Wednesday night I attended a Prohibition Party at the National Press Club. During a historical talk, it was recounted that on the day Prohibition came to Washington, D.C. – which was two years before federal law imposed it on the rest of the country – the price of all sorts of bev/al was discounted, with the discounts getting steeper as the magic hour of midnight drew near. Ultimately what was left over was put out on tables, free to any takers.
We thought that sort of mentality was over. But we didn’t think about Utah. A new law, effective at midnight Oct. 31, prohibits grocery and convenience stores from selling beer stronger than 5% ABV. The Kansas Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says it doesn’t stock anything available on the open market, so everything between 4 and 5% must go.