Brewing to much beer???????

[Buttwidget]

Which goes to the question of, "is there a factor motivating law enforcement to come after me?"

Just don't be stupid.

~widget

[hopheadfred]

Which goes to the question of, "is there a factor motivating law enforcement to come after me?"

Just don't be stupid.

~widget

Exactly my point unless you are trying to have a bar sell your homebrew or you are running an illegal bar......nobody really cares enough to do anything about it.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Look, if they wanted to, they could track your purchases, check your facebook, etc. The only reason they would want to go through the expense of doing that is if they already had you for something else pretty big, or if you were selling it. There's always a way to create an evidentiary trail. This isn't something that needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, it ain't murder, but the real question to determine whether you have risk is, "is there a factor motivating law enforcement to come after me?" As long as that answer remains "no", quietly brew all you want, just don't sell it.

The key is not to be stupid in the first place.

~widget

That is true..they could do that. The bigger question is WOULD they do that? In today's government budget crisis do they really have the financial resources to go after a homebrewer who is either brewing too much or even selling some on the side? You have to remember that the excise tax on beer is literally pennies per beer. Do you really think a prosecuter/law enforcement is going to go after a homebrewer who is violating the law. Spends thousands of dollars in prosecution costs to recover a few dollars in taxes? Unlikely at best....

But it's not the taxes, it's the fines! If a governmental body wanted money bad enough, and the fines made it a financially viable revenue stream, you bet your asshat they'd do it.

[hopheadfred]

Well that's just it....for the amount of money and time it would take to find homebrewers "selling" beer it certainly isn't worth the potential fines that might be levied. 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. With all the craft beer choices now there is no way that a local cop or alcohol agent can possibly keep tabs on every brewery and their products. Just walk down the wine aisle at any major supermarket or BevMo.....

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

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.

[Duzdisluk Infektid]

Well that's just it....for the amount of money and time it would take to find homebrewers "selling" beer it certainly isn't worth the potential fines that might be levied. 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. With all the craft beer choices now there is no way that a local cop or alcohol agent can possibly keep tabs on every brewery and their products. Just walk down the wine aisle at any major supermarket or BevMo.....

Except that nobody could/ would do business with you if you don't have a legit business/tax ID.

[hopheadfred]

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.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

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.