brewing in turkey

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veritas524

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I have been trying to find an answer to this question all over the net without any luck... I just received an assignment to incirlik AB, Turkey and was wondering if I can legally brew in the country. I checked the a
APO restrictions and saw no restrictions for ingredients like you would find for APOs in Iraq or Afghanistan. I already have the logistics for getting ingredients figured out and the only remaining hurdle is the legality. If anyone could provide some insight I would greatly appreciate it, thanks!
 
I don't have an answer for you. I just wanted to point out that, in my not quite fully caffeinated state, I thought the title of the thread was "brewing in a turkey." I was wondering what the BrewDog guys were up to now.
 
Base Legal at Incirlik can point you in the right direction. If there's not host nation sensitivities there could be a GO, or Commander directive. Also, what's the policy of propane in dorms, ect?
 
I thought about contacting base legal about this, but i would prefer not to attract unnecessary attention to myself or brewing given the general public ignorance about our hobby.

I've spent a few months on that base before. One of the more popular things to do on and off base is drinking. That and homebrewing being very lucrative I can't see the wing issuing a g.o. against it. As far as propane in the dorms... I'm taking my wife with me and we will be in base housing. Since my original post I've managed to find two people on base that brew so I'm hoping they can get me some info. Thanks for the ideas guys!
 
I thought when on military bases it's considered us territory where us laws apply instead of local law?
 
I don't have an answer for you. I just wanted to point out that, in my not quite fully caffeinated state, I thought the title of the thread was "brewing in a turkey." I was wondering what the BrewDog guys were up to now.

I'm not sure if it's been done with turkey but I know chicken used to be popular. I don't see why you couldn't use a turkey but would probably need a fairly large fermenter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_ale
 
Ahem.....

HAVEN'T HEARD OF TURKISH BREWING....

HAVE HEARD OF TURKISH PRISON.....

Not my ass on the line.
 
Ahem.....

HAVEN'T HEARD OF TURKISH BREWING....

HAVE HEARD OF TURKISH PRISON.....

Not my ass on the line.


There's actually a few breweries in Turkey with Efes being the most popular. In regards to the base being US territory, that is correct in most cases. However, it's a NATO base and belongs to the Turks, they just rent us the real estate and it falls under their jurisdiction. I keep finding more and more info about brewing there particular from brits, haven't found anything saying it's illegal yet... There's a guy there that works in customs that brews, trying to get in touch with him so he can give me the skinny. If customs is doing it, it must be legal :D
 
I've been in and out of there MANY times (most recently 18 months ago). Go out on the alley and visit the shops and the owners offer you; tea, soda or Tuborg beer. There are several very good pubs on the base itself and if you are living on the base, should be no problem to brew away....
 
Are you living on post or off? Can you buy beer on post?

I thought when on military bases it's considered us territory where us laws apply instead of local law?

The Auzzies and Brits brewed and ran a bar in Baghdad. Alcohol is not allowed in Iraq (but still sold). US General Order #1 forbid alcohol for US servicemembers.
 
We will be on base, and they sell a crap-ton of booze on a daily basis. There is no General order prohibiting alcohol, but I have seen them restrict sales there before. I managed to track down a home brewer in turkey on the net last night and he actually pointed me to a Facebook Group for a brewing club on base that has a decent amount of people in it. From what I can tell they brew quite often.
 
TKOriginal said:
Are you living on post or off? Can you buy beer on post?

The Auzzies and Brits brewed and ran a bar in Baghdad. Alcohol is not allowed in Iraq (but still sold). US General Order #1 forbid alcohol for US servicemembers.

I'd be careful. British navy can still drink on their ships I believe but u.s. navy ships are dry. From my experience with being in the military and stationed in a foreign country and all the crazy b.s. that goes along with it I've learned that if it's fun you probably can't do it.
 
If you don't mind me asking, what are the logistics for ingredients in Turkey? I am a teacher and have moved to Ankara this year. I have carboys and airlocks, I've gotten as far as learning the Turkish terms for the ingredients I'm looking for, but I am having a lot of trouble actually tracking them down.
 
First off, brew in a bucket not a turkey. Hard to sanitize a turkey. Only small batches, too. Good luck though.



This is a joke. Please don't hate me.
 
Wow there are actually other people brewing in Turkey. Anyway I've been living here for over 2 years and from what I know there are no local laws about producing alcohol, only laws about selling it. Have no idea about US army rules though.

Very curious where you would get the ingredients though, equipment is easy enough to DIY but the issue is getting the ingredients at a decent price... Planning a trip back to the UK to visit family, although part of the reason is just to pick up some stuff there! If you know any brew shops in the country please PM me and I'll drink a pint in your honour!
 
Just an update for those who care. There are a bunch of folks that brew here on base and its perfectly legal. We get our ingredients from online brew shops in the states, but shipping is a tad expensive. I was lucky and found a brew shop on long island that charges us $35 to ship a sack. It just sucks when you're all set to brew and you forgot to order that half pound of victory malt and there's no lhbs to bail you out. Oh well, looks like I will be making an oatmeal stout today without it!
 
My friend is there right now. He says a few of the people he works with brews. I introduced him to brewing when we were stationed together back in the states. The lack of good beer there forced him to start. I wouldn't worry about legality of it.

If you have a friend in Germany you will be able to get cheaper supplies. Shipping APO to APO is free..shipping APO from the states cost a lot of money. Germany has a few brew stores that ship dirt cheap to germany you just need a middle man.
 
Just an update for those who care. There are a bunch of folks that brew here on base and its perfectly legal. We get our ingredients from online brew shops in the states, but shipping is a tad expensive. I was lucky and found a brew shop on long island that charges us $35 to ship a sack. It just sucks when you're all set to brew and you forgot to order that half pound of victory malt and there's no lhbs to bail you out. Oh well, looks like I will be making an oatmeal stout today without it!

I know the feeling having to plan your recipes out weeks in advance sucks. I always had fun driving to the local HBS and formulating something up on a whim. I have started my own grain room now and yeast bank. I miss the friendly LHBS though.
 
Just an update for those who care. There are a bunch of folks that brew here on base and its perfectly legal. We get our ingredients from online brew shops in the states, but shipping is a tad expensive. I was lucky and found a brew shop on long island that charges us $35 to ship a sack. It just sucks when you're all set to brew and you forgot to order that half pound of victory malt and there's no lhbs to bail you out. Oh well, looks like I will be making an oatmeal stout today without it!

I know the feeling having to plan your recipes out weeks in advance sucks. I always had fun driving to the local HBS and formulating something up on a whim. I have started my own grain room now and yeast bank. I miss the friendly LHBS though.
 
My friend is there right now. He says a few of the people he works with brews. I introduced him to brewing when we were stationed together back in the states. The lack of good beer there forced him to start. I wouldn't worry about legality of it.

If you have a friend in Germany you will be able to get cheaper supplies. Shipping APO to APO is free..shipping APO from the states cost a lot of money. Germany has a few brew stores that ship dirt cheap to germany you just need a middle man.

I actually am going to Germany in July for a month. I'll probably buy about 4 sacks while I'm there and bring some liquid yeast back in my luggage with ice packs :)
 
Although the thread is quite old and the people interested are perhaps long gone from turkey, I want to say that brewing is legal but distilling is not. I dont have the exact law number right now but the law is there. You can brew up to 300 liters per person in a year supposedly. Sales are not allowed but starting up a brewery is not that hard either.
Anyways, about ingredients, there are some online retailers like butikbira and vinomarket which can provide equipment and other ingredients though I have to say they are low on stock. You can also order via amazon by which you may have access to the us market with a shipping fee.

Best
 
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