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From:
Ted Sobel
To:
Re:
Dear [Senator/Representative]:
Permit me to introduce myself. I am the owner, publican and brewer of Oregon’s only real ale public house and brewery, the Brewers Union Local 180 in Oakridge. By real ale, I mean genuine cask-conditioned ale, as brewed in England, particularly utilizing the techniques practiced in the Lake District. I have been in business in the Uptown area of Oakridge now for six months, providing a safe comfortable meeting place for locals and visitors alike, with great home-cooked food and authentic ales. We are excited about the changes taking place here, with the growth of the mountain biking community and the wonderful outdoor recreational opportunities.
This project has the fulfillment of a dream of mine. I fell in love with the British pub and real ale on a trip to the UK back in 1991 before I moved to Oregon, and have wanted to start my own brewery and pub since a walking trip to Cumbria in 2006. After purchasing a building with a business partner in ’07, we spent 10 months completely gutting and rebuilding in the style of a British pub. With all the hard work we have put into this, and despite a rough economy and being in a small town, we are starting to experience a small amount of growth and recognition.
You can probably guess by now that my reason for writing is a concern over the proposed increase in the beer tax. Indeed, increase seems like too weak a word to employ in this context; perhaps I should suggest the egregious increase in taxation on beer. I might be able to understand a small, fair increase, such as $5/BBL, as long as it is fairly employed across the so-called sin-sector, i.e. apply the increases to wine and liquor as well. But, singling out beer, and making an order-of-magnitude increase, is blatantly unfair. The craft beer industry is one of the leading Oregon industries, and is in fact one of the many reasons people visit Oregon – to sample the richness and variety of our brewing culture.
I have put everything I own into this business, including taking out personal loans and putting a second mortgage on my house. I work seven days a week doing something I love. I employ seven people, paying a higher than typical wage, in a town that has struggled to rebuild itself after the demise of the logging industry. I do not serve minors. I do not indulge in, promote or encourage over-consumption. If this bill passes, those responsible for its signing into law will be, in fact, shutting us down. I cannot weather charging my customers at least another dollar per pint, and as such would have to let my employees go, shut my doors, and attempt to sell my house and business property in a stagnant economy.
I sincerely ask you to consider the impact that this bill would have on Oregon brewery businesses; the mom-and-pops; the little guys. We are already suffering from the consequences of the irresponsible. This bill is not a solution. The responsible local pubs and breweries are not the factors that promote and encourage the types of abuses that the bill attempts to remediate. Cheap, sugary alcopops at the local supermarket, purchased by “big brother”, and negligent bar owners who don’t care how they make a buck, have much more to answer for. I have been following a similar story in the UK with the out of proportion increases in duty on ale in the small community pubs, and watching them close at an alarming rate, while supermarkets play the loss leader with fizzy, sugar-laden nirvana. This bill must not pass in its current instantiation.
Thanks for listening. And please stop by for a pint sometime.
Sincerely,
Ted Sobel
Publican, Brewer
Brewers Union Local 180
48329 E. 1st St.
PO Box 739
Oakridge, OR 97463
To:
[Senator/Representative]
Re:
Proposed Beer Tax Increase
Dear [Senator/Representative]:
Permit me to introduce myself. I am the owner, publican and brewer of Oregon’s only real ale public house and brewery, the Brewers Union Local 180 in Oakridge. By real ale, I mean genuine cask-conditioned ale, as brewed in England, particularly utilizing the techniques practiced in the Lake District. I have been in business in the Uptown area of Oakridge now for six months, providing a safe comfortable meeting place for locals and visitors alike, with great home-cooked food and authentic ales. We are excited about the changes taking place here, with the growth of the mountain biking community and the wonderful outdoor recreational opportunities.
This project has the fulfillment of a dream of mine. I fell in love with the British pub and real ale on a trip to the UK back in 1991 before I moved to Oregon, and have wanted to start my own brewery and pub since a walking trip to Cumbria in 2006. After purchasing a building with a business partner in ’07, we spent 10 months completely gutting and rebuilding in the style of a British pub. With all the hard work we have put into this, and despite a rough economy and being in a small town, we are starting to experience a small amount of growth and recognition.
You can probably guess by now that my reason for writing is a concern over the proposed increase in the beer tax. Indeed, increase seems like too weak a word to employ in this context; perhaps I should suggest the egregious increase in taxation on beer. I might be able to understand a small, fair increase, such as $5/BBL, as long as it is fairly employed across the so-called sin-sector, i.e. apply the increases to wine and liquor as well. But, singling out beer, and making an order-of-magnitude increase, is blatantly unfair. The craft beer industry is one of the leading Oregon industries, and is in fact one of the many reasons people visit Oregon – to sample the richness and variety of our brewing culture.
I have put everything I own into this business, including taking out personal loans and putting a second mortgage on my house. I work seven days a week doing something I love. I employ seven people, paying a higher than typical wage, in a town that has struggled to rebuild itself after the demise of the logging industry. I do not serve minors. I do not indulge in, promote or encourage over-consumption. If this bill passes, those responsible for its signing into law will be, in fact, shutting us down. I cannot weather charging my customers at least another dollar per pint, and as such would have to let my employees go, shut my doors, and attempt to sell my house and business property in a stagnant economy.
I sincerely ask you to consider the impact that this bill would have on Oregon brewery businesses; the mom-and-pops; the little guys. We are already suffering from the consequences of the irresponsible. This bill is not a solution. The responsible local pubs and breweries are not the factors that promote and encourage the types of abuses that the bill attempts to remediate. Cheap, sugary alcopops at the local supermarket, purchased by “big brother”, and negligent bar owners who don’t care how they make a buck, have much more to answer for. I have been following a similar story in the UK with the out of proportion increases in duty on ale in the small community pubs, and watching them close at an alarming rate, while supermarkets play the loss leader with fizzy, sugar-laden nirvana. This bill must not pass in its current instantiation.
Thanks for listening. And please stop by for a pint sometime.
Sincerely,
Ted Sobel
