quick question on legality

iv come across a few things about how much homebrew you are allowed to brew at home. iv hear 100gal and 200gal amounts. is this dependent on state or just a federal restriction? if its on state, does anyone know how much it is for NY?

it's 100 gallon per adult person, so if you're married that gives you 200 gallons

ah, ok...

Retarded_Penguin_Brewing said:

it's 100 gallon per adult person, so if you're married that gives you 200 gallons

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that just doesn't seem like enough
especially if your married

NY is one of the states in which homebrew is legal "by omission". We have nothing which restricts or specifically allows homebrewing of beer, so we fall under the Federal Law only.

Let me just say that an authoritative, law enforcement body looked deep into my homebrewing in '06 and didn't take any action, so I can guarantee that we are safe in NY.

superjunior said:

that just doesn't seem like enough
especially if your married

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lol, there's not enough beer in the world sometimes to deal with the swmbo. like the hank williams III lyrics go "my drinking problem left today, she packed up all her bags and moved away"

only real thing about that limit, is who and how would they ever really be able to tell? Your not gonna keep 200 gallons of beer sitting around for an entire year thats for sure. So unless you have some official coming to your house every time you brew and checking what you are brewing, I really wouldn't worry too much about it

in florida it's 100 gal per person living under the roof above drinking age. That put me at 400 GAL a year!! BOWW CHCA WOW WOW)

I only did like 75 gal in 2010....I am shooting for 120+ gal this year...

92greenyj said:

only real thing about that limit, is who and how would they ever really be able to tell? Your not gonna keep 200 gallons of beer sitting around for an entire year thats for sure. So unless you have some official coming to your house every time you brew and checking what you are brewing, I really wouldn't worry too much about it

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Or unless you keep records (a brew log). I can't see NOT keeping some sort of log.

cruckin78 said:

in florida it's 100 gal per person living under the roof above drinking age. That put me at 400 GAL a year!! BOWW CHCA WOW WOW)

I only did like 75 gal in 2010....I am shooting for 120+ gal this year...

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I've read that at least in California it is 100 gallons per of age adult living under the roof with a maximum of 200 gallons per household.

jgourd said:

Or unless you keep records (a brew log). I can't see NOT keeping some sort of log.

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I think they just compare your current beer gut to pictures from NYE.

MBasile said:

I've read that at least in California it is 100 gallons per of age adult living under the roof with a maximum of 200 gallons per household.

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I stand corrected...I googled Florida Statutes. This is what I found.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/statutes/florida

(Also just change the state for your own state)

Oh my goodness, I just realized the one true advantage of my mother in law living with us (besides the free babysitting)... my limit is 300 gallons/yr now!

nice link. definately enlightened myself, for washington state it does not lay out a limit per year for manufacture. the only limitation being that you may remove no more than 20 gallons for tastings/competitions.

Not to Hijack but it looks like the OP got his answer and rather than start a new thread.

Anyone know what the limit is for Canada? Specifically Alberta

I Can't find the info

Who's counting?

Arizona FTW no limit on how much home brew you can brew in a year.

-=Jason=-

Retarded_Penguin_Brewing said:

it's 100 gallon per adult person, so if you're married that gives you 200 gallons

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This is not quite right. It is 100 gallons per adult person, with a maximum of 200 gallons per household.

These statutes were obviously not written by someone knowledgeable about beer

includes ale, porter, brown, stout, lager beer, small beer, and strong beer

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So I have a limit on ales AND stouts?

Who is ever going to know how much beer I brew? Is investigation something you worry about?

Flomaster said:

Arizona FTW no limit on how much home brew you can brew in a year.

-=Jason=-

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Federal Government, FTW. Your limit, and everyone else in the country's, is 100 gal per adult, to a max of 200 gal per household. No state laws can raise that amount, they can only limit it further.

Now, I'm not saying that you can't get away with more, you can discuss that here all you want, but that's the law if you are intested in the actual truth of the matter.

ShakerD said:

Not to Hijack but it looks like the OP got his answer and rather than start a new thread.

Anyone know what the limit is for Canada? Specifically Alberta

I Can't find the info

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In Canada, alcohol manufacture and consumption is provincially controlled.

In Ontario, there are no specific laws that I can find that specifically relate to homebrewing, only to ferment on premise facilities. These laws mostly centre around licencing, and there is no limit as near as I can tell.

In Alberta, there is a limit prescribed by regulation as follows

88(1) This section is made for the purposes of section 86(1) of the Act.

(2) No person may make wine in the person’s residence if the quantity of wine to be made would cause the amount of homemade wine in the residence to exceed 460 litres.

(3) No person may make beer in the person’s residence if the quantity of beer to be made would cause the amount of homemade beer in the residence to exceed 460 litres.

(4) No person may make cider in the person’s residence if the quantity of cider to be made would cause the amount of homemade cider in the residence to exceed 460 litres.

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So essentially the amount you brew is unlimited, as long as you have less than 460 litres (about 122 US gallons) on hand at any one time. If that is a problem, you ought to spend a little more time drinking and a little less time brewing. One other interesting note is that these limits do not appear to be mutually exclusive, that is, you can have 460 litres of beer plus 460 litres of wine plus 460 litres of cider. Thats a lot of carboys!

Thanks cklanges

I brew 200 gals a year and won't change my story ever

I find this to be a bit trivial since most people homebrew at their homes and its very hard to regulate what goes on behind doors. I mean, I've heard stories of people brewing on the porch and neighbors calling police because they think its a meth lab, but thats a tad extreme, and at that point I doubt a responding officer will know enough about federal regulations to enforce anything. I think the law is there for purposes of distribution, which you cant do without permits anyway... so it leaves me to believe that you can brew any amount you want to. I speak for myself because I know there are some nuts on here lol, but I cant see myself ever coming close to the "legal limit" I just don't have the time, especially this being just a hobby of mine.

I don't think I have ever come close to 200 gallons. I generally do 13 gallon batches. I brew about every 2 months or so. But even if I brewed every month that would be 12 x 13 which is 156 gallons.

With two rugrats running around I just don;t have the time to brew more often.

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure everything that you brew on a leap day doesn't count towards your limit. I'm stockpiling supplies now for February 29, 2012!

Henrythe9th said:

I brew 200 gals a year and won't change my story ever

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HAHA Most Excellent!

Yep, 100 gallons for a single adult, or up to 200 gallons if there are 2 or more.

So it's MAX 200 gallons!

I'd sure like to thumb my nose at the system, but at 5 gallons each, that's 20 batches just to get to 100 gallons! I'd never hit that! Now if I were in a fraternity house...

slinky0390 said:

I find this to be a bit trivial since most people homebrew at their homes and its very hard to regulate what goes on behind doors. I mean, I've heard stories of people brewing on the porch and neighbors calling police because they think its a meth lab, but thats a tad extreme, and at that point I doubt a responding officer will know enough about federal regulations to enforce anything. I think the law is there for purposes of distribution, which you cant do without permits anyway... so it leaves me to believe that you can brew any amount you want to. I speak for myself because I know there are some nuts on here lol, but I cant see myself ever coming close to the "legal limit" I just don't have the time, especially this being just a hobby of mine.

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The problem us Jersians have is that NJ requires a $15 annual permit to brew beer that I'm sure none of us have taken the time to get. If you have the police turn up for any reason during a brew day (meth lab complaint), you can get screwed pretty well. Just like the guy caught with a pocket knife at a DUI checkpoint. F@%king NJ laws...

92greenyj said:

only real thing about that limit, is who and how would they ever really be able to tell? Your not gonna keep 200 gallons of beer sitting around for an entire year thats for sure. So unless you have some official coming to your house every time you brew and checking what you are brewing, I really wouldn't worry too much about it

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I agree. I wouldn't worry about it unless you're selling it.

Mischief_Brewing said:

The problem us Jersians have is that NJ requires a $15 annual permit to brew beer that I'm sure none of us have taken the time to get. If you have the police turn up for any reason during a brew day (meth lab complaint), you can get screwed pretty well. Just like the guy caught with a pocket knife at a DUI checkpoint. F@%king NJ laws...

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What's wrong with having a pocket knife?

Mischief_Brewing said:

The problem us Jersians have is that NJ requires a $15 annual permit to brew beer that I'm sure none of us have taken the time to get. If you have the police turn up for any reason during a brew day (meth lab complaint), you can get screwed pretty well. Just like the guy caught with a pocket knife at a DUI checkpoint. F@%king NJ laws...

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Yeah, I have that permit I was always wondering why the home brew shop, which is set up to brew on premise, requires you to purchase the permit prior to brewing at their place, but doesn't question you when you buy your own stuff to home brew. There should probably be more awareness, but like I said, I'm sure many law enforcement officers do not know laws on home brewing and probably wouldn't hassle you. At least in my town they don't they only know three statutes, speeding, not wearing seatbelt, and talking on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.

Special Hops said:

What's wrong with having a pocket knife?

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NJ laws are so vague on what constitutes a concealed weapon, it has been severely abused by both law enforcement and the legal system in general. Recently, a guy was randomly stopped at a DUI checkpoint, completely sober, but he had a pocket knife that the officers on scene determined was unlawful and they arrested him. A night in jail and several thousand dollars in legal fees and he still hasn't beaten the charges.

And slinky, you must do the brew on premises down there at the freehold supply shop. They're required to have people get that permit. I've purchased grains from them, decent people there.

Special Hops said:

What's wrong with having a pocket knife?

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You legally cannot transport a knife in your car that is over a certain length in NJ. And if you are under 18 it is illegal to own a knife that is 5 inches or longer. This state is kinda muffed up with their laws.

slinky0390 said:

You legally cannot transport a knife in your car that is over a certain length in NJ. And if you are under 18 it is illegal to own a knife that is 5 inches or longer. This state is kinda muffed up with their laws.

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The problem with NJ law is that the length isn't specified. The working interpretation, according to the stories I've read about they guy I mentioned above's trial, is that it can be any sized knife that isn't being transported for your work.

Mischief_Brewing said:

NJ laws are so vague on what constitutes a concealed weapon, it has been severely abused by both law enforcement and the legal system in general. Recently, a guy was randomly stopped at a DUI checkpoint, completely sober, but he had a pocket knife that the officers on scene determined was unlawful and they arrested him. A night in jail and several thousand dollars in legal fees and he still hasn't beaten the charges.

And slinky, you must do the brew on premises down there at the freehold supply shop. They're required to have people get that permit. I've purchased grains from them, decent people there.

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I would brew there, but I cant justify the price. I like to brew smaller batches which cost between 30-60 dollars where if you brew there its around 200 something if i remember correctly. I get my grain bill from there and they are good people, pretty helpful too.