An article about beer? Of course I have to throw my expert opinion in

Ok, I love doing the local angle as much as anybody. This whole site is pretty much one big local angle. But this shit about Anheuser-Busch hurting Valley Brew's business by being able to give better gifts to bar owners is fucking ridiculous.

I'm not going to go to another bar more than Valley Brew because I like the fancy beer signs they were gifted by the beer companies. I go for the drinks. Namely, drink prices. It's why I don't frequent those "upscale" bars like Envy and Douche Touche/286/Brandenburgs. I don't give a shit if they slapped a new coat of paint on the Backdoor and put up a fancy curtain. Oh look, everybody's wearing a collared shirt, this place must be safe. Fuck that, I want low beer prices.

If I have money, or if it's $5 pitcher Sundays (the best deal in area by far), I'll head on over to Valley Brew because they have a quality beverage. Bud Light tastes like horse piss, but it's usually $2-$3. I'm not going to drnk Bud Light any more because Bud Light can pass out more swag. Have you seen the swag they pass out? Shitty bottle opener keychains that break as soon as you try and use it. Or you could get your picture taken with a sweaty dude in the Budman suit. It's not exactly enticing. (Not that I don't have a picture of a drunk me with Budman on my bulletin board, I'm just saying I don't drink more Bud because of it.)

Valley Brew shouldn't be worried because their demographic is different. The people who go to Valley Brew know they're getting a good beer. If they're drinking there, there's a pretty good chance that they know that Red Hook and Hef are owned by Budweiser's new Dutch overlords. If places like Valley Brew are really worried about losing business over higher quality swag, maybe they should stay open past fucking 11:30 on a weekend. That usually plays a huge factor into where I decide to drink. I could go to Valley Brew, except I'll have to leave at an early fucking hour to go to another bar since the city (allegedly) forced BullnBear to move downtown so there's no where else within walking distance to really go to. (That martini bar is ok, but everytime I've been there it's been a fucking ghost town) Or I could go to Fat's, which is open until 2 almost every fucking night of the week. Guess which one I choose? I go where I can plant my ass down and get shitty drunk and not have to worry about getting shuffled out at midnight. Not to mention I don't have to be forced to watch the shitty internet feed of a hockey game.

But Slick, they're from Stockton, you gotta support the local team!

I don't even watch pro hockey, why the fuck would I want to watch the minor league team for their minor league team? Especially when the players can't even stay sober enough to not fight each other.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The shittiness of arena tenants is for another post.

So while it's nice to get the local angle of a statewide problem, the Record's been going to that well a little bit too much lately. I want news in my newspaper, not an advertisement. The Record's got too many of those as it is.

Although George does look dead sexy pouring that IPA.