Q: I love the odd beer and in recent years have become a bit of a connoisseur, as well as starting to brew my own. Those who have tried it have been very complimentary about my beer. I’m really fed up in my current line of work and this could become a vocation for me as well as providing an eco-friendly alternative to corporate breweries. I was excited about my plan until a conversation with a friend who let slip that he really disapproved of it as a business venture. My friend enjoys the odd half pint but is of the strong opinion that any promotion of alcohol is bad. Globally, millions of deaths each year are attributable to alcohol consumption and my friend has a family history of alcohol abuse so has seen first-hand the devastation it can cause. Is there such thing as responsible drinking or drink promotion?
A: As I write this, England is in its second national lockdown to reduce the transmission of Covid-19. I’m not a fan of lockdowns: they are a sign of public-health policy failure and have deleterious social consequences, like the rise in domestic violence we have been seeing. But one small silver lining of the enforced restrictions on our movement has been the turn towards local and small businesses in our consumption patterns. Just down the road from me is a locally owned brewery, and a few young cyclists can now regularly be seen delivering cartons of freshly brewed ales around the neighbourhood. For this brewery, the pandemic has been a boon and receiving its drinks has added some variation to otherwise monotonous evenings.
