Victory for the Little Guy

November 30, 2007 was a bleak day for beer drinkers across the Eastern Seaboard. Old Dominion Brewing Co., then-recently purchased by a consortium that included Anheuser Busch, ceased bottling Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale. I haven't had my favorite beer since sometime shortly thereafter.

While the new ownership group still markets Old Dominion products brewed in Delaware or some such godforsaken place, the Ashburn, VA-based brewery is no longer. Yesterday's Washington Post brought much better news as it relates to Tupper's.

Bob and Ellie Tupper, the beer aficianodos who contracted with Old Dominion to produce their private label, finally found another craft suds shop to take their business. Hampton, VA's St. George Brewing is cranking out Tupper's using the same recipe, process, and fermenting tanks employed by Old Dominion. St. George's lower overall production capacity means smaller runs and correspondingly higher prices (in this case, Tupper's will retail for $10 per 4-pack), and I couldn't care less.

I'll be scanning my local beverage retailers for the familiar red-bannered logo and eagerly awaiting my first taste of the 'extravagantly hopped' ale in two years. And when I pour that first glass and take a sip, I'll be sure to lift a middle finger to the InBev bastards that took Tupper's from me.