Local Beer Drinkers Of America Tap Bar For Members
They didn’t know it when they walked into a north Spokane bar Tuesday, but Jeff Stiles and pal Chris Purucker were about to be recruited to drink beer for a national cause.
Local members of the Beer Drinkers of America group were having a meeting at Double Dan’s Sports Bar, 1011 W. Broadway, where Stiles and Purucker happened to decide to eat that night.
Free beer and appetizers for anyone interested in becoming a member? The buddies, both 25, didn’t dodge the draft.
“We signed up to get more information, sure,” Purucker said, with one eye on the hockey game. “We drink beer.”
At least four other beer-lovers who showed up for the meeting had serious things to discuss, though, like how to start a local chapter of the group in Spokane.
Beers in hand, they huddled around a table with Kevin DelPiero, a regional coordinator for Beer Drinkers of America. Their plan is to add more members to the current 200 in Eastern Washington and turn them into an active political voice.
“We fight abusive drinking and tax increases on beer,” DelPiero said. “We need strong, local representatives who can keep up with proposed changes in legislation that may discriminate against beer drinkers.”
DelPiero said the group’s goals are to promote responsible drinking and remind the public that most beer-lovers are not sloppy drunks who cause problems with the law.
About 84 million people in the country drink beer, DelPiero said, and nearly 200,000 are paying members of Beer Drinkers of America. Becoming a member costs less than a 12-pack - $10.
“We’re not a bunch of belching, raging maniacs,” he said. “We’re consumers and we’re protecting ourselves.”
There certainly weren’t any party animals at Tuesday’s meeting. The members, all men, talked seriously about the Beer Drinkers’ purpose. They promised to recruit their friends and volunteer in the local Party Smart designated driver program, which is sponsored by the club.
After business, they exchanged tips on who makes the best dopplebach and where to get a good chocolate dunkel.
Ken Bamonte, who’s been a member for the past two years, drove from Metaline Falls, Wash., to attend the meeting. He brought drinking buddy Ken Timmreck along, too, hoping to recruit him into the club.
They sipped syrupy beer with foam on top. They talked passionately about home brews. Timmreck read through the brochures and asked questions about becoming a member.
By the end of the night, he was one.
“It’s important that we protect ourselves from unfair taxation,” said the bearded Bamonte, punctuating every sentence with a booming laugh.
“We used to have to look at the price of beer and all’s we could do is say, ‘Oh, that sucks.’ Not anymore.”
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