Age Article - Sweet 'beers' To Attract Higher Tax

[trevc]

Are you implying that its a beer now?

Probably won't be long before all references to the word beer are removed from the packaging, and it's known simply as "VB".

 

[boingk]

I remember the girls when i was a teen prefering to buy a bottlo of cheap spitir say vodka at $22 bucks (well less back then). maybe a cask of fruitylexia or similar and mix it. the cask wine also is good for breakfast hangovers.

Yup. Being just out of uni, I remember it like it was yesterday because it almost was. Did it myself a few times when I ran out of HB. 'Khaiser Stuhl' 5L, 11-13%abv casks could be bought for around the $8 mark, all the time. Go get a big bottle of juice, or even those mix-up juice concentrates for a buck or two, and you're in business. For the ritzy, chill straight red cordial and pour a bit down the side of a full glass. Settled on the bottom, making a 'Goon Sunrise'.

Ahhh, fruity-legs-opener, I remember that evil stuff. Many games of "goon of misfortune".....BTW, did you know you could freeze it and eat it with a knife and fork, we learnt that too....

Same goes for 'Passion Pop', leave it in the freezer overnight and then open 20minutes after taking out. Instant alco-slushie.

Why does KRudd/current government crooks have such a beef with Alcopops?

Because he's controlling a Labour Government. And Labour Governments have a tendancy to promise spending they can't bloody well fund. They actually get around to spending a hell of a lot, then say something like:

'Oh, shit, sorry fellas...looks like the country is broke. Not our fault though, no, never. It was the last guys, the ones who wiped out national debt...blame it on them."

THE HELL WITH YOU, RUDD! DAMN YOU!

WTF is the motivation?

See above. They're screwed. Also, notice they drained the country dry with their multiple ill-advised financial stimuli and then BAM - a natural disaster hits...and another one. Good work, d!ckheads...whatchya gonna do?

The current government seems quite set on enforcing all aspects of what should be common sense with laws and regulations. The few examples that bother me the most:

- Wearing (push)bike helmets at all times, regardless of circumstances/location (this is probably old, but still a law here, could be QLD-only)
- Unreasonable taxes on alcohol compared to other countries, especially beer.

I agree with the whole post, especially the stupid internet censoring thing. Get real, idiot [EDIT: Not you, trevc, sorry. I am speaking about Mr Rudd]. Don't want your kids looking up porn? Then install a proprietary program that works properly, for YOU. Helmets are still gone on about here in NSW. Unreasonable taxes? I think 2hrs worth of basic wage for a case of beer is a fair trade. Check out Norway for unreasonable.

Now, the hell with this sh!it, I just got back from a solo hike around the snowys and I'm going to go and put a mash on and also have one of my last remaining K&K's.

Cheers! - boingk.

PS: Sugar is almost certainly counted as post ferment as it is the sweet, easily palatable flavour component of alco-pops they are legislating against, not the fact that they contain booze or are not brewed from malt. Basically, they're just forcing kids onto hard liquor. And did anyone notice that when they mixed their own spirit drinks at <18y/o, there was a lot more than a shot in a glass?

 

[tcraig20]

I think its a little foolish to consider this as a simple party politic issue, or to consider it in isolation.

It is part of a trend that has see the fundamental liberties of people stripped over the last 50 or more years. Trying to analyse the 'alcopop' tax is like trying to understand the significance of a step in a marathon...

 

[boingk]

Good point. Thats Democracy for you though, trading freedom for security.

- boingk

 

[Bubba Q]

quick update in regards to the mandatory censorship

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/02/26/...ge#contentSwap1

 

[sinkas]

sometimes I am sure this website is actually called A Current Aussiehomebrewer with Tracey Grimshaw

 

[komodo]

Awesome, another pointless tax.....

When will they realise that if they keep doing this kids will just buy a bottle of vodka and some soft drink/juice, actually, that's how I remember my teenage years.

Yep - I certainly remember waking up in some very unusual places as a teenager / young adult.
Bottle of vodka and some OJ was always nice and easy to get our hands on - actually in the earlier days vodka essence was easiest.
Goon (or death bag as we always referred to it) was another cheap favourite - we used to play wear the bag which involved splitting the death bag and burrying your face in it drinking all the wine through your mouth and nose till you nearly passed out (required a few helping hands to hold the bag of goon around your face) was a very quick way to get sideways.

A cask of wine or a cask of premixed vodka and OJ could be had for under $15 ($12 if i remember rightly) Thats a cheap night out.

We're gonna drink this country outta deficit, no need for future generations to pay. If people are dumb enough to buy alcopiss then why not rip the bejesus out of their wallets, they are only going to waste their dollars on some other stupid thing otherwise. We are on the cusp of a new era of economics...even dumber than the last.

I dont think all people that drink alcopops are stupid. Actually probably only the lower percentage. Most people who drink to get smashed will drink cheap bottles of spirit (jim beam, cougar, woodstock and the likes) or cheap cask or bottle wine - generally white.
Pre mixed drinks are too pricey for most teenagers and also too hard to conceal from mum and dad - believe me carrying a back pack with 3 slabs of cans (beer) is heavy - ive been there done that earned the bruises. Where as a couple of 2L bottles of coke and a bottle of vodka is nice and easy - infact you can even pour the vodka/gin into a water bottle and carry it into a cinema.
I often have "alcopops" in my fridge - why because I like the convenience of cracking a vodka lime a soda occasionally with some fish and chips. Sure I could mix my own as I always have a bottle of vodka in the freezer - but its the convinence that I'm after in these instances. Like wise my old man likes to have jack daniels and cola in the fridge - why? cause about 4 times a year he likes a Jack and coke and that doesnt warrant keeping a bottle which will mostly evaporate.

None of these taxes will work. Hell when we were younger we had crude attempts at making quite potent peach wine. We did kit brews - all the ingerdients available at the supermarket and we could make up a few batches in a mates shed - his mum never went there any way and we could add more white sugar to make it more boozy.
Adding tax to alcohol wont solve the problem - parents need to solve the problem by keeping more of an eye on their kids. Sending kids to a party with a 4 pack of stollies "so you know how much your daughter is drinking" is not a good look - thats only going to top up what they have already arranged someone else to bring. Remember in every group of 13-17 yr olds theres always at least one older sibling or cousin or "interested party"/volture over 18 years old whos willing to buy them booze.
Advise kids on drinking. Don't get shit faced in front of them all the time and most certainly dont laugh when they come home half cut. Monkey see, Monkey do.

Even so the can of fly spray and the $25 disco biccie is still easily accessable even if a bit of rum and lemonade isnt and that'll get em way more off their faces - plus its easier to hide from their parents

 

[Pollux]

Yep - I certainly remember waking up in some very unusual places as a teenager / young adult.
Bottle of vodka and some OJ was always nice and easy to get our hands on - actually in the earlier days vodka essence was easiest.
Goon (or death bag as we always referred to it) was another cheap favourite - we used to play wear the bag which involved splitting the death bag and burrying your face in it drinking all the wine through your mouth and nose till you nearly passed out (required a few helping hands to hold the bag of goon around your face) was a very quick way to get sideways.

Wow, now that's a decent drinking game...We used to the just hang a box from each corner of the hills hoist, stand in a circle below and play "Goon of Misfortune", if it stopped above you, you had to drink until you no longer could...

Messy messy fun.

 

[Josh]

i'd love to know how they came up with that data. I know for a fact that in Vic we dont have that level of data available (certainly not at a state level). it would only be anticdotal evidence.

When I was admitted to RPA for putting a beer glass through my hand, all I wanted to do was pass out in emergency. But not before I had some guy asking me multiple annoying questions about how much I had to drink, how much I drink on a daily basis, if I thought alcohol was a major factor in my injury etc.

FYI - I blamed the angled step at the Marley Bar for my injury. I have revisited the pub since and still maintain that was the major contributing factor.

So I would say, collecting that evidence wouldn't be too hard.

 

[lobo]

quote ''cause about 4 times a year he likes a Jack and coke and that doesnt warrant keeping a bottle which will mostly evaporate. ''quote.

correct me if im wrong, but i have spirit bottle above my beer fridge, some i havnt touched in 12 months, i have never seen a bottle EVAPORATE with a lid on.

Lobo

 

[HoppingMad]

Looks like this thing is going to go get passed today. Hopefully they've made some concessions on the Belgian beers - can't believe it's going to cost more for a trappist or a leffe just because they have more sugar :angry:

Hopper

 

[kook]

I'm surprised that people don't seem to care much about this. It's pretty much agreed now that the Greens and Xenophon are supporting it.

This will mean that any beer:
- Less than 4 IBU (Pretty much all Lambics?)
- With monosaccharides or disaccharides in excess of 4% by weight (Possibly some of those big US Imperial Stouts / Barley - Wines?)
- With artificial sweetners added (Many Belgian Fruit beers, possibly beers like Youngs Double Chocolate Stout?)
- With other alcoholic beverages in excess of 0.5% added (beers like Mead the Gueuze, beer/wine blends etc)

Will now be considered an alcopop and taxed appropriately.

 

[hoohaaman]

Ironic,that Steve Fielding(The Family First Independent),who actually enjoys a drink has the balance of power.

Would have thought his blinkered attitude to net censorship,would have spilled over into wowser activities of all types :blink:

 

[tcraig20]

Ironic,that Steve Fielding(The Family First Independent),who actually enjoys a drink has the balance of power.

Would have thought his blinkered attitude to net censorship,would have spilled over into wowser activities of all types :blink:

I think that he realised he got the short end of the stick by jumping first last time Labor needed to force legislation through the senate (i.e. bonuses, bribes, subsidies, whatever you want to call them).

I think he's putting on a three-ring show at the moment trying to get concessions for some ill-conceived scheme or another before voting to pass the bill.

 

[Bribie G]

Hey here's a blast from the past.

Does anyone still remember 'Nikov' Vodka and orange in the 3L wine cask? It was about 10 % ABV and had only a few percent vodka in it to avoid false advertising, the rest being kiwifruit wine presumably from rejected kiwifruit crop and a disgusting orange cordial flavour. If I remember rightly it was about $9. I took a couple camping once and got the worst hangover of my life.

The guy I was camping with was a tee totaller but agreed to try a cup out of curiosity . After drinking half a cask he was singing, dancing and running around like a wild animal. Then he got crying drunk. Then he spent the rest of the night throwing up but something must have loosened him up because shortly afterwards he left his wife for a 20 year old (we were both early 40s at the time).

Them was the days

 

[hoohaaman]

Exactly mate...........just name your price

 

[brendanos]

sometimes I am sure this website is actually called A Current Aussiehomebrewer with Tracey Grimshaw

Has anyone got any hard evidence/facts? I'm hesistant to pass judgement til I've seen what's actually been passed...

 

[FreemanDC]

Well i had some desto kid hanging around the local bottle-o- ask me to get him a cask of port the other day !, i asked him why he wasn't buying beer or something like that, he explained he can get 2lts of it ( 28 standard drinks ) for $12.95 - now thats F'in business sense.

- of course i didn't help him....... nor drink port with him in the local park.... or watched his douche mates try and skate drunk.

It will only be a matter of time before they start taxing beer heavy, then the'll tax spirits even more, the ammount of backyard brewers will go up and start selling their product off to the public.

i think i might charge 20 bucks a carton for a pale ale, might fire up the old " water distiller " , 20 bucks 1lt.

Tax for some, profit for me.

 

[brendanos]

....til the Liquor Commission comes a'knockin'.

 

[peas_and_corn]

quick update in regards to the mandatory censorship

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/02/26/...ge#contentSwap1

Mr X has won my respect back- if only by a little. He needs to do more to avoid me putting him at no. 28 on my preferences in his next election.

sometimes I am sure this website is actually called A Current Aussiehomebrewer with Tracey Grimshaw

Ironic,that Steve Fielding(The Family First Independent),who actually enjoys a drink has the balance of power.

Would have thought his blinkered attitude to net censorship,would have spilled over into wowser activities of all types :blink:

Well, all the independents and Greens collectively have the balance of power- they all must vote for a bill in order for it to get through (assuming Opposition voting it down), so they each have a respective veto on all bills.


I suppose one of the problems is that the tax is mostly misdirected- apparently 2/3 of premix sales are to people over the age of 25 buying Bourbon and Coke type drinks.