Utah is considering legalizing homebrew!

It's really odd you should mention that...I've heard a rumor that some homebrewers may be thinking about legalizing Utah...

mrkristofo said:

Well, the bill is dead. Looks like not enough brewers contacted their senators. Senate rules committee didn't recommend the bill for second reading, and the senate session ended yesterday, killing the bill.

sonofab*tch.

Given the huge 55-13 support of the bill in the House, I thought it was a gimme. This F***ing Fascist State. It will get you every time.

Click to expand...

Ladies and gent's this is your captain speaking . . . please fasten your seatbelt as we begin our decent into Utah and set your clocks back 50 years. Have a nice stay!

Oh, but look at the bright side. They probably voted to give in state tuition to illegal aliens (courtesy of the tax payers). They vote for amnesty for them too, you know to bring them out of the shadows...

In the mean time, Home Brewers, must still pitch their yeast in shadow of illegality and shield their fermentations from local authority while their brewing brothers in other states enjoy their labors out in the sunshine of 100 gallon a year legitimacy.

Don't give up the fight!

tit-for-tat, how juvenile!

Yes, everything is south now and in use. Had to get a couple more carboys so I didn't sit idle for 4 weeks...

well here's hoping that Utah joins the 21st century, can't believe there's still places where it's illegal.. not enough of a need to change the law i guess. good luck man

The fight continues:

November 17, 2008

Dear Utah AHA and BA Members:

Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts earlier this year to legalize homebrewing in the state of Utah. The homebrewing bill is again being submitted to the Utah legislature for the 2009 session.

Please help us in getting this bill passed into law.

On Wednesday, November 19, 2008, the bill “Exemption For Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing License”, sponsored by Representative Christine Johnson, is scheduled for a hearing before the Business and Labor Interim Committee. The Committee meeting starts at 2:15 PM in room W025 of the House Building at the Utah State Capital Complex in Salt Lake City. I encourage you to attend this meeting and show your support for the legalization of homebrewing.

Homebrewing is a long-standing part of American tradition dating back to the early-colonial period. Many of our nation’s founders, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were homebrewers.

The Federal Government legalized homebrewing thirty years ago in 1978 for the first time since prohibition made it illegal in 1919. Homebrewing is now legal in 45 states. Utah residents should have the right to legally brew beer/mead/wine at home as do the vast majority of Americans.

See this link for more information about the hearing and the bill.
Thank you for your support of homebrewers and and this bill. Please forward this message on to any other Utah residents that you feel would be interested in supporting this bill.

Sincerely,

Gary Glass
Director
American Homebrewers Association
[email protected]
Welcome to the Brewers Association

Click to expand...

I'll see you there.

EdWort said:

Yeah, I used to get all my supplies at the Beer Nut in SLC. I had asked them many years ago about an all grain brewing class. They could do it all the way up to pitching the yeast. If they were to ever add yeast, that would be breaking the law and they did not want to bring scrutiny to the business.

Click to expand...

Hmm.... So who would be breaking the law if said vessel were left in the open air and spontaneously fermented? Would we be arresting yeast spores?

State of Utah vs. Brett Anomecys

Utah: 'Though shalt not Homebrew, but thou can have many underage wives'.

It's not a state; it's a weird cult.

What's funny about this whole thread is way back in 1988 is when I started homebrewing, I lived in Ogden UT at the time. (I started because of the 3.2% beer.)
Although it is technically illegal to homebrew in Utah, it's rarely enforced.

"If you take a mormon fishing, make sure that you take two. If you take one, they'll drink all of your beer. If you take two, neither one will drink at all because they're both so scared that the other one will tell on him."

Coincidentally, that was told to me by two different mormons during my many trips to Utah.

Chimney said:

"If you take a mormon fishing, make sure that you take two. If you take one, they'll drink all of your beer. If you take two, neither one will drink at all because they're both so scared that the other one will tell on him."

Coincidentally, that was told to me by two different mormons during my many trips to Utah.

Click to expand...

LOL! It's the work of the devil!! Ok, I can see the reason that they might not want to allow the selling of beer, but to continue the ban on making it yourself, is really just too much.

Then again, if you don't advertise it, I wouldn't worry about it. Also make good beer, that way when they come knocking on your door, you can bribe them with your beer.

even though it's illegal, there are LHBS that sell supplies in the state.

Grains Grapes & Grounds
Utah Home Brewing & Wine Making Supplies, Coffees, Teas, Gifts & More!
2340 Washington Blvd, Ogden, UT - (801) 399-3444

River City Homebrew
http://www.dzyp.com/
15 W Main St, Richmond, UT - (435) 258-5118

The Beer Nut (801) 531-8182; (888) 825-4697
The Beer Nut homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
Utah at 1200 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT

Art's Brewing Supplies 1-801-533-8029
ART'S BREWING SUPPLIES
642 South Washington Street, Salt Lake City, UT

Tooele Vine & Hop Shop Phone: (435) 882-6323
Tooele Vine & Hop Shop Incorporated - Tooele, UT, 84074-1430 - Citysearch
460 Spruce St, Tooele, UT 84074

Must not be illegal to sell the stuff. I don't think they would be able to pass a law that makes it illegal to sell barley or hops...

Chimney said:

"If you take a mormon fishing, make sure that you take two. If you take one, they'll drink all of your beer. If you take two, neither one will drink at all because they're both so scared that the other one will tell on him."

Coincidentally, that was told to me by two different mormons during my many trips to Utah.

Click to expand...

Very much like the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in West Michigan. It's okay for Dad to drink, spit and swear in the church parking lot, but 8 year old Junior isn't allowed to ride his bike on Sunday. Oh, but Dad can go fishing in the boat.
If you are mowing your lawn on a hot Sunday and drink a beer outside in your own yard, the whole community will never speak to you again. But the area did just vote to allow Sunday sales.

If I was to compare Mormons to any religion it would be Muslims.

The legislative session starts on January 26 here in Utah, that's just a little over a month away. So start writing your state reps and senators now.

Conroe said:

If I was to compare Mormons to any religion it would be Muslims.

Click to expand...

yeah, because mormons are known for suicide bombings.

lordbeermestrength said:

yeah, because mormons are known for suicide bombings.

Click to expand...

They are known for having murdered innocent people. Most religions have killed innocent people in the name of their "faith." Muslim extremists just happen to be the holy warriors at the moment. Catholics and Protestants have had their moments too.

Henry Hill said:

Very much like the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in West Michigan. It's okay for Dad to drink, spit and swear in the church parking lot, but 8 year old Junior isn't allowed to ride his bike on Sunday. Oh, but Dad can go fishing in the boat.
If you are mowing your lawn on a hot Sunday and drink a beer outside in your own yard, the whole community will never speak to you again. But the area did just vote to allow Sunday sales.

Click to expand...

Your profile says you are in Perry, MI, but that is east of Lansing. Not exactly West Michigan! I've never heard of the CRC being that big in any communities. Sounds like Mormon stuff. Most churches I have been to don't really like people swearing and spitting in their parking lot.

Homercidal said:

Your profile says you are in Perry, MI, but that is east of Lansing. Not exactly West Michigan! I've never heard of the CRC being that big in any communities. Sounds like Mormon stuff. Most churches I have been to don't really like people swearing and spitting in their parking lot.

Click to expand...

I lived in Comstock Park for awhile, and worked in Hudsonville and Walker. These descriptions came firsthand from people I worked with. Pretty area, bizarre people. Older population is quite religious fanatic, so younger people are wild and crazy-preacher's kid sorta thing.

Below is a link to so the bill for 2009. (Same as 2008 I gather)

Keep your fingers crossed... Be nice to brew with the garage door open for a change.

http://www.le.state.ut.us/interim/2008/html/00001845.htm

Good luck you guys!

Be sure to join the AHA and send them encouraging e-mails to expand their lobbying. It's a great organization, and every homebrewer should be a member- especially if you live in one of the states where our hobby is illegal.

Man has brewed beer for thousands of years.Our Puritan(even more screwed up than mormons) fore fathers brewed beer.I brew beer.**** Utah!

Pardon my language.And don't mean to offend anyone who lives in Utah ,thats just the way i feel.

Man, that must suck for those Utahn's..... brewing under the radar...

Any reason why someone outside of Utah shouldn't write a letter too?

Even if not in Utah, writing a letter would help move homebrewing as a whole for the United States (i.e. Utah competitions, etc.). If you have 5 minutes, please write in!

I'm planning on calling down there on Monday when they're back.

sflcowboy78 said:

Just curious and i might sound stupid for asking this, but how can State Law supersede Federal Law. The way i see it is the state although may have their local laws, they still have to abide by federal laws. If the Federal law says it is legal to brew, then shouldn't it override state law. Example local city has laws, city is part of state city has to follow state laws, state is part of country, state has to follow country laws. If this is not true then all we really all is a group of countries joined together for strength, each state really being it's own country.

Click to expand...

10th Ammendment and 21st Ammendment.


Federal Gov cannot usurp the rights of the states. The original intent of the founding fathers was that the federal government be responsible for matters of trade, commerce, treating with foreign nations, and the common defense. Everything else was up to the individual states. Of course, the fed has steadily intruded on that, but they have not completely eliminated state's rights (yet). As a general rule, a state cannot "over ride" a federal law, in that the state cannot be less restrictive, but a state may always be more restrictive, up to the point where is becomes a constitutional issue regarding individual rights. An example is guns. There is no federal restriction on handgun ownership, nor a federal requirement for registration. Several states restrict it, and several cities have their own unique restrictions. D.C. (which is a unique entity, though generally treated legally and constitutionally as a "state" and not a city) excercised it's authority to make more restrictive gun laws than under federal law, up to the point where the supreme court ruled that it violated the individuals 2nd Ammendment rights.

An excellent example of direct conflict regarding this is federal drug laws and the battle with california. Marijuana is illegal under federal law. California legalized medicinal use. The feds said you can't do that. California did it anyway, claiming the feds have no constitutional authority to over ride the vote of the people in the state of CA. The voters overwhelmingly approved it. Now there is a conflict, ongoing. So we have a grey area in CA, where you can legally obtain a script for it, grow it, harvest it, and smoke it.......free from prosecution or arrest by state law enforcment........but the DEA could in theory swoop down on your @zz and arrest you, and you could face federal charges.

The above not withstanding, the issue of states and alcohol has an additional issue. The 21st Ammendment.

When the fed's repealed prohibition with the 21st ammendment, the 2nd section gave absolute authority to regulate and control alcoholic beverages to the individual states, IE, it did not create a "right" to alcohol, it said the feds grant all relative authority to the states. This is historically interesting, as the 21st ammendment created the 2nd instance where an individual citizen can actually violate the constitution. Today, this still holds true. The only way and individual citizen of the united states can directly violate the constitution is by:

1. Enslaving another person (13th ammendment)
2. Transporting, producing, selling, or otherwise distributing alcoholic beverages in violation of a state or territorial law. (21st Ammendment)

Ah, the tangled web of the federalist system. BTW, the 2009 bill was introduced as HB 51.
Here's the link: H.B. 51 Bill Documents - 2009 General Session
I'm writing letters now.

I just received this from my state rep:

Dear Eric,

I will seriously look into this bill. On initial look I believe I would be able to support this bill, but I would like to know more before I commit.

Regards,

Rep. Jay Seegmiller
District 49

Here's hoping that it passes this time!

Utah Team,

WOW, I'm with you guys. What happened to "if it doesn't hurt others, do what you want"

Its disturbing to hear that there are some places that will charge you under law for brewing. I live in Canada and we are liberal when it comes to that type of stuff. The state really has no business is determining home-brewing legislation.

Stick it to them (damn communists)

good luck!

Billy

I just sent the emails to my rep and senator, we gotta get this through! As for a lot of the comments about mormons in general... you guys should know what you're talking about before you talk... because you're mostly wrong. I'm not going to get into a debate about it... I'm from a mormon family, just don't practice myself, but I know what the beliefs are, and I know how much of a pain it can be to live w/ the rules they set, but that doesn't mean its acceptable to go around bashing someone w/ complete falsehoods like you know what you're talking about. That being said, I love living in Utah, just hate the silly alcohol laws. I've even wanted to do some research into how much it costs the state to run the silly laws they keep. If they kept the alcohol taxes they already have and moved to a more standard form of alcohol regulation like other states, they could put MILLIONS of dollars into... I dunno SCHOOLS... instead of this stupid regulation system they have now.. .anyway... that's my 2cents...

I've lived in Utah all but five years of my life. I love it here. There is nowhere else I want to live. I don't think this small change in law will change this place in any noticeable way to most people.

I was forced into Mormonism as a child as most born here are. I've studied it and know it better than many Mormons do. I've had my name removed from all their records. A lot of what they do makes this the great place that it is but the lies they hide in their history and teach their children will catch up to them in the end.

pompeiisneaks said:

If they kept the alcohol taxes they already have and moved to a more standard form of alcohol regulation like other states, they could put MILLIONS of dollars into... I dunno SCHOOLS... instead of this stupid regulation system they have now.. .anyway... that's my 2cents...

Click to expand...

The taxes and mark-ups they already have for alcohol are what pay for the school lunch program in the state.

My main issue is that the way it is run prevents allot of jobs and hurts our tourism dollar. That and it prevents allot of vendors from wanting to do business with the state which limits the variety of wines and beers available in the state run liquor stores. Plus all but one member of the state ABC board are non-drinking mormons who want nothing more then to completely rid the entire state of alcohol. There is something wrong with that! I believe the drinkers in this state should have a more balanced board that governs their alcohol purchasing and consumption laws.

Christian said:

The taxes and mark-ups they already have for alcohol are what pay for the school lunch program in the state.

My main issue is that the way it is run prevents allot of jobs and hurts our tourism dollar. That and it prevents allot of vendors from wanting to do business with the state which limits the variety of wines and beers available in the state run liquor stores. Plus all but one member of the state ABC board are non-drinking mormons who want nothing more then to completely rid the entire state of alcohol. There is something wrong with that! I believe the drinkers in this state should have a more balanced board that governs their alcohol purchasing and consumption laws.

Click to expand...

I totally agree, what I'm saying I think is fundamentally broken is HOW MUCH money that they must be spending on the state run liquor stores, the staff for them, etc. and the enforcement of bars w/ the private club stupidities, I think that private club thing just changed didn't it? That being said, think how much money would go to employees of regular stores and private run liquor stores and then ALL the taxes they get that are now being spent on running the state liquor stores and staff etc. THATs the money I'm referring to. They probably pay some ridiculously high wages for a job that's effectively a clerk... and we have hard working people at local grocery stores doing the same job and getting diddly pay... that's where I'm coming from.

all else you said +1 agreed totally.

geez now that I see all us Utah people chiming in, WHY don't we have a utah group here? We need to create one!

There is one.
HomeBrewTalk Groups - Utah Brewers

I was agreeing with you. It hurts jobs in the private sector. Utah claims to be this free-capitalist state yet they have this HUGE state run entity that hurts the local economy. De-regulating would create so many jobs and increase the tax base instead of taking from it.

Oh and there is a Utah group HomeBrewTalk Groups - Utah Brewers