NZ Heralds latest attempt at binge drinking scaremongering

[Barry]

What's front and center? Why a shot of someone pouring a pint of beer.
Never a glass of wine. God forbid a can of fizzy-alco-sodey-pop.
It's always beer isn't it. Pah.

Link.

Discuss.

[Greig McGill]

Yep, and when was the last time you saw something like this happen at a beer festival?

[martin townshend]

I just read on Google the tax on beer needs to go up due to student binging. Is this Customs and Excise tax brewers have to pay? I hope not. As a small brewer it is all ready crippling at an average of $1.20/L and means I have to charge a premium for my products, something I think slows down drinking by making folk more savvy about thier beer/alcohol expenditure.
Ping the big 2 for loading our shelves with cheap mass produced goo, and leave us wee qualtiy folk alone.
M

[Soren]

There could also be the possiblity that raising tax on beer leads people to drink better quality:

If the current tax is $1.20/L, this is about 10% of the cost of quality craft brew (@$6 per 500 ml) but up to 40% of nasty fizz (I assume you can get double brown and similar s**t for $1 a can, maybe even less??).

So, as I see it, extra tax on beer is going to increase the price of nastiness much more than the price of craftmanship, as a percentage. This would close the price gap a bit and might lead to an increase of craft beer sales...

But of course, if it was possibly to "ping the big 2" (who obviously are to blame for the problem, not the craftbrewers) that would be outstanding. Unfortunately this will probably never be legal in a democracy..?

[Stu McKinlay]

As for the article... perhaps it's because they are suddenly let loose on alcohol at 18.
I remember university. People were binging on pies and McDonlads too.
How many people know that there is actually no legal 'drinking' age? It's a legal 'buying' age. Perhaps, just like teaching kids to cook (meals with real food, I mean, not fish fingers), parents should be teaching their kids to have a beer or a wine before, with or after dinner. And when they think of the farmer who took the different route and grew delicious Desiree or Agria instead of Nadine, they can also think of the brewer who brewed a beautiful pale ale or hefeweizen instead of a sweet insipid draught.

As for the picture. No point complaining here, we all agree. Send them a letter. Each an everyone of you (me too).

[Geoff Griggs]

I'd love to see them illustrate this story with beer!!!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4770181a11.html

[Tony]

Done!

[Stu McKinlay]

Is it just me or are posts showing up on the main page ending up as dead links?