great, but the quality of product and the size of the brewery have no merit with the BYOB movement.

BYOB – Bring Your Own Bottle, beer or wine.  Remove the C from BYOCB and the odds of success will increase.  Just my thoughts on the matter.

Cheers,

Erik