Alcohol in the news; 70 tickets issued in bar checks

From the News-Gazette

70 tickets issued in bar checks

PESOTUM – Two recent Operation Campus/Tap details in Champaign resulted in 70 citations being issued, most of them for underage drinking.

The Illinois State Police and Champaign Police Department conducted details on Feb. 11 and 26 aimed at reducing and deterring underage drinking.

They issued 59 tickets for possession or purchase of alcohol by minors, three for possession on public property, one for public urination, one for carrying open container out of licensed premises, three for resisting arrest, two for delivery of alcohol to a minor and one for unlawful use of ID.

Here's the walk of shame:

Legends, 2

Joe's Brewery, 6

White Horse Inn, 9

Red Lion, 8

It's Brother's, 7

Kam's, 11

Murphy's Pub, 9

Bradley's II, 3

Clybourne, 9

Campus area streets, 6

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!! It's Unofficial

• From the News-Gazette

Other schools have halting efforts at launching Unofficial

A rundown of Southern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, and Illinois State's attempts to start something like Unofficial.

• From WCIA 3/ Illinois Homepage.net

Undercover for Unofficial

Out of the 23,000 expected to join in on the fun, some of the partiers may be keeping their eyes out for trouble. They're called "decoys" and can be as young as sixteen. They're looking for any illegal activity.

On the biggest U of I party day of the year, it's not sitting well with some students.

"It's just unfair I don't know why they would put students in that awkward situation or ask them to do that," says freshman, Michelle Morrison.

That's right, there are students out there watching for you to get drunk, so they can call the cops.

Officers have recruited students from all over Central Illinois. They say some students are actually volunteering to crack down on the excessive partying.

• From WICD 15 ABC

Police, Partygoers prepare for Unofficial

Currently on the main page for WICD, not sure how long it will be there.

Police prepare day before Unofficial

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA--Local police departments say thanks to an organized plan all hands are on deck and they are ready for Unofficial 2011.

As local law enforcement agencies prepare for a busy day of patroling students are gearing up for a celebration that only comes to U of I once a year.

Lt. Frost says last year increasing patrols for unofficial cost the University Police Department about $5,000 in overtime.

Urbana Police say they expect to spend a couple thousand dollars on overtime patrols this year for Unofficial.

(same story is on Fox 55)

• From the Daily Illini

Police, University prepare for "Unofficial" student holiday

Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day is finally here.

While this is a de facto celebratory holiday for most students, the police will be out in full force to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Police monitor Facebook Unofficial event

Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day might have never become the celebration it is today if Facebook was never created.

The Champaign Police Department has been monitoring the “UNOFFICIAL 2011” Facebook event, which has just over 23,000 attending.

Secondary events and pages have been discovered with as many as 13,000 attending, according the Sgt. Scott Friedlein of the Champaign Police Department.

Officially staying away from all the partying

Green beer, beads and celebratory T-shirts. These are among the things some students won’t be donning come Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day.

For students who choose to not celebrate “officially” for the day, several Registered Student Organizations and residence halls will host alternative unofficial events.

Listings of other things you can do instead of Unofficial.

Know your rights for Unofficial

The fact that not many students know the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution on a typical weekend is a problem.

This is even more so for Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, where the officers “are going to stop this in the beginning before it gets out of control,” said Illinois State Police Sgt. Bill Emery. Student Legal Services has outlined the rules and regulations for this event through various advertisements. Student Legal Services does not condone this event, but it also wants to let the students know that they have certain rights, according to Thomas Betz, attorney and director of Student Legal Services.

Read this one, if you are drinking today.

Days of the Beer, March 4

The beer for today is Three Floyds Cortez.

On March 4, 1519, Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and their wealth.

Cortes was born in 1485 and was a Spanish conquistador. He brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th Century. He was born to a family of lesser nobility, and decided to more to the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later Cuba. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland. He had a feud with the Governor of Cuba, which resulted in the recall of the expedition at the last moment, an order which he ignored.

While on the mainland, he allied with some indigenous people against others. He used a native woman as his interpreter (she later bore him a son). The Governor of Cuba sent people to arrest them, Cortes fought and won, then used those people as reinforcements. He wrote letters to the king asking to be acknowledged for success, instead of punished for mutiny. He overthrew the Aztecs and was awarded the title of Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca.

He returned to Spain in 1541 where he died, on December 2, 1547.

As to the beer:

This beer is a Three Floyds brewpub original.

This is a medium bodied, single hop pale ale showcasing the American hop variety, El Dorado.

The beer comes in at 45 IBUs and 7% ABV. The beer is listed as an American Pale Ale.

So, for Hernan Cortes, who conquered the Aztecs, have a Cortez.

24-ish hours till CU is overrun with hordes of drunken green people

• From the News-Gazette

Police ready for 'monster' of Unofficial

CHAMPAIGN – Police say they are ready to handle Friday's "Unofficial St. Patrick's Day" celebration on the University of Illinois campus, as it appears thousands of students are once again ready to participate in the infamous event.

Unofficial St. Pat's traditions are simple enough: Students spend the day in green, in bars and intoxicated, many waking up at dawn to tap the keg for early apartment parties that could last through the day.

On Wednesday, more than 23,000 had indicated on Facebook that they would "attend" the event, more than last year's 17,000. Police say it's hard to gauge what the actual attendance will be, but Champaign Sgt. Scott Friedlein says law enforcement agencies are preparing as they have for past events.

...

Police from several different agencies will increase their presence on campus, one of their perennial strategies in limiting the effects of a day's worth of binge drinking. Officers from local law enforcement agencies and the state police will be running special details throughout the day.

...

The officers aren't working for free: Last year, Champaign police clocked 252 hours of overtime, costing more than $10,000.

A state grant should help offset some of those costs this year, said Melissa Kearns of Community Elements, the lead agency on the grant that is being spread across several government agencies.

The grant has also helped fund an advertising campaign, Kearns said. Community Elements staff visited Campustown businesses this week to ask managers to post fliers instructing potential partiers on how they can stay out of trouble.

...

Official rules for Unofficial

some more rules for Unofficial

• From the Daily Illini

Underage drinking, rising levels of intoxication cause concern for officers

Nineteen-year-old Kayleigh McCowen, sophomore in LAS, didn’t have a second to think when an undercover cop was dragging her out of Joe’s Brewery the instant a drink was placed in her hand. Her friend thought the plainclothes officer was hitting on her, and told him “Dude, she’s got a boyfriend, leave her alone” before pushing the cop in the chest.

“He looked down and saw his badge hanging and kind of took off, but instead of the cop going after the guy who just pushed him, he was hell-bent on making sure I got a ticket,” McCowen said.

...

Although Champaign bars will only allow those 21 and over to enter this weekend — and go a step further by including a ban on hard liquors to those of age — University Police Department Patrol Division Commander Lt. Skip Frost still receives “troubling” concerns from parents over the 19-year-old bar entry policy that is in effect the rest of the year.

“Where would you rather have that 19 and 20-year-old at? Would you rather have him in a bar, in a controlled environment where there is oversight of some type, or we want to lock them all out of the bars where there is no oversight whatsoever?” Frost said.

...

Ignorance of law won't save you from massive fines this weekend

another rundown similar to the News-Gazette

After 15 years, holiday continues to flourish

Friday will officially mark the 15th anniversary of Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, and all signs point to the tradition continuing through 2011. While campus clothing stores furiously produce green shirt after green shirt for Friday, University and local police ready themselves to keep the rowdy festivities under control.

...

Although Unofficial may not have been quite so large that first year, University Police Lieutenant Skip Frost said it caught local authorities largely off-guard and left them asking, “What is going on today?”

“There was no social media. There really wasn’t that much advertisement,” Frost said. “The next thing you know, we have bars open at 7 a.m. and lines out the door on a Friday.”

...

Frost said during the first couple of years, the event was scheduled during the same day as the Engineering Open House, which was distressing for the University.

“We have our best and brightest on campus who we’re trying to attract — the future astronauts — and they’re walking through puddles of green puke,” Frost said. “We weren’t too happy about that.”

What's your take on Unofficial

Man on the street.

Days of the Beer, March 3

The beer for today is Sun King Brewing Company, Cuvee De Sun King.

On March 3, 1991, George Holliday, captured on video, the beating of Rodney Glen King by members of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The footage showed LAPD officers repeatedly striking King with their batons while other officers stood by watching.

Four of the officers were tried in a state court for the beating, but were acquitted. Their acquital sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

The event started on March 2, when King was drinking and watching a basketball game with some friends. He later got in a car and led officers on a freeway chase that reached speeds of at least 117 miles per hour. He didn't pull over, because he knew he'd get a DUI, which would violate his parole (his estimated blood alcohol level was .19). The police chase entered a residential area and continued at 55 to 80 mph. After about 8 miles, King's car was cornered.

His passengers got out and were taken into custody without incident. King stayed in the car initially, then got out. At this point... King was tazed twice, and hit with 56 baton blows, six kicks, and placed in handcuffs and cordcuffs. He suffered a fractured facial bone, broken right ankle, and numerous bruises and lacerations.


As to the beer:

Sun King Brewing Company is located in Indianapolis. They have four year round brews, and several seasonals. Cuvee De Sun King is listed as a Flanders Oud Bruin. It is 5.3% ABV. (It appears it was only available at the Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest)

Cuvee is a French wine term based on their word for vat or tank. On wine it usually denotes a special batch or blend. In some regions, it only indicates a blend. When dealing with sparkling wine, cuvee referrs to the best grape juice. When dealing with beer (or chocolate) it can mean a blended batch; in addition to meaning an aged in barrel batch.

An Our Bruin is also known as a Flanders Brown. The name means Old Brown. Normally Oud Bruin's are aged for more than a year, where the beer has a secondary fermentation, that usually results in a tart or sour flavor. Often times, Oud Bruin's are mixed with newer bruin's to cut through some of the sour flavor and give a bit of sweet (this blend would be the cuvee).

So for Rodney King being beaten, have a Sun King Cuvee De Sun King.

Two more days till armageddon (unofficial)

From WCIA 3/ Illinoishomepage.net

Gearing up for Unofficial

Police are gearing up for another unofficial St. Patrick's Day. It's the biggest campus party of the year and this year it'll be even bigger.

...

Here are just a few things that are part of the full plan:
Classes are still on for Friday.
No liquids are allowed in residence halls.
Police will be out in full force on campus
The mayor's emergency order is in effect: This includes bars opening later at 11 a-m and you must be 21-years-old to enter a campus bar that day.

From WICD 15 ABC

Cracking Down on Private Parties for Unofficial

Champaign-Champaign Police are gearing up for Unofficial Saint Patty's Day.

There are only days left before the annual drinking event and Champaign Police say they're ready.

This year officers are cracking down on private parties.

If you're throwing a party and you charge money or serve alcohol to anyone underage you can face multiple fines.

While they're focusing on private parties this year police say their efforts in previous years are paying off when it comes to campus bars.

From the Daily Illini

Housing continues its no-guest policy for Unofficial

University Housing, unlike some Private Certified Housing, does not allow anyone who is not a University student to enter the dorms from Friday to Sunday.

Unless a student has a University i-card, they will be unable to gain access to any of the dormitory buildings. Kirsten Ruby, assistant director of Housing for Marketing, said Unofficial poses threats to the academic integrity of the University.

Days of the Beer, March 2

The beer for today is Three Floyds Alpha Kong.

On March 2, 1933, the film King Kong opened at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The original movie is remembered for its pioneering special effects using stop motion models, animatronics and for the story.

Originally, Kong was a "prehistoric type of ape", that was gorilla like in appearance. While on his home of Skull Island, Kong was scaled to be 18 feet tall. In new york, he was scaled to 24 feet tall. In some scenes, he appeared as large as 60 feet. The bust for Kong was for 40 feet, and then hand was for a 70 foot ape. Promotional materials listed him as 50 feet.

The name came from screenwriter Merian C. Cooper, who was fond of strong hard sounding words that start with the letter K. There were several names for the movie before it was settled on King Kong, including the Beast, Jungle Beast, Kong: King of Beasts, Kong: the Jungle King, and Kong: the Jungle Beast.

As to the beer:

Sadly Alpha Kong has been retired. It is listed on Beer Advocate as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Dry hopped with "shit-loads" of Amarillo for a fresh, fragrant aroma. The bitter hops are kept in check, allowing this beer’s malty character really shine through. . Great thick head with pretty lacing. The body has low carbonation, but that hardly detracts from the beer. In fact, it just makes it smoother. Great flavor, enhanced by the flowery hops, low bitterness, tons of malt character. Very nice beer.

Three Floyds described the beer as a Belgian sextuple. It had tons of malt, and lots of hops and was 15% ABV (some places say 16%).

So, if you can find an Alpha Kong somewhere (doesn't seem to be any on Ebay), crack it open (or don't) for the release of King Kong. If you drink the whole bottle, you won't care if it's an 18, 24, 40, 50, 60, or even 70 foot ape.