Today I watched the beer guy deliver eight hand truck loads worth of Icehouse beer, seven cases to the load, to Wally's Grocery, a Belltown bodega long accused by neighbors of contributing to local crime with their sales of fortified booze. Eighty four 24 ounce beers per load times eight - thats 672 large beers at *5.5 percent alcohol - enough to get 672 people inebriated, quickly!

Miller Brewing's Icehouse is marketed to youngsters using vulgar language ("Pimp Yo' Self") at icehouse.com, where the "5.5" theme is heavily promoted. Street drunks love the quick buzz and low price.

Dave Markovich of the Belltown Barber told me beer trucks stop at Wally's every day. "I like Sam (Wally's owner) and his wife and his family, and he's a good guy, but I think him selling fortified booze attracts trouble to this block, especially with A'jhang's on the end of the block too."

Wally's has been around since the eighties and I've been there myself many times, for beer even. I think I've lived to be an old curmudgeon by following only one rule, though: "never drink cheap alcohol." You have to wonder - people on the street getting drunk on this stuff, not eating properly - are going to wake up feeling very terribly hung over. And the cure for that is to go drink another one.

*Icehouse's 5.5 alcohol content is actually low compared to malt liquors like Mickey's (5.8%), St. Ides (8.2%) and Steel Reserve 211 (8.1%). Yuppies who like the good stuff are also drinking in the Icehouse range, with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at 5.4% and Bridgeport IPA at 5.5%. And in 24 ounce bottles if they want - a standard size for the microbrew industry.

Update 08-21-2008

Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess responds:
"We're working with the state Liquor Control Board to broaden the AIA list of prohibited brew . . . but alcohol percentage of 5.5 doesn't qualify for that list. Thanks for the info and stay in touch. "