Beersicle battle heats up in VA

At any given moment, somewhere in the world someone is trying to create a new product containing alcohol.

At this particular moment, let me direct your attention to the Commonwealth of Virginia. There, General Assembly House Billl 1075 is a hot topic because, if passed, bars and restaurants will be free to serve beer popsicles and other alcohol-laden foods.

The bill states that the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) cannot prohibit the sale of food products containing alcohol, as long as those products are being sold to persons over the age of 21.

It's in response to the ABC attempt to prohibit the sale of beer popsicles -- called "hopsicles" in some accounts -- at a Northern Virginia restaurant. The ABC said such items violated current law that requires alcohol be served in its original container, or be poured from a tap.

Some supporters of the bill -- which on Friday was passed by the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services -- worry that a law outlawing beer pops would ban other popular food items such as tiramisu and rum balls.

The bill is here "to make it possible to serve desserts with alcohol in them," says Delegate Adam P. Ebbin, D-Arlington, a co-sponsor of the bill.

Beersicles do exist. In fact, there are a number of online sites describing how to make them (as the fellow above is doing). Here's one such.

Fans of the beer-centric TV sitcom "The Drew Carey Show" may remember one episode in which the topic of beersicles came up.

Drew: "This is it, the world's first beersicle ... Doesn't look very good ... Looks like something your older brother would tell you is a popsicle ... (Oswald and Lewis taste it.) ... I don't want to overstate this, but it's almost as if all of human history has been building to this one moment ... IT'S NOT BAD ... Mmmm, tasty, now if we could just put nicotine in this and wrap it in a Lotto ticket, everyone in the world would want one!"

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