Stronger Beer Wednesday April 19, 2006 11:41pm    Posted By: Matt Bise Which football team will have a better record in 2006?  USC  Clemson  Citadel  Charleston Southern  SC State ___  ABC News 4 Interact  ___    • Signup for eNews Alerts    • ABC News 4 Pulse Poll    • Whats Your Opinion?    • Printable Version    • E-Mail This Story ___  Related Stories  ___ Lawmakers Never Faced With Losing Benefits Venezuelan Lawmakers OK $1.4B Bond Sale 4 Hamas Lawmakers Can't Live in Jerusalem Brewer SABMiller Sells 5 Pct. More Beer German Lawmakers Probe FIS's Role in Iraq Strong Beer South Carolina Lawmakers may allow the sale of stronger beer. Some Business owners say selling the so-called, "gourmet beers" would bring more money to the State. Others say, more alcohol, could mean more accidents. "How old are you?" Carol Stage asks her daughter, Leah. "17," Leah responds. Leah's 22, says Carol Stage. 22 years old, but Leah thinks she's 17. She lost her short term memory after being struck by a drunk driver. Her family thinks raising the 6 percent alcohol content limit on beer is a bad idea. "I feel that this percentage going up, it would be a disaster, it would mean, more deaths...more accidents," says Stage. If the bill is approved, the sale of beer with up to 14% alcohol by volume content would be legal... which means drinking one of the gourmet beers would be equivalent to drinking a little more than 2 regular beers. It sounds like a lot, but not everyone is alarmed. "Wines got more alcohol content, liquor's got more content...people taking shots," says Dylan Jones of Charleston. "There's some great beers out there with a ton of alcohol in them and they're good drinking," says Charleston resident, Dewey Golub. "I would say I'm for it...it's the way to go, see what happens and go from there," agrees Sydney Wood. "Total Wine" sells the high end beer in its stores in 5 other States. The Owner of Charleston Beer Works says he'd welcome the opportunity to offer a wider selection... and Poe's Tavern's manager says the beers could bring his restaurant more business. "O, by far, there's a list of beers already that'd we'd like to put on tap that people ask for...so we know they're gonna come back, have their burger and sample beers we can provide for them," says Sean Daniher. But that sample is just another dangerous option, if you ask this family, who knows the consequences of too much alcohol...all too well. "I wish the rules and laws were a little more strict, it's changed her life, all of our lives," says Stage. A change, they wish could have been prevented. On Wednesday, a House Subcommittee approved the bill, it now goes to the Full House Judiciary Committee » Find More Articles Related To This One Copyright 2006 WCIV, LLC.

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