The Drinkflation debate, New Jersey brewery laws, how not to handle a PR disaster

With rising costs for everything would you rather your favorite beer lose a bit of ABV or see the price go up a bit?  According to our Twitter poll, about 75% of you would rather pay a bit more for your pint.  "Drinkflation" is a hot topic in the UK as some brewers are choosing to drop the alcohol content of popular by 0.2% or so, and Brits are not happy about it.<br/><br/>If you want to see some hardcore Drinkflation, head out to your nearest cocktail bar.  We enjoyed several Tiki cocktails this weekend and have the receipts to prove it.  Drinking great is not cheap, for sure.<br/><br/>Back to beer we look at current trends, and I may have to eat my words for not believe that Bomb Pop beers were having a moment.  I must have seen 4-5 release notices just this week.  Never would have guessed, but I'm not scared to admit when I'm wrong.  Red and Amber Ales are on the uptick as well, they're coming from all angles.<br/><br/>What's not on the rise is Sorachi Ace beers.  This hop popped into our heads this week and we remember a few really nice beers that featured it.  Seems lately that crop yields are very low and the lion's share of the harvest goes to Sapporo, who still features Sorachi Ace in the Asian markets.<br/><br/>We know this Bud Light story just keeps going on, but Anheuser-Busch continues to (somehow) keep wrecking this train.  Their US CEO Brendan Whitworth appeared on the  CBS Morning Show where he avoided every single direct question and instead chose to talk about their focus on unity and their employees.  They've managed to make everyone upset, not matter their stance, and their sales continue to pay the price for their hubris.<br/><br/>To end on a positive note, New Jersey is very close to overturning some extremely restrictive beer laws that limited food, events, and everything fun at breweries.  A bill is headed to the governor for signature that would reverse these laws and make things much better for the Garden State's breweries.  Way to go, NJ!<br/><br/>Beers of the WeekHalfway Crooks Radix - German PilsnerHair of the Dog Adam Batch 89 - Adambier, ~2013Monday Night Juice Raptor - NE IPAAustin Brothers Alpena Amber - Amber AleAustin Brothers Sno Drift Rally: Bonfire Alley - Brown AleTerrapin Imperial Luau POG - Imperial IPAEighth State Com Truise - Imperial IPAShiner Prickly Pear - Fruit Beer<br/><br/>Thanks for listening to Beer Guys Radio! Your hosts are Tim Dennis and Brian Hewitt with producer Nate "Mo' Mic Nate" Ellingson.<br/><br/>Subscribe to Beer Guys Radio on your favorite app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS<br/>Follow Beer Guys Radio: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube<br/> <br/>If you enjoy the show we'd appreciate your support on Patreon. Patrons get cool perks like early, commercial-free episodes, swag, access to our exclusive Discord server, and more!