Wednesday, November 20, 2900 S. Quincy St., Suite 800 Arlington, VA 22206 2019 www.nabca.org | [email protected]

• Oregon agencies ask court to reconsider vaping decision • State Liquor Authority reveals results of underage drinking crackdown TODAY’S • An Exploration of the Impact of Non-Dependent Parental Drinking on Children HIGHLIGHTS • Uncovering the pathway to wine's acidity (excerpt) • Prosecutors Charge Five Men for Fatal Alcohol Poisoning of Underage Student at Fraternity Party

Please note that the following article “Liquor stores, state clash over competition rule” which ran in the Daily News Update yesterday was an article that ran two years ago and was erroneously included as the result of a recently dated re-release of the story. Thank you.

CONTROL STATE NEWS Underage alcohol use can harm areas of the brain associated with decision-making, memory, learning UT: How to prevent underage holiday drinking with and impulse control. the DABC Early onset of drinking, including binge drinking, has KUTV also been linked to long-term alcohol abuse in adults. By Ashley Stevens Tuesday A healthy brain is crucial to a child’s success in life. November 19, 2019 The holidays are a great time to have a conversation (KUTV) — Parents Empowered is here today with your kids about the harms of alcohol to the discussing the harms of underage drinking and what developing brain and to set clear rules about not parents can do to prevent it. According to the drinking before age 21. The Utah Department of Centers for Disease Control (CDC), alcohol is the most Alcoholic Beverage Control reports that alcohol sales commonly used and abused drug among youth in the increase by 31 percent during the holidays, making United States. In addition, people aged 12 to 20 years the availability of alcohol in homes much more likely. drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United So it’s important to keep all alcohol safely stored out States. More than 90% of this alcohol is consumed in of reach and to make it clear that you will not the form of binge drinks. Although adolescents and tolerate underage drinking. Studies show that if your young adults drink less often than adults, they tend child thinks you would view their drinking underage to drink more than adults, frequently drinking as as very wrong, there’s a very small chance they will many as 5 or more drinks on a single occasion. drink—only about 4 percent. But if your child Binge drinking is defined as consuming more than 4- perceives you would only view it as wrong or a little 5 servings of alcohol in a 2-hour period. In Utah, kids wrong, the likelihood they will drink dramatically are consuming large quantities of alcohol in a single increases to almost 50%. That’s why parents’ clear sitting, sometimes as much as 8 drinks at a time. In rules against underage alcohol use are so powerful. fact, Utah kids are binge drinking at higher rates than (Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention Study, their peers in other states. 2017). Research shows that alcohol affects a child’s brain Strong, consistent communication with your kids is differently than an adult’s. key. Ensure you and your spouse or partner are on A child’s brain is going through rapid and dramatic the same page when communicating expectations. changes through their mid-20’s. As part of regular discussion, ask them open-ended questions to help prepare them for situations where alcohol is present. Ask your teens, “What would you 2

do if someone offered you alcohol?” “If you and your In the meantime, it says Governor Brown will friends were in an unsafe situation, how would you “continue to work with stakeholders and the handle it?” “What if your friends’ parents allow legislature to find long-term solutions to protect the alcohol at the party?” These are examples of open- public health from vaping-related illness.” ended questions that get your teens to think out It’s still urging the public to stop vaping immediately. loud, anticipate any obstacles, and practice saying no when faced with peer pressure situations. LICENSE STATE NEWS Also let your kids know that if they go somewhere and alcohol is present, they can call or text you and NY: State Liquor Authority reveals results of you will come to pick them up. underage drinking crackdown Parentsempowered.org has lots of tips and resources The Record parents can use to start these conversations and help Staff report prevent underage drinking. You can also visit November 19, 2019 chitchatgame.com for some great conversation CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. — The State Liquor Authority starters for kids and parents. announced the results of multi-agency efforts to crack down on underage drinking throughout the

state during October. OR: Oregon agencies ask court to reconsider vaping decision The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), with assistance from the New York State Department of KOBI TV 5 Motor Vehicles (DMV) and local law enforcement By Amanda Ross agencies, conducted sweeps at SLA licensed November 19, 2019 businesses throughout the state, including bars, OREGON — With Oregon’s ban on vaping products restaurants, liquor stores and grocery stores, now on hold, government agencies are taking steps designed to deter them from selling alcohol to to work around it. minors. Out of 812 businesses, visited for compliance checks, 156 were found to be selling to underage The Oregon Court of Appeals blocked the temporary agents. ban on flavored, cannabis vapes last week. “The SLA will carry on with these efforts, throughout Another ruling had already blocked the temporary the year, to hold licensed establishments ban on tobacco and other non-cannabis flavored accountable,” Vincent Bradley, chairman of the New vapes. York State Liquor Authority said in a news release. The Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Liquor “It is our obligation to uphold the law and to ensure Control Commission, each asked the court to reconsider the temporary stay on the ban. our licensees are aware of their responsibilities. Our continued partnership with the DMV and local law Both agencies were denied. enforcement helps us strengthen our efforts to stop “The court in this instance took issue with our underage drinking and the use of fake identification,” method for our temporary enacting of the temporary Bradley added. emergency rule. And one of the things it cited was The SLA conducted 55 underage details in 38 the absence of any scientific evidence,” said Mark counties, with investigators sending underage Pettinger, OLCC. decoys into 812 locations holding liquor licenses. The The Oregon Health Authority says only medical decoys were able to purchase alcohol at 156 cannabis-vaping products are banned across the businesses. state. The Governor’s Office called the Court of Appeal’s decision “unfortunate.”

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WA: Private liquor in Washington state: Are we He also said this competition can lower the prices of better off? certain liquors, resulting in the consumer saving Washington voters decided liquor would be privatized in money. 2012. But has this decision paid off so far? “Some liquors are [cheaper]. There’s no doubt about KREM 2 it,” Wilson said. “So it just depends on which venue Author: Ian Smay, Casey Decker you’re talking about and what their profit margins November 19, 2019 are.” SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington voters decided eight Despite this competition, customers are often seeing years ago that they wanted to buy their booze at higher prices due to taxes. local grocery and big-box stores instead of at state- run liquor stores. “From what I hear from customers, because of the amount of taxes that [the state is] charging, it’s a Voters passed Initiative 1183 in 2011, which little more expensive now to buy it in the store,” privatized the sale of liquor in Washington. Stores Wilson said. with more than 10,000 square feet in floor space could sell liquor, as well as any business located Costco declined to comment for this story. inside a building formerly used as a state-run liquor Average liquor price per liter in Washington: The store. The state auctioned these buildings off after average price for a liter of liquor per year, adjusted the vote. for inflation. Click on link to view interactive chart. Hard alcohol can now be bought in stores like Costco, This wide selection of options means big-box stores Albertson’s, Safeway, Walmart and more. In fact, can buy their liquor in bulk, allowing them to pass on Costco broke records by spending more than $20 better deals to the customer. But not all stores selling million in support of the initiative. liquor privately are excited about these bulk options. But it raises the question: Are we better off? Egger’s South Hill Liquor is one of two stores in There are many ways to answer this question. The Spokane County selling liquor out of a building that main points KREM investigated were the price used to be a state-run liquor store. Smaller stores, difference, liquor selection and how much tax like Egger’s, can’t afford to buy in bulk in the same revenue liquor sales has generated for the state. way big box stores can. Prices “I can’t compete with the big-box stores. The big-box stores have huge buying power,” said Egger’s South According to data from the Washington State Hill Liquor Owner Diane Egger. Department of Revenue, the average price for a liter of liquor has gone up nearly 20 percent since Egger’s works in smaller margins to get by. privatization. When you take inflation into account, “If I wanted to run on a huge, a higher profit margin, the increase is just under 8 percent. I would be so priced out,” Egger said. The biggest dip in price came in 2012, when the The other way that Egger remains competitive is by average price for a liter of liquor sat at $24.96 after developing a loyal clientele by holding promotions, tax, according to the WDOR. The most recent 2019 offering a wide selection and taking special orders data lists the average price as $26.88 after tax, the from customers. second-highest the average has reached since the switch. “If they’re looking for something and we can find it, we bring it in for them,” Egger said. “You won’t find The highest average in 2016, when it sat at $27.02 that at the big-box stores or the grocery stores.” after tax. Egger’s decision to offer a wide, flexible selection of Harry Wilson, a manager at a local Rosauer’s, said liquor brings up a second metric to measure whether pricing has become competitive despite the average or not Washington residents have been better off being higher than when hard alcohol was sold by the since the privatizing of liquor: the variety of hard state. alcohol available for purchase. 4

Selection Tax revenue To measure how the selection stacks up against a The question of whether or not the state is better off state-run liquor system, KREM compared the in terms of tax revenue is hard to parse, because data number of varieties of bourbon available at a number is spread out among multiple state agencies. of stores in the Spokane area to the selection of When the state sold liquor, its revenue came from bourbon available at a liquor store in Idaho, where sales taxes as well as the outright profits of the sales. hard alcohol sales are still handled exclusively by the state. Now, revenue comes from those same taxes, but instead of sales, there are new spirits fees. Walmart and Target had the smallest selection among the big-box stores we checked, with only 12 The taxes are collected by the Department of different varieties of bourbon available at a randomly Revenue. The fees are collected by the Washington selected location. Rosauer’s only had 13 varieties, State Liquor Cannabis Board, which used to be the with Trader Joe’s only doing two better at 15 total Washington Liquor Control Board and was the varieties. WinCo and RiteAid were also in the teens, agency that managed sales pre-privatization. with 17 and 19 respectively. Making this even more difficult is the fact that the The rest of the big-box stores included Fred Meyer LCB also collects taxes from the sale of marijuana, with 27, Safeway with 31, and Albertson’s with 33. and in reporting their net revenues, some of that data gets jumbled up. These pale in comparison to the Idaho store, which had 76 kinds of bourbon. State Revenue Generated By Liquor Sales: The total amount of revenue generated by liquor sales in But Total Wine in Spokane blew the Idaho store out Washington state, in millions. Click to review chart. of the water. The specialty alcohol store had almost 100 more options when it came to bourbon, with a If you separate the numbers as much as is possible, total of 168 varieties available. the data shows a sharp drop-off in "profits" from liquor after privatization. In this case, we're using the Egger’s also holds its own when it comes to variety. "profits" as shorthand for the total amount of Customers can find 51 varieties of bourbon at revenue liquor generates the state, less some Egger’s, and if they don’t have a certain type, the expenses. Basically, it means the amount of money staff will try to find a way to make a special order. that can be put into various funds to pay for state and After all the counting is done, are we better off when local programs. it comes to variety? Well, it really depends on a In 2012, the state saw the highest total profits, as person’s location and what they’re looking to buy. stock was sold off and stores started paying new fees, Those close to a specialty store like Egger’s or Total with the two agencies reporting a total of $773.87 Wine may be happy with their choices, while those million in profit. who rely on grocery stores for hard alcohol are much But this begins to drop heavily the next year. In 2013, more limited. profits fell to $646.65 million, and continued to drop But most customers aren’t looking for rare or specific in the following years. The lowest total came in 2017, liquors, and many prefer the convenience of being when the state brought in just $415.1 million. able to their favorite spirit while shopping for The revenue has seemingly started to recover, as groceries, according to Wilson. liquor generated $463.58 million in profits for the “It’s about convenience for the customer. It’s here state in 2018. for that person that doesn’t want to have to drive all But this still remains lower than revenue levels when over and hunt for something,” Wilson said. the country was in a recession. That brings us to the last metric we measured: state In 2008, Washington made $641.39 million in liquor tax revenue from hard alcohol. profits, and saw an increase to $665.05 million in 2009. 5

Although the state is collecting more in taxes and Division of Capital Asset Management and fees than it used to, that increase does not appear to Maintenance. It will maintain a satellite office in be enough to offset the lost revenue from no longer Boston. selling booze outright. The commission has a 10-year lease to occupy 13,100 It appears that in terms of state revenue from liquor square feet of space at Union Station. sales, we aren’t better off. Other changes could be coming to Union Station. In Are we better off? September, the Worcester Redevelopment Authority signed a lease with Limitless Recreation & Hospitality Whether Washington is better off for privatizing LLC, a business entity registered to William Broullon, liquor sales depends on what’s being considered. the former owner of the Country Music Ranch & In terms of tax revenue and selection, it appears Saloon on James Street. Washington was better off keeping liquor sales state- Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co.’s Soul Purpose ran. beer line and an arcade bar have also been in If price is the sole factor considered, the change has negotiations with the Worcester Redevelopment also been for the worse, but only marginally. Authority to possibly locate at the station. But in terms of convenience, many people likely are happy with being able to buy hard alcohol at the INTERNATIONAL NEWS same place they buy groceries, instead of having to go to a state-run location. United Kingdom: An Exploration of the Impact of Non-Dependent Parental Drinking on Children Lucy Bryant, Anne Marie MacKintosh, Linda Bauld MA: Cannabis Control Commission to move to Worcester this week Alcohol and Alcoholism, agz086, https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agz086 WB Journal By Grant Welker Published: November 5, 2019 November 19, 2019 ABSTRACT The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission's Aims long-anticipated move to Worcester is taking place starting this week. To examine the impact of non-dependent parental drinking on UK children aged 10–17. The board, which has been temporarily based in Boston during its short tenure since 2017 overseeing Methods the state's cannabis cultivation and retail sales Cross-sectional survey of UK parents and their industry, said Tuesday its move to Union Station will children in 2017 (administered to one parent in a start this week. More than 60 commission staffers household, then their child, totaling 997 adults and will start working in the new location on Nov. 26. 997 children), providing linked data on parental A Worcester location gives the commission a drinking from parent and child perspectives. The geographically centered location in the state with survey included measures of parents’ alcohol equal access to establishments throughout consumption and drinking motivations (both Massachusetts, said Shawn Collins, the commission's reported by parents) and children’s exposure to their executive director. parent’s drinking patterns and children’s experiences of negative outcomes following their parent’s Last year, the commission unanimously approved drinking (both reported by children), plus establishing its permanent headquarters in sociodemographic measures. Worcester for what it says is its cost efficiency and central location. The commission selected Union Results Station as its headquarters after a public Logistic regression analysis indicates a significant procurement process with the Massachusetts positive association between parental consumption 6

level and children reporting experiencing negative out safeguards that help ensure that all new alcohol- outcomes. Witnessing a parent tipsy or drunk and related channels or campaigns are marketed having a parent who reported predominantly responsibly online. negative drinking motives were also associated with This partnership will also continue to work on increased likelihood of children reporting emerging areas, including influencer advertising. experiencing negative outcomes. Age was also associated, with older children less likely to report "Committed To Tackling Underage Drinking" experiencing negative outcomes following their Drinks Ireland director Patricia Callan commented, parent’s drinking. "The drinks industry is committed to tackling Conclusions underage drinking and have a long and proud history of doing our part to prevent young people being Findings suggest levels of and motivations for exposed to alcohol marketing. parental drinking, as well as exposure to a parent tipsy or drunk, all influence children’s likelihood of "For example, since 2003, Ireland's drinks industry experiencing negative outcomes. has proudly adhered to some of the strictest advertising codes in the world for both content and volume of alcohol advertising. These rules, among Ireland: Irish Drinks Industry Puts Further other things, have meant that no alcohol advertising Safeguards In Place To Prevent Minors From Seeing can appeal directly to young people. Alcohol Marketing Online "This is reflected positively in consumption figures. Hospitality Ireland The latest figures show that alcohol consumption November 19, 2019 among teenagers went from 12.7% in 2002 to 4.1% Drinks Ireland has said that it is continuing to work in 2014. This figure [4.1%] is well below the European with stakeholders to put further safeguards in place average of 12.9%. to prevent minors from seeing alcohol marketing "Today we know that most young people are online online. and on social media, so it's vital that their exposure In September 2018, Drinks Ireland, which represents to alcohol marketing here is reduced. As such, we are alcohol drinks manufacturers and suppliers in proud to continue our work with IARD and global Ireland, committed to work together with Facebook online platforms to do this." (incl. Instagram), Snapchat and YouTube to establish new standards and practices for marketing INDUSTRY NEWS responsibility online. Bulk booze by sea – Part 1: The past The commitment was made through the In FreightWaves’ latest installment of its Freight All Kinds International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (FaK) series, we examine the bulk transport of alcoholic (IARD), which is a not-for-profit organisation beverages across the world’s oceans. This article, Part 1, dedicated to reducing harmful drinking and focuses on the colorful past of the trade. Part 2 will promoting understanding of responsible drinking, on spotlight its present and future. behalf of Drinks Ireland, which is a member of the American Shipper organisation alongside other global drinks By Greg Miller, Senior Editor companies and representative groups. November 19, 2019 Since then, leading drinks companies both in Ireland It seems like an alcohol aficionado’s fairy tale but it’s and globally have been working with these online true. Once upon a time, giant tanker ships plied the platforms to implement age screening on online high seas full of wine, beer and spirits, not crude oil, channels, complemented by specific and platform- gasoline and diesel. Massive volumes of liquor were appropriate technology to help ensure marketing transported in one fell swoop, sloshing around in reaches those over the legal purchase age. enormous holding tanks as they traversed the oceans, to be pumped out in their final destinations, In partnership with the online platforms, the industry then bottled and imbibed. continues to improve these protections and will roll 7

Alcohol (for consumption, not industrial use) is now “The authorities were very strict about discharges in shipped via container, yet it wasn’t always this way. the canal, which was suffering from serious pollution Throughout the 1900s and in select cases into the of all types and was filthy. He had to think quickly and 2000s, breweries, vineyards and distillers turned to ordered ‘full ahead on engines, full astern, stop oceangoing tankers for transport. engines.’ The propellers churned up the filthy mud from the bottom of the lock. The stinking ordure that The Guinness beer fleet was disturbed concealed the beer foam and nobody Ireland’s Guinness ran a fleet of coastal beer carriers was the wiser.” between 1913 and 1993, using dedicated vessels to The wine tankers bring beer from its brewery in Dublin to the ports of the British Isles. The crew who worked aboard the The concept of shipping wine in tanker holds was vessels were known as the “Cross Channel Gangs.” much more prevalent in the mid-20th century than Beer was carried aboard the ships in wooden casks the bulk transport of beer. through 1953; after that, it was loaded in special The first-ever dedicated wine tanker was the aluminum or stainless-steel tanks that each carried Bacchus, a converted cargo ship launched in France 4,032 pints. in 1935 with a capacity of 337,000 gallons of wine. Guinness then began to think bigger. It first looked at After being sunk in World War II, a second cargo ship the transport of beer in much larger parcels in 1971, was converted to a wine tanker with the same name. conducting an experiment with specially fitted tanks But the largest and most famous wine tanker to sail aboard the 1952-built Lady Grania (all vessels in the was America’s Angelo Petri. The vessel was another fleet were named after members of the Guinness conversion job, built at San Francisco’s Bethlehem family). yard using a section of an older tanker originally built That test was a success, and Guinness converted the in 1943. 1962-built Lady Patricia into a beer tanker at the The capacity of the Bacchus was dwarfed by the Bristol shipyard in 1973. That, in turn, led to the Angelo Petri, which could carry 2.4 million gallons of construction of the first-ever purpose-designed beer wine. To put that in perspective, this is the equivalent tanker, the Miranda Guinness, in 1977. of 12.1 million bottles of wine (based on 750 The Miranda Guinness sailed twice-weekly trips milliliters per bottle) per voyage. between Dublin and Liverpool. It had 15 stainless The ship, owned by United Vintners, made its maiden steel tanks capable of carrying a total of almost 2 voyage in 1957. It was designed to reduce the million pints of Guinness beer per voyage. overland cost of wine shipments to the East Coast, The Guinness fleet was the focus of an article by and conducted around seven round-trip voyages per Edward Bourke in the Journal of Research on Irish year until the mid-1970s. It sailed from Stockton, Maritime History that includes an anecdote not California, via the Panama Canal to Newark, New mentioned in the official Guinness history. Jersey — where there were special wine barges and a truck fleet to serve the inbound loads — then made According to that article, “The Lady Patricia was the a call in Houston on the return trip, with a portion of first ship adapted with beer tanks to carry beer in the wine cargo unloaded there and barged up the bulk. These tanks were washed and steam-sterilized Mississippi River to Chicago. Of the 2.4 million gallons en route back to Dublin after the beer had been of wine per voyage, around 1.4 million was discharged. discharged in Newark and 1 million in Houston. “On one occasion, as the Patricia entered a lock on Unlike the Bacchus, which had wine tanks with the Manchester Ship Canal, the captain looked over special varnish, copper pipes and bronze valves, the the side and to his horror the lock was filling with tanks, pipes and valves aboard the Angelo Petri were frothy tank washings. Someone had started to all stainless steel. discharge the rinsings of beer before they had reached the open sea. The tanker loaded wine in 26 stainless-steel tanks (each tank ranged in size from 31,000 to 211,000 gallons) and had an additional 1.3 million gallons of 8

capacity in completely segregated tanks for other The retired tanker executive recalled one incident he cargoes, such as fuel. The owner’s quarters of the had been told about that occurred before the turn of ship were designed to highlight wine colors in each the century, a story he believed to be true, in which room: from sherry to burgundy to sauterne. a parcel tanker was carrying a cargo of potable ethyl alcohol in one of its tanks “and there was a minor Other smaller wine tankers have been put in service spill. It came oozing out of the tank onto the deck but over the past half-century in the Mediterranean the scuppers were closed so it didn’t go overboard. market. A number of 1970s-built vessels with an And just at this time, it was in a U.S. port and the U.S. International Maritime Organization designation of Coast Guard inspector was aboard. The chief mate of “wine tanker” still appear to be in operation in the ship told the inspector, ‘Don’t worry, it isn’t bad Southern Italy (though they’re not necessarily stuff,’ and the mate took a cup and drank it. I believe carrying wine; the more recent reports have them he was fired for that.” carrying fresh water). The complication of carrying raw alcohol in tanks One shipping industry expert speaking to used for other products is negated if the ship is FreightWaves recalled a story he was told involving a employed solely for the transport of alcohol. That Mediterranean wine tanker. The original teller of the concept was used for over three decades by tale has since passed away so its veracity cannot be Caribbean rum distiller Bacardi. confirmed. The operation initially used the 3,700 deadweight “One old guy who used to be involved in the trade ton (DWT) product tanker Proof Gallant, built in 1980 told me they used to recoat the tank after every and owned by Norway’s Jo Tankers, to transport rum cargo of wine from Greece or Italy. On one occasion, in the Atlantic Basin. That ship was replaced by a they didn’t bother as the ship was going to drydock.” larger tanker, the 5,100 DWT Proof Spirit, renamed The next time the ship transported wine, “the Jo Spirit, in 1998. importer complained that the particular cargo was of poor quality, as it didn’t have any ‘body.’ The guy told The Jo Spirit was referred to as the “rum tanker” in me that the only reason the earlier cargoes had body the press whenever it was involved in various was that they dissolved the coating each time.” incidents through the years. Ocean transport of spirits In July 2005, the Jo Spirit collided with a bulk carrier in the St. Lawrence Seaway. According to the In the case of spirits, the core raw alcohol cargo is accident report from the Transportation Safety known in the shipping business as “potable ethyl Bureau of Canada, it was carrying a cargo of “rum in alcohol.” In earlier decades, this cargo was shipped in bulk.” In October 2015, the Jo Spirit lost power and full tanker loads aboard small product tankers and in ran aground in the St. Lawrence Seaway, eliciting the the segmented tanks of chemical parcel tankers. online joke: “rum on the rocks.” According to press One retired executive of a chemical tanker company, reports, the vessel had been en route from Hamilton, who spent the earlier part of his career in the Ontario, to Cuxhaven, Germany, with a cargo of rum. chartering division of a large parcel tanker company, The vessel no longer appears to be in this trade. It is recalled fixtures of potable ethyl alcohol in the 1980s now operated by Turkish interests and was renamed and 1990s but not in more recent decades. He Gunece last year; it was damaged after being struck speculated that the drop-off could be the result of by a ONE container ship in Perama, Greece, this regulations that prevent certain edible (i.e. September. drinkable) cargoes from being loaded if other types of cargoes were carried in the same tanks during the FreightWaves asked Bacardi for comment on how previous three loadings. In other words, it may have the company has replaced its bulk rum-transport become too restrictive to carry potable ethyl alcohol operations, but the spokesperson replied that “we because it would limit what other cargoes a parcel won’t be able to help out on this occasion.” tanker could carry, and therefore decrease the ship’s What’s likely is that the bulk transport of spirits, as is utilization. the case with wine and beer, is now being almost exclusively done via container — mirroring the 9

evolution for other products that used to be shipped "However, it is often the case that natural levels of in bulk, such as bananas, which were once largely acidity in grapes are not enough for winemakers' carried aboard special bulk “reefer” vessels but are requirements, requiring the addition of more tartaric now mostly shipped in special refrigerated acid." containers. Estimates have suggested that this costs over $10 As Part 2 of the FreightWaves FaK coverage of “Bulk million to the Australian wine industry each vintage, booze by sea” will examine in depth, beer is now so understanding what controls the natural levels of moving across the high seas in bottles, cans and kegs acids like tartaric in the grape berry has the potential in regular containers; wine is shipped in bottles and to save the industry significant sums of money. so-called flexitanks (which are essentially large "For this to become a reality, we need first to disposable bladders placed within 20-foot understand the details of the biochemical pathway containers); and spirits are transported in bottles and that produces tartaric acid in the grape," says stainless steel ISO tank containers. The days of giant Associate Professor Ford. tankers full of booze are history. More FreightWaves/American Shipper articles by Greg This recent discovery follows an earlier collaboration Miller with University of California Davis, when in 2006 the first enzyme in the six-step pathway that leads from vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to tartaric acid was Uncovering the pathway to wine's acidity (excerpt) discovered. Now a second enzyme has been identified and its structure determined and results Science Daily Source: University of Adelaide published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. November 19, 2019 Associate Professor Chris Ford and Dr John Bruning, Summary: a protein crystallographer and enzymologist from the School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Wine researchers say their latest discovery may one Photonics and Advanced Sensing, worked with day lead to winemakers being able to manipulate the researchers at Flinders University, the James Hutton acidity of wines without the costly addition of tartaric Institute, Dundee, and postgraduate students Crista acid. Burbidge, Emi Schutz and Yong Jia. They identified University of Adelaide wine researchers say their the enzyme based on its similarity to a bacterial latest discovery may one day lead to winemakers enzyme with the same properties. being able to manipulate the acidity of wines without The enzyme was confirmed on the basis of its the costly addition of tartaric acid. biochemical activity, and crystals of the enzyme The team of researchers has uncovered a key step in grown so that its structure could be determined to the synthesis of natural tartaric acid in wine grapes - atomic resolution using high-powered X-rays. - identifying and determining the structure of an "Now that we understanding the 3D structure of this enzyme that helps make tartaric acid in the grapes. enzyme we can define its function and therefore its "Tartaric acid is important in all wines -- red, white chemical mechanism and how it carries out its job in and sparkling -- providing the finished wine with the the grape," says Dr Bruning. vital acid taste to balance the sweetness of alcohol," "That means we can modify the structure for says project leader Associate Professor Chris Ford, biotechnological purposes down the line, such as Interim Head of the University of Adelaide's School altering the protein to change tartaric acid levels in of Agriculture, Food and Wine. the plant, instead of directly adding the acid at huge "For example, in white wines such as a dry Riesling cost to winemakers." from the Eden Valley, the liveliness of the wine on Associate Professor Ford says: "As each piece of this the palate and the delicate balance of fruit flavours is intriguing puzzle falls in to place, our understanding due to careful management of acid levels in the of the metabolism of this critical grape acid grapes and during winemaking. increases. We now need to get to grips with the genetic, environmental and viticultural factors we 10

may be able to manipulate to modulate the natural could spend as many as eighteen months in prison. levels of tartaric acid in the grape." The other four men face a maximum sentence of six Story Source: Materials provided by University of Adelaide. months behind bars. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Alcohol Poisoning and College Students The human body has a limited capability to DAILY NEWS metabolize alcohol, a toxic substance to most organs. Prosecutors Charge Five Men for Fatal Alcohol Alcohol poisoning results from drinking more alcohol Poisoning of Underage Student at Fraternity Party than the body can process in a specific period of time. Every year, thousands of people die from alcohol Addiction Center poisoning. An overwhelming influx of alcohol into the by Nathan Yerby body’s systems may cause respiratory depression, November 19, 2019 coma, heart attacks, and seizures. Alcohol poisoning “Big Brothers” Face Charges For Lethal Case of can happen to anyone, sometimes unexpectedly. Underage Drinking After his death, a toxicology report revealed that Noah Domingo had just started studying Biology at Domingo’s blood-alcohol content (BAC) level was the University of California, Irvine. He aspired to remarkably high at 0.33. For reference, an average become a trainer in the NBA. However, Domingo person will usually suffer blackouts and vomiting at tragically died from alcohol poisoning at a Sigma 0.20 BAC and begin to lose consciousness at 0.30 Alpha Epsilon fraternity party on January 12, 2019. BAC. He was only 18 years old. Domingo’s death stunned Despite the risk of alcohol poisoning, college the UC Irvine community and highlighted the dangers students often drink heavily to win approval from of binge drinking at colleges and universities, their peers. In fact, college students comprise one of especially for younger students in Greek life. the groups at highest risk for alcohol and drug abuse. Local authorities are now taking steps to hold people According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse responsible for the “Big Brother Night” where and Alcoholism, about 1,500 college students Domingo lost his life. In a college fraternity, a “big between the ages of 18 and 24 years old die every brother” is an older member who serves as a mentor year as a result of binge drinking or driving under the to a younger, newer member, typically a freshman. influence of alcohol. On October 30, the Orange County District Attorney A Warning From Law Enforcement charged Zavier Larenz Brown, Jonathan Anephi Vu, Mohamed Ibragim Kharaev, Caleb Gavin Valleroy, On the same day that prosecutors filed charges and Jonathan Gabriel Villicana with the against Domingo’s fraternity brothers, Orange misdemeanor of hosting a gathering where underage County District Attorney Todd Spitzer reminded his drinking occurred, a violation of Irvine municipal community that “providing alcohol to those under codes. the legal drinking age is reckless and dangerous, especially in an environment that is notorious for All five defendants are no more than 22 years old, excessive drinking by young people who may not and four of them are still students at UC Irvine. The understand the potential risks of their behavior.” police charged them in connection with Domingo’s death because their names are listed on the lease for Spitzer then expressed regret that “current law the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house where prevented prosecutors from filing anything more Domingo died. than a misdemeanor in this case” and announced that his office would lobby Orange County to classify The District Attorney also charged Brown and Vu the crime of furnishing alcohol to a minor as a felony. with the misdemeanor of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Since Brown was Domingo’s “big brother,” In the aftermath of the tragedy, both UC Irvine and prosecutors specifically charged him with the more Sigma Alpha Epsilon launched investigations into serious offense of furnishing alcohol to a minor underage drinking. Many cases of alcohol poisoning causing great bodily injury. If a jury convicts him, he in college result from fraternity hazing, although there is no evidence that Domingo was subjected to 11

hazing at “Big Brother Night.” Regardless, UC Irvine Thai media reported that investigators learned the has since suspended Sigma Alpha Epsilon as a suspect had also used Grab Bike services to deliver registered fraternity. his moonshine to customers.

'King of fake alcohol' caught in Bangkok This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use Bangkok Post of NABCA members, free-of-charge. If you do not wish to receive this daily service, please respond with “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the Subject line. In Writer: Gary Boyle addition, if there is another individual within your company who should Original Source/Writer: Online Reporters also be receiving this service, please forward their NAME, TITLE, November 20, 2019 EMPLOYER, and EMAIL ADDRESS to [email protected]. Thank you for your time and attention as we continue to work to improve upon A 63-year-old Malaysian man dubbed "David, king of the services and benefits that we provide to our members. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the fake liquor" has been arrested in a car park at a author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the National Alcohol Bangkok shopping mall and admitted to having Beverage Control Association. produced counterfeit foreign whisky for more than 30 years, according to police. Chan Fat Yat, a Malaysian national, was held on charges of illegally producing liquor, falsifying trademarks and overstaying his visa. Seized from him were 26 bottles of fake Johnnie Walker, 100 empty bottles labelled Johnnie Walker, 132 screw tops with foreign whisky brand names, 252 fake duty stamps, and labels for Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal whisky and Bin 389 wine, tourist police said on Tuesday. The suspect was detained while delivering whisky to a customer in the car park of The Mall Bang Kapi on Monday afternoon. He tried to escape in his car as police moved in, but was caught. His arrest came after tourist police based at Suvarnabhumi airport and airport officials were advised by immigration officers in Songkhla of a suspect parcel en route from Hat Yai airport to Suvarnabhumi. When the parcel arrived the officers examined it and found it contained items such as empty foreign whisky bottles, screw tops and labels with foreign whisky names. The parcel was addressed to "Mr Chan Fat Yat". Police investigators found out he was a Malaysian and was due to deliver fake whisky to a client at the shopping mall car park on Monday. This led to his arrest. During interrogation, the suspect allegedly admitted he had produced fake foreign whisky for more than 30 years and was known as “David, king of fake liqour,’’ tourist police said.