alcohol beverages generally

It is likely that all beer, wine and spirits labels will change dramatically in the near future. TTB Administrator John Manfreda confirmed this in a recent speech. TTB has been working on new rules since CSPI and other groups submitted a petition in 2003. The new rules would require a “Serving Facts” panel on every container. This panel would include a lot more information, such as the typical serving size, number of servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Because this is a big, controversial change, TTB has received more than 18,000 public comments during the past few years. There are far too many comments for most people to review, and so we will highlight and summarize the most noteworthy comments here. The most recent proposal and comments are here. This is comment 22 in a series; to see others, click on the “serving facts” tag below. 13 Senators submitted a 2 page comment back in January of 2008. It said:

1. The proposed rule looks “methodical and careful,” for the most part.
2. It is time for TTB to require an alcohol content statement on beer, to be consistent with wine and spirits.
3. It is improper to show standard drinks by ounces or graphical depictions, whether optional or mandatory. They are complex and misleading.
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In the last post we discussed Braille wine labels. Today, Morse Code, as on this Australian wine label. Morse Code was invented in the 1840s and is an early form of the digital encoding so widespread today. As with many of the Braille labels, the Morse Code label here does not seem to explain the message embedded in the code. Does TTB require it? Should TTB require it? Finally, who can decode this? For the energetic, there is a decoder here.

What do these three things have in common? All three are featured in Brad Paisley’s song, “Alcohol.” Of all the songs about alcohol beverages, this one is worth covering, because it mentions specific brands and deals directly with the interplay of alcohol and society. It also has witty lyrics. It would be even better for this blog if it dealt specifically with a legal topic, but perhaps that’s asking too much of Mr. Paisley. Here are the most pertinent lyrics:

Well I’ve been know to cause a few breakups And I’ve been known to cause a few births I can make you new friends Or get you fired from work

And since the day I left Milwaukee Lynchburg, Bordeaux France Been making the bars Lots of big money And helping white people dance … Alcohol. Alcohol

I got blamed at your wedding reception For your best man’s embarrassing speech And also for those naked pictures of you at the beach I’ve influenced kings and world leaders

I am medicine and I am poison I can help you up or make you fall

The song does a good job of putting the good and bad in perspective.