6% laws?

zoebisch01 · Mar 5, 2007

Just out of curiosity...

I never knew there were 6% laws in some states. In fact, I was surprised to learn that PA had this some time ago. So for those of you that are in a '6% and less state' does that mean you can't brew anything over 6% or just can't buy it?

Fire_travels · Mar 5, 2007

I didn't know PA had a 6% law!

Not to be rude, but I have a 6 pack of Troegs "Troegenator Doublebock" here (I reused Alot of there bottles) and it says right on it 8.2% ABV. If you ask me I didn't like there Doublebock.. I couldn't get past such the stong alcohol tast!

RoaringBrewer · Mar 5, 2007

Not too sure on this law, but I've bought many, many beers here in PA that are > 6%ABV. There are two pubs I pick up mixed 6 packs and many of them are often over this threshhold...

I also just bought a case of 22oz. Stone AB at a distributor and I know for a fact this is 7.2%.

Also, there are many breweries in PA brewing > 6% beers. Troegs, Appalachian, Wyerbacher, etc. etc. etc. all have beers > than this.

So, not too sure on this law...

RoaringBrewer · Mar 5, 2007

If it is just a law for homebrewing > 6%ABV beers, that seems a little weird... and I would just follow a 'dont ask, dont tell' philosophy and you'll be just fine...

TheJadedDog · Mar 5, 2007

My guess is these laws aren't that stongly enforced, I mean, I live in Rhode Island and we have something like 30 blue laws that are leftover from who knows when and no one really pays attention to them (plus in Boston, it's illegal to eat peanuts on the steps of a church).

The only place I would truly be concerned about being a homebrewer is in UT and even there I think people manage just fine.

zoebisch01 · Mar 5, 2007

Oh sorry for the confusion! I didn't mean to say that PA still had it in effect, but rather was once in effect.

Driftless Brewer · Mar 5, 2007

Iowa has this law and it only effects the licensing. If a bar wants to sell beer above 6% they need a liquor license.

sirsloop · Mar 5, 2007

Even if its a real law, who cares? Does the homebrew police knock on your door with a hydrometer or something on brew day??

The 6% law probably applies to micro breweries or other facilities with public serving licenses. IE, you can't serve anything over 6% without a "liquor license"... anything under may fall into a "beer license".

Monster Mash · Mar 5, 2007

Evert state that allows homebrewing has a 200 gallon limit for households with 2 adults. How many people abide by that?

I know I do!!

Erbium:YAG · Mar 5, 2007

This is the best place to look up local Homebrewing laws. I do believe that I have seen the law stated in a few states, that you can't home brew anything above 6% ABV. How they really would enforce it is another question.

http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/legal.html

I just browsed through the laws quickly and it appears that there is a 6% ABV restriction in the following states: Georgia, North Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia.

In Texas, there is a 4% ABW restriction which translates into a 5% ABV!

Again, like I said, "How they really would enforce it is another question."

sirsloop · Mar 5, 2007

im layman terms, if you are brewing it for personal consumption I can't imagine that you would ever have a problem. Its not like you are growing pot in your back yard or something.

matt31 · Mar 5, 2007

Erbium, is the Ga. law restricting abv. still in effect?

I ask because there was recently discussion of a bill here to ease some of those laws.

I've also recently purchased Lagunita IPA which I believe is higher than that, iirc.

BTW, that Lagunita was great. Loves me some hops.

Erbium:YAG · Mar 5, 2007

matt31 said:
Erbium, is the Ga. law restricting abv. still in effect?

I ask because there was recently discussion of a bill here to ease some of those laws.

I've also recently purchased Lagunita IPA which I believe is higher than that, iirc.

BTW, that Lagunita was great. Loves me some hops.

I would imagine that the law is in effect. Keep in mind, this is a home brewing law. I'm sure a licenced brewer is not impacted by the restriction. I personally wouldn't worry about it too much. You can be fined for jaywalking; but how often is that enforced?

homebrewer_99 · Mar 5, 2007

Funny...no mention of a 200 gallon per year restriction... :ban:

Brewiz · Mar 5, 2007

matt31 said:
Erbium, is the Ga. law restricting abv. still in effect?

I ask because there was recently discussion of a bill here to ease some of those laws.

I've also recently purchased Lagunita IPA which I believe is higher than that, iirc.

BTW, that Lagunita was great. Loves me some hops.

The Ga law was changed to 10 or 12 a couple of years ago. And we can only brew 50 gallons per household. I think I broke that law last month alone....

TheJadedDog · Mar 5, 2007

erbiumyag said:
This is the best place to look up local Homebrewing laws. I do believe that I have seen the law stated in a few states, that you can't home brew anything above 6% ABV. How they really would enforce it is another question.
"

Come to think of it, I know that it is illegal in most places to distill liquor; maybe the lawmakers don't know we can brew beer over 6%ABV so they designed this rule to prevent distillation. Either way, I don't see how anyone would enforce these kinds of laws (last I checked they weren't knocking on my door every brew day).

D2T · Mar 6, 2007

erbiumyag said:
This is the best place to look up local Homebrewing laws. I do believe that I have seen the law stated in a few states, that you can't home brew anything above 6% ABV. How they really would enforce it is another question.

http://www.beertown.org/homebrewing/legal.html

I just browsed through the laws quickly and it appears that there is a 6% ABV restriction in the following states: Georgia, North Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia.

In Texas, there is a 4% ABW restriction which translates into a 5% ABV!

Again, like I said, "How they really would enforce it is another question."

It says I need to pay $3/yr for a homebrewing license in NJ..

...uhh, check's in the mail.

zoebisch01 · Mar 6, 2007

All in all, I'm just curious about these things. I have no fear that anybody will knock on my door and try to measure the alcohol content of my beer, but I do find it interesting that these laws actually exist/have existed in some states. I mean who are the GENIUSES thinking this stuff up?!?!

Sir Humpsalot · Mar 6, 2007

D2T said:
It says I need to pay $3/yr for a homebrewing license in NJ..

...uhh, check's in the mail.

Haha! Now you've outed yourself to the Feds and they WILL be knocking on your door. :cross:

sirsloop · Mar 6, 2007

Toot said:
Haha! Now you've outed yourself to the Feds and they WILL be knocking on your door. :cross:

for real... you pay $3 and now they know where to send the hydrometer police!! :drunk:

6% laws?

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

AFK ATM

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

AFK ATM

Brew Monkey

Well-Known Member

Supporting Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!