Beer Bad. Twinkie Good.

I was just over at the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania website catching up on their war against beer in supermarkets and gas stations in PA. Since Wegmans has wiggled through a hole in PA's liquor laws the MBDA of PA is more up in arms than ever. I won't dive too far into all the politics of the matter or try to contemplate what the over all effect of beer sales in supermarkets has on the current beverage landscape. I just love the convenience. What I found interesting was the visual propaganda they are using to support their point of view.

The image of a baby pushing a cart and pulling a six pack lets you know where they stand. Honestly, if the kid didn't have a pacifier I might of thought the MBDA of PA had something against little people buying over sized cans of beer. Not the case. They want to make sure that children aren't subjected to the repugnant act of purchasing beer. EEEEEEEK!!! The horror...the horror! The following points accompanied the image.

• Kids learn from watching their parents and other adults. So what kind of example will it set for children if we allow beer to be sold off the same shelves in supermarkets as cereal, vegetables and fruit? All in the name of convenience?


• Truth be told, Pennsylvania has more restaurants, bars and distributors licensed to sell take-out beer than it has gas stations, drug stores and supermarkets combined. That sounds like convenient access already.


• Take a moment to tell your legislator that you believe that more than 12,000 places to buy take-out beer in Pennsylvania is enough and tell them to say “no” to beer sales in supermarkets where we’ll send a message to kids that beer is just another beverage.

Hmmm, knowing all that how could Wegmans have even considered having a Kick Off the Summer Food and Beer Pairing last Saturday? Read about it here and here. Don't they love the children? Come on MBDA of PA get real. This angle is almost too silly to argue against. It's worse for little Johnny and Mary to watch their parents fill up a cart with overly processed, artificial, unhealthy, high caloric prepackaged junk. Maybe if kids were confronted with the responsibilities of beer earlier they wouldn't treat it like a quest for the ultimate forbidden prize. A mystery only revealed once you're 21 and can legally get wasted and act like an ass. Besides it's not the responsibility of supermarkets to set examples and send proper messages. That one falls on the parents. Somehow I don't think the little ones are destine for alcoholism simply because they watched mom and dad pick up a bomber of Troegs Nugget Nectar after shopping for a liter of Diet Coke. MBDA of PA, it's not the sanctity of the children you're worried about, it's the profit of those you support. Yes you should protect the interests of those you represent but at least create an intelligent argument. If this is the best you can come up with then expect to see more markets trying to follow in Wegmans footsteps.