So...has anyone had the cops called on them for brewing?

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DKershner

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2 brew days ago, as we were mid-sparge, 2 police officers showed up at my front door. Their first question was 'are you making beer?' Now, typically when a cop asks me something I assume it's illegal, but being in Oregon it really can't be. So, we answer 'yes' and he goes into a story about how my neighbors think I am making meth. These neighbors moved in about a week before...

So, anyone else ever had the cops show up at their door? Anyone in a state where it actually is illegal?
 
my neighbors think I am making meth.

Why yes officer, I AM making meth. Outside, with the garage door open, with my pals, in broad daylight in front of god and everybody. Wait until I put this copper coil in it and it shoots hot moonshine out the end.

I think about this everytime the neighbors across the street look over at me.
 
Haven't had them called to the house but I did get pulled over in my car. Got stoppped for loud exhaust/cracked windshield, state trooper saw some of my brewing equipment in the back & thinking possible meth lab searched the car. As he was searching a county sheriff pulled up, we started talking, after all the normal questions he says "so you make your own beer? is it hard?" and a lot more ?'s about brewing. I left with no ticket & hopefully he found a new hobby.
 
my landlord called me at my first apt, asking about 'strange smells'. that weekend I'd done my first extract w/ steeping grains and hop pellet kit, so the full hour boil of hops must've seeped into the other units.

they thought i was smokin' weed.
 
I have been worried about that since I made my chiller. I live in a fairly upscale nieghborhood, and the people here just can't seem to mind thier buisiness so I am almost waiting for it to happen. I doubt the old women that live here can tell the differrence between homeberw and a lab.

Can't wait to get away from these *****ebags and I am sure they feel pretty much the same about me.
 
my landlord called me at my first apt, asking about 'strange smells'. that weekend I'd done my first extract w/ steeping grains and hop pellet kit, so the full hour boil of hops must've seeped into the other units.

they thought i was smokin' weed.

Should've seen what the postal guys looked like as I shoved a lb of nugget into a priority bag. ;)
 
I must be lucky. A few weeks ago I did my first full boil on my new bayou burner. My neighbor saw me and said, "making beer eh?" Sometimes I love living in Portland.
 
I must be lucky. A few weeks ago I did my first full boil on my new bayou burner. My neighbor saw me and said, "making beer eh?" Sometimes I love living in Portland.

I get this one about 12 times per brew day, just takes one idiot though...

Hell, 90% of the people who VISIT here have been through Deschutes brewery.
 
make sure you invite them back when they get off and then make sure the neighbors see the cops over there making meth with you.
 
2 brew days ago, as we were mid-sparge, 2 police officers showed up at my front door. Their first question was 'are you making beer?' Now, typically when a cop asks me something I assume it's illegal, but being in Oregon it really can't be. So, we answer 'yes' and he goes into a story about how my neighbors think I am making meth. These neighbors moved in about a week before...

So, anyone else ever had the cops show up at their door? Anyone in a state where it actually is illegal?

Lol! Must be pretty cool living in Oregon! Gonna have to mention Oregon next time SWMBO says that she wants to move to another state!
 
My wife says someone is going to call me in for cooking meth every time I set up with the garage door open. No one has yet.
 
I brew inside, no problems :D

Can't fault the cops, they're only doing their jobs. You neighbor on the other hands, well if I thought some one was cooking meth in my neighborhood I would call too. Just trying to be good stewards of their neighborhood. I would knock on their door with a couple of home brews and try to laugh about it.

There's a classic COPS clip on you tube of a guy who legitimately had his house raided. Amongst the stuff he should go to jail for the cop found some home brew equipment and well, his commentary was pretty funny.
 
Looks like this guy is being accused of distilling because he has a wort chiller, kegs, a funnel, tubing, brewing instruction, and a home-brewing book:



It was 1992 or something like that, so hopefully they are a bit smarter nowadays.
 
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I am in a state where it's still illeagal, although a bill has been introduced to legalize it.

One had a neighborhood cop do a slow drive by while I was brewing in the garage with the door wide open. Never did stop.

Send your new neighbors a gift package care of your dog in a brown bag.
 
Nah all my neighbors know I brew. I was chilling the wort one time and the neighbor was walking by. He just laughed and said " Looks like Doug's thirsty again!"
 
Kinda OT, but related...

I took a flight recently with a lb of corn sugar in my carry-on. It was just simple heat-sealed plastic with a mailing label sticker on it that anyone could have made. I was thinking that I might have had to have the TSA taste it to verify its contents.

The x-ray tech didnt even blink. Makes me wonder what else people can get through security...
 
Should've seen what the postal guys looked like as I shoved a lb of nugget into a priority bag. ;)

My mail carrier saw me building my brew rig over a 3 day period. When I was brewing my first batch I came out of the garage and took the mail directly from him. He was glad I came out to the street so he could ask me what we were doing. When I told him we were brewing beer he just laughed. I've also had just about every one of neighbors over at one time or anothyer when I have been brewing.
 
Never thought about the meth thing. But I live on 3 acres and my garage doors don't open to the street. Nobody behind me to peek. I do share some of my brew with the guy across the road and give him spent grain for his chickens, so he knows about it anyway.
 
I'm a cop, who has gotten two of my partners involved in winemaking, one of whom I am going to brew my first batch of beer with this weekend. We were just talking the other day about what would happen if some rookie cop saw a blow off tube coming from a carboy.

I also don't appreciate rude and ignorant comments about "typical cops."
 
Can't fault the cops, they're only doing their jobs. You neighbor on the other hands, well if I thought some one was cooking meth in my neighborhood I would call too. Just trying to be good stewards of their neighborhood. I would knock on their door with a couple of home brews and try to laugh about it.

I would try to do this, but I have no idea who it was. We just had like 5 different houses move in within 5 houses away.
 
Lol! Must be pretty cool living in Oregon! Gonna have to mention Oregon next time SWMBO says that she wants to move to another state!

We can't walk around with beer like you can though! Love being in Vegas...
 
I have not had a cop-stop yet. But I have had a neighbor fill my mailbox with pamphlets on how bad deep fried turkey is for you. After talking to a few neighbors, the prevailing theory is that I eat 1-2 deep fried turkeys per week.
 
Last fall we had a false alarm with our alarm. Cops were called. I know they went into the back yard where I had hops growing but nothing was said about the hops. I almost expected some questions.
 
I'm a cop, who has gotten two of my partners involved in winemaking, one of whom I am going to brew my first batch of beer with this weekend. We were just talking the other day about what would happen if some rookie cop saw a blow off tube coming from a carboy.

I also don't appreciate rude and ignorant comments about "typical cops."

I think this is more about typical neighbours than typical cops :D

No issues here, but I live in cabin country... my neighbours may not like my homebrew (light BMC drinkers.... but they get it)

:mug:
 
The apartment complex I lived in during college had a huge laundry list of fines they could slap on you. One was a keg fine. Guess they didn't want people throwing keggers. I borrowed a buddies keggle for a big batch, and had it sitting on the back porch for about a week. I got a letter in the mailbox a month later for a $200 keg fine. I had a really tough time getting out of that one.
 
The first time I went to the LHBS to buy my newbie kit there was a police officer from the suburb it's in. He shared some of his brewing techniques with me and my gf on the way out. Prettu cool, actually.
 
I have not had a cop-stop yet. But I have had a neighbor fill my mailbox with pamphlets on how bad deep fried turkey is for you. After talking to a few neighbors, the prevailing theory is that I eat 1-2 deep fried turkeys per week.

I laughed really hard. How could anyone eat 2 deep fried turkeys a week? They are good, but damn! Are you single? Because that makes it even more funny. 1 person eating 2 turkeys a week... it'd be all you eat. lol.
 
Kinda OT, but related...

I took a flight recently with a lb of corn sugar in my carry-on. It was just simple heat-sealed plastic with a mailing label sticker on it that anyone could have made. I was thinking that I might have had to have the TSA taste it to verify its contents.

The x-ray tech didnt even blink. Makes me wonder what else people can get through security...

Also OT, but I hate going through airport security. I got called into the private screening room in an airport in Germany because I had a power transformer in my checked luggage. The guy asked me what it was and I explained it was to convert power, and he thought I was talking about a lamp or something. When I said "power transformer" he started laughing and said "You mean like the robots? Haha, how do you make it transform?" ...:confused:

Eventually he understood, but c'mon...seriously?
 
the lady behind me, know as cob (cranky old beotch) to the neighborhood, called the cops for my "pot plants" climbing my trellis. The officer that showed up happened to be a guy I went to grad school with. we had a good laugh. I also told him when he calls the cob to mention that her shed is too close to the property line and really should be moved.
 
Yup I have. Apparently my neighbor called and said i was making meth in the house. When the cop showed up, i kinda blew his minda as I invited him in and showed him our state law and federal law, and also show him I had less than the maximum allowed by law. I invited him to try one of my brews when off duty and he actually did. Been pretty cool with the guy since. He happeneds to do special duty at our apartment complex. (its unfortunate my neighbor knows now, lol ... i suppose I should bring a six pack over, haha)
 
I live out in the `sticks on 10 acres and told the people closest to us that we brew beer to prevent any mis-understandings.

But I have had the "pot planes" do treetop flyovers on more than a few occasions.

I do have a copy of the laws ready for the day they do show up.
http://law.onecle.com/florida/alcoholic-beverages-and-tobacco/562.165.html

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What happens when the brewer is the cop. We have several officers who love to brew including me.
Just remember most dumb questions come out of ignorance. My whole neighborhood know I brew and even comes over to help from time to time. We are very lucky in the Northeast that this hobby is very well received.
 
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