Brewing to much beer???????

[GilesTH]

I wasn't talking about selling. You have to have a license from the Feds and the state to sell beer. I was talking about brewing over 200 gallons a year. Believe me, if you get caught selling without a license, you'll be the next star of Moon Shiners.

I am NOT advocating selling homebrew. I just wonder why in the almost 35 year history of legal homebrewing I can't find a single instance where someone has been fined/cited/arrested for selling homebrew. Are we so naive to believe that homebrewers wouldn't dare try to sell their beer even to just their friends and neighbors. It just doesn't seem plausible that guys haven't been popped for selling homebrew.....unless maybe nobody really cares enough to make it an issue.

I think it's because any sales were between friends and didn't have to be reported to the state for tax purposes. No policeman is gonna arrest for exchanging a sawbuck for a six pack of homebrew. It's penny ante stuff.

I don't take money for my beer. It's more fun to give it away or trade. If someone wants two cases, they can buy me the ingredients.

I have a buddy who brews, and all of the ingredients are purchased by other people. They buy him the grain, hops, propane, and yeast. Then he brews it. The only people making a profit off of this is the home brew shop. Which is the "easy" way to explain why friends are "paying" for your beer. They're simply contributing to the cost of ingredients.

And in Colorado, the annual limit is is 500 gallons per brewer. Which is a lot of beer!

[Duzdisluk Infektid]

Realizing the states all have their own laws/limits, is there a Federal limit that trumps them?

[Buttwidget]

Let's also not forget that the douchebag homebrewer who labels his beer and tries to have it sold by the local liquor store is not the only one who get screwed when caught, there's the little matter of the storekeeper's liquor license and livelihood. That becomes enough money to make it worthwhile for law enforcement.

I mean, really, they send in minors to conduct sting operations in order to nail liquor store owners for selling to underage people, and that doesn't net them a whole lot of cash either... It comes down to the two points I continue to make:

1. Did you give them a reason to fuck with you? - If so, they will

2. Don't be stupid, otherwise see #1

Is it possible to skirt the law? I'm sure it is, but if you do (especially in the alcohol arena) you are being stupid. Advocating for being stupid is just being doubly stupid. Posting about doing stupid things in a public forum basically puts you in the dumbfuck bin.

Like this bitch

See the full story here

It ain't robbing a bank, but it isn't just a violation of only a single law either. There's labeling laws, business licensing laws, food service and facility laws, there's an impacted assload of laws you've broken, so go back to point #1 and re-think the idea of "getting around" the laws. Or just listen to the Permits show on the Brew Strong Going Pro series and see how much shit Jamil had to do, how much time, money and effort it took, and then think about what the exponential cost is for not following the law for each of those procedures.

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[spiderwrangler]

I am NOT advocating selling homebrew.

Ummmm...

I think it would be awesome if some homebrewer somewhere had the balls to label his beer in a professional manner and have it sold at liquor stores. Assuming of course you live in self-distribution state.

[Duzdisluk Infektid]

Ok Mitt, you lost. Give it a rest.

[hopheadfred]

Sorry guys....I am not trying to piss anyone off. I just see this from a different viewpoint. Let's face it...it's not murder, robbery, or a million other crimes. In fact you could say it is a victimless crime......it is only against the law because the government says it's against the law. Kinda of like commercial beer over 4% in Utah. I agree though that you shouldn't drag an unsuspecting merchant into this.

[spiderwrangler]

Unless one guy (or more than one guy) selling illegally results in changing of legislature that puts more restrictions on the rest of us...

[Buttwidget]

I don't think anyone's pissed, but I think the way to go about changing the law isn't by thumbing one's nose at it. Doing so typically results in more draconian legislation.

Groups like the AHA have done a good job of helping homebrewers gain legislative advantage and will continue to do so when urged in the right direction. Certainly a good place to start.

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