When we’re talking about beer, at least. Iowa is trying to push through legislation that would allow the state’s brewers to produce beer higher than their current alcohol by volume percentage of only 5% (!!!!!!).

Jeff “Puff” Irvin, brewmaster at Olde Main Brewing Company in Ames, says the rules don’t allow him to craft the Imperial Stouts and Belgian-style brews his customers are demanding.

“There’s about 30% of the beer styles out there that I’m not allowed to produce right now,” Irvin said. “It doesn’t necessarily tie my hands as far as creativity, but there are a lot of styles out there that we would like to offer the public and we’d like to make ourselves. There are styles you can buy at your local stores that we’re not allowed to produce and that puts us at a competitive disadvantage.”

We thought we had it bad in Montana when we couldn’t push beer beyond 8%. We hope that Iowa’s legislators decide to allow the increase in alcohol of beers being produced in the state. It seems a bit odd that they can import beers from other states with no limits on the alcohol percentage, yet the breweries can only go up to a measly 5%.

So called “high gravity” beers, some with alcohol levels of up to 27%, can be imported to the state and distributed by the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. Thirty-five states do not limit the alcohol in beer. A bill that would remove the barrier in Iowa was introduced last year in the House, but died in committee.

Democratic State Representative Vicki Lensing of Iowa City says she’ll try to revive interest in the legislation this year. Lensing says increasing the 5% limit could serve as an economic development tool for Iowa. “It would give microbrews maybe some impetus to expand in the state and I think it’s another business that seems a natural for where we are,” Lensing said. Scott Russell of Ames enjoys sampling microbrews made in other parts of the country. He dismisses concerns that the higher alcohol content simply allows people to get drunk faster.

Montana’s allowed beer up to 14% now for just a little over three months, and already it feels like a decade has gone by. We can’t support initiatives like this enough. Go get ‘em, Vicki.

Radio Iowa — Brewers want to change law to allow higher alcohol content for beer