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By Carie Partain, vice president of Free the Hops, a consumer craft beer advocacy group. It is an all-volunteer, grassroots organization whose mission is to help bring the highest quality beers in the world to Alabama. It was founded in 2004 by Alabama consumers who lobbied for and succeeded in passing the Gourmet Beer Bill in 2009, the Brewery Modernization Act in 2011 and the Gourmet Bottle Bill in 2013. Free The Hops does not speak on the behalf of any tier in the brewing industry, nor individual breweries or brewpubs.

When it comes to a new proposal by the Alabama ABC Board, my name is most certainly "No."

For the uninitiated, a Meghan Trainor hit describes a put-upon young lady telling a persistent pick-up artist that she will not share her information or time with him. In answer to his pervasive and invasive questioning, the narrator of the song responds: "My name is 'No.' My sign is 'No.' My number is 'No.' You need to let it go."

I was reminded of this catchy - and for many women, biographical - tune when I learned that the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has proposed a regulation wherein craft beer lovers would be forced to share personal information with breweries and brewpubs in order to purchase beer to go. Like Ms. Trainor, my answer would be "No."

As vice president of Free the Hops, I have visited many Alabama breweries. Due to my position--and my love of craft beer--chances are high that I will visit more of them in the future. As of June 1, beer enthusiasts have the option to legally purchase packaged beer to go from Alabama breweries. Under the law, each patron may purchase up to 288 oz. per day, which is the equivalent of a case of beer. Brewers have expressed excitement about this new revenue stream, which will help in their quest to survive in the competitive world of craft beer. Beer lovers have expressed their happiness that their choices have expanded. It's seemingly a win-win scenario that has been successful in the two-months-plus since off premise sales for breweries became legal. There's been no downside--until now.

New regulations proposed by the ABC Board would create a government-sanctioned invasion of privacy that goes far beyond pickup lines from a creepy admirer at the club. If the proposed changes go into effect, I would be required to provide breweries my name, address, phone number and date of birth in order to buy beer to take home.

Even more concerning is that the ABC Board states that this information will be subject to their verification. Does that mean they can show up on my front doorstep in order to verify I am who I am? Or raid my garage and conduct an impromptu audit of my beer fridge? I am a huge proponent of Southern hospitality, but if I wanted to share a beer with the ABC Board, I would invite them. Showing up uninvited, though, is tacky and a waste of our tax dollars. While that may be taking their intent to an illogical extreme, why should we open the door--our doors--to that possibility? Even calling to verify that I bought beer on a specific date is annoying and invasive. That is none of their business, since I am of age and exercise reasonable judgment and responsibility regarding when and where I consume these tasty products. Besides, with my aforementioned brewery attendance frequency, Montgomery would have to keep me on speed dial.

I presume this is an attempt to regulate and render enforceable the arbitrary portion of the Growler Bill that limits breweries and brewpubs to selling up to 288 oz. of their products per person, per day. I get it. They are trying to do the job they are mandated to do. I certainly do not envy them this task, especially since Free the Hops has sounded the public alarm on what a gross invasion of privacy this proposed regulation is. That said, on what plane of logic did this sound like a viable solution?

You might wonder why I care so much. I am a woman and a mom. My husband and I are vigilant in safeguarding our family. I do not provide our information to anyone unless they need to know. Like many others in my profession, which is not the beer industry, my information was breached when U.S. government agencies were hacked last year. These are the same agencies I know have state-of-the-art cyber protection in place, unlike our Alabama breweries. The government must now monitor our information that is in the ether and prime picking for identity theft. If the U.S. government can't keep my information safe, I know it is not safe in the hands of small businesses who are looking to this revenue stream to keep the lights on, in some cases.

If you agree, I encourage you to say so. You can share your opinion by writing the ABC Board Administrative Procedures Secretary at administrator@abc.alabama.gov or by mail:

Alabama ABC Board

2715 Gunter Park Drive West

Montgomery, Alabama 36109

Any comment on the proposal must be received before Sept. 7.