Legal Question?

Ok, so I'm trying to plan my 40th birthday party and it turns out I'll be in Alabama at a sci-fi convention that weekend. I'm already committed to be at that event so that means my birthday happens there.

So I really wanted to have some home brew that I am planning special for that event there but I live in Georgia.

I am pretty sure that Alabama has anti home brewing laws... but I'm not going to brew there...

Does anyone know if transporting 5 or 10 gallons of home brew from Georgia to Alabama would put me in legal risk? Or know anyone that would have that knowledge?

If you get caught with it yes, could be federal, just transporting it in Georgia might get you in trouble too. You need to speak with an attorney licensed in both states to have a reliable opinion.

It would also be illegal to transport light colored homebrew in Red Stripe bottles, and hide them with Red Stripe bought in state while keeping the receipt.

We have a saying here, "Shoot, shovel, and SHUT UP." Now in NO WAY would I ever encourage someone to BREAK THE LAW. So do as the previous poster said and consult an attorney.

I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell unlicensed alcohol is illegal in Alabama, so just being in possession would be a crime. Since you are crossing a state border there might be an even bigger price to pay.

That said, nothing is illegal unless you get caught. 4 cases is a lot, I would try to keep it to 1 or 2 cases tops. Keep your beer in labeled commercial bottles as mentioned above, don't tell anyone you have homebrew (and make sure anyone you do tell knows not to talk about it), and generally don't be a drunk idiot and you should be fine. Also make sure not to make a dumb mistake like trying to bring a keg, carrying the empties around with you because you want to reuse them, or posting online that you may be trying to commit a crime.

Terrapin uses plain crown caps on some of their beers - it would be hard to tell an imposter from a legit one.

Hauling kegs across the state border would be suspicious, unlabeled bottles suspicious. However, commerically labeled bottled filled with homebrew would be hard to spot unless the cop was a homebrewer and noticed the bottle caps looked different. Obviously I'm not the first to point this out. My advice is to speed and drive aggresively the entire way to not draw attention to your car. I'm going with that.

It would also be illegal to use commercial coors/miller home draft systems (tap a draft keg) to carry beer, which would make it easier for higher quantities that your speak of...

Also pre-happy birthday wishes, have a nice trip to the scifi con, and good luck with your homebrew trojan horse if you so choose to! Also don't post illegal exploits, just remind people how not to do things, its the American way...

"My advice is to speed and drive aggresively the entire way to not draw attention to your car. "

In addition to that, I would wear a burka, while traveling. This seems to have an exclusionary effect, regarding any rules, regulations or laws, these days.

Have a great birthday!

F**k the law, f**k the cops, and f**k the pansies worried about getting arrested over a few gallons of "illegal" beer.

What the hell is the world coming to?

Happy b-day!

dirtdigger said:

"My advice is to speed and drive aggresively the entire way to not draw attention to your car. "

In addition to that, I would wear a burka, while traveling. This seems to have an exclusionary effect, regarding any rules, regulations or laws, these days.

Have a great birthday!

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Speaking of driving across Alabama, Top Gear had a episode where one of the challenges was to drive across Alabama without getting shot or arrested by decorating each others cars... Epic Episode...

I don't believe you will have any additional concerns for crossing state lines because it is legal in GA, except for AL law that forbids entering the state with alcohol that has not been approved by the state's Alcohol Control Board.

Ala. Code § 28-1-1 - In all counties of the state it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to have in his or its possession any still or apparatus to be used for the manufacture of any alcoholic beverage of any kind or any alcoholic beverage of any kind illegally manufactured or transported within the state or imported into the state from any other place without authority of the alcoholic control board of the state, and any person, firm or corporation violating this provision or who transports any illegally manufactured alcoholic beverages or who manufactures illegally any alcoholic beverages shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided by law.

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That seems to suggest that you cannot legally bring homebrew -- or any other alcoholic beverage -- into the state unless you can first obtain permission.

No it is not legal in GA, production for home consumption is legal...

3-5-4 Production of malt beverages by a head of household for consumption within own household.

(a) A head of a household may produce 50 gallons of malt beverages in any one calendar year to be consumed within his or her own household without any requirement to be licensed for such purpose. No malt beverages produced under this subsection shall be sold or offered for sale. Malt beverages so produced shall not be subject to any excise tax imposed by this chapter.

Empahsis added. This is not an uncommon provision. Now, hopefully law enforcement has better things to do with their time than hassle a picnic sporting homebrew or someone taking to a friends party, but the wrong officer on the wrong day? We've all seen it before.

And crossing state lines makes it interstate, i.e. diveristy jurisdiction, i.e. ATF potential.

Again this is not a legal opinion that anyone can rely on.

It's your birthday, just save yourself the hassle and buy a few cases of some good commercial beer. Support your local brewery and eliminate stress at the same time.

osagedr said:

F**k the law, f**k the cops, and f**k the pansies worried about getting arrested over a few gallons of "illegal" beer.

What the hell is the world coming to?

Happy b-day!

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+1 to this!

Unless you walk up to a cop, wave a glass of beer in his face and tell him you're drinking illegal homebrew, you aren't going to have an issue. Last I checked, Alabama doesn't have law enforcement patrolling the boarder for homebrew smugglers.

I get such a kick out of stupid perp's who say, "how did this happen". How about someone rear ends you and the Highway Patrol wants to check you brake light wiring? You have to change a road-side flat so a Trooper angle parks behind you for safety concerns? You know you have something illegal in the trunk making you appear nervous so a routine speeding stop turns into a vehicle search? In today's world 2 corny's and a gas tank in a trunk are going to drive some questions.

OP asked if it was legal and got answers, don't see where anyone was worrying about it other than him which makes him smart, not a pansy.

And don't get me wrong, I LOVE the f-it-all attitudes. Ones just like that can generate a pretty comfortable lifestyle for an attorney, or so I have heard.

therealrsr said:

No it is not legal in GA, production for home consumption is legal...

3-5-4 Production of malt beverages by a head of household for consumption within own household.

(a) A head of a household may produce 50 gallons of malt beverages in any one calendar year to be consumed within his or her own household without any requirement to be licensed for such purpose. No malt beverages produced under this subsection shall be sold or offered for sale. Malt beverages so produced shall not be subject to any excise tax imposed by this chapter.

Empahsis added. This is not an uncommon provision. Now, hopefully law enforcement has better things to do with their time than hassle a picnic sporting homebrew or someone taking to a friends party, but the wrong officer on the wrong day? We've all seen it before.

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That partially depends on whether "household" implies the property upon which brewing occurs or whether it implies those people within the homestead that are normally categorized as such. I would assume the latter as that is typically the way that term is used. That being the case, it is more likely that transporting one's homebrew to another location is not an irrebuttable presumption that consumption will occur outside of the household. Even if consumption does occur outside the household it seems to be a moot point under this fact scenario since consumption is likely to occur in AL, not GA.

And crossing state lines makes it interstate, i.e. diveristy jurisdiction, i.e. ATF potential.

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Diversity jurisdiction relates to jurisdiction over civil suits, not federal criminal jurisdiction. Federal organizations only have jurisdiction over criminal matters where criminal statutes are violated. I am unfamiliar with any federal statute that criminalizes transporting homebrew across state lines.

What you're talking about is something like the Mann Act, which makes transporting women across state lines for purposes of prostitution a separate federal crime, although prostitution or solicitation of prostitution is typically prosecuted as a state-level crime. That is a congressionally-created federal-level crime that permits federal enforcement.

I would just buy some beer for the special occasion.

Lots of pseudo-lawyers in here.

Short answer: it's illegal.
Long answer: it's still illegal and is it worth risking the chance of getting caught, however slight the risk, to save a few bucks ? Only you can answer that question.

Happy birthday.

I'm a for real lawyer, but I have nothing worthwhile to contribute to this thread.

Geofferson said:

I'm a for real lawyer, but I have nothing worthwhile to contribute to this thread.

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ummm, ok


Oh, and for your first post.. REALLY?

HItransplant said:

ummm, ok


Oh, and for your first post.. REALLY?

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I understand his post: it has been made quite clear that it is illegal to be found in possession of homebrew in Alabama. What do you want the guy, even if he is a lawyer, to add

"That's the Mann Act..."


sorry. thread about runnin beer thru the south and the mann act gets brought up? couldn't help myself

therealrsr said:

Ones just like that can generate a pretty comfortable lifestyle for an attorney, or so I have heard.

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For cops too. The "F'ck it" attitude bought my house two years ago!

Don't put yourself on the line, hire The Bandit and The Snowman to run it in for ya. Don't forget to bill Big Enos.:fro:

Thanks! I'll take all that into account... and of course I won't break any laws.

Step 1: Take a clean, shiny keg filled homebrew.
Step 2: Slap a Coca-Cola sticker, or Local brewery sticker on the side.
Step 3:Claim it is commercial beer or soda.

What are they gonna do, they have to prove you produced it. Are they gonna get a warrant for your legal brewery in your home in Georgia?

Just my 2 cents!