Too young to brew??

I was just looking through the forum rules when I came across one of the rules that said you have to be of age to brew in your state....is there really an age you have to be to brew beer? I would think that as long as you didn't drink it you would be allowed to brew it. I'm 24 so it doesn't effect me, but I was under the impression that anyone could homebrew.

Somewhere there's a link to the federal law regarding homebrewing. It basically states that the minimum age to brew is 18, or the minimum age to consume as specified by state law. In most states now, that's 21.

Hagen is right. its 18 to brew, 21 to consume in all states now.

to further confuse it, in many states you need to be 19 to serve alcohol at a restaurant.

malkore said:

Hagen is right. its 18 to brew, 21 to consume in all states now.

to further confuse it, in many states you need to be 19 to serve alcohol at a restaurant.

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To confuse it further, states can specify an age beyond 18 for brewing and many have done so, requiring you to be 21 to brew as well as drink.

Of course though, anybody can buy ingredients...

and even on top of that, some states are trying to make it to where, if you are 18 and in the military its legal to drink. +1 on that one.....

nitrousjunkie said:

and even on top of that, some states are trying to make it to where, if you are 18 and in the military its legal to drink. +1 on that one.....

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Here here! If someone has signed up to risk their life in the service of their country, and gets past basic, they should be able to have a drink. <rant> And to take it one step further...what one does in the privacy of ones own home is not the business of the government or anyone else. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone else or damage any property, what is the difference? Laws have no purpose when there is only one person acting independently and without consequence. As a general rule, if what I do only effects me then screw the law...it doesn't apply.

</rant>

only an idiot couldn't figure out how to drink in the military... its so easy a caveman (or a private for that matter) can do it. AND +1 for any underage kid who can figure out how to make a tasty brew and avoid the BMC stage in underage drinking. He could get his friends messed up on 2 bottles of a heavy stout instead of 10 bottles of BMC

malkore said:

Hagen is right. its 18 to brew, 21 to consume in all states now.

to further confuse it, in many states you need to be 19 to serve alcohol at a restaurant.

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There is no minimum age for alcohol consumption in Florida (although I heard they are trying to change that). You have to be 21 to possess alcoholic beverages, however.

ArcaneXor said:

There is no minimum age for alcohol consumption in Florida (although I heard they are trying to change that). You have to be 21 to possess alcoholic beverages, however.

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So if someone over 21 is holding the beer bong and it goes directly down your throat, then you have not broken the law. LOL

I would love if this country changed the laws regarding alcohol to be a little more "European." Something like this: If you're with your parents, you can drink regardless of your age. You should be at least 16 before you can buy alcoholic beverages.

Unfortunately, such an abrupt change will cause an absolute rash of stupidity lasting several years. Alcohol related fatalities would probably spike to a point where the legislators would be forced to change the laws back to something worse than we have now. However, if we could weather the storm, I bet we would wind up with a much more responsible culture (with regard to alcohol).

I absolutely agree Yuri!!

+1 Yuri! Never going to happen, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. Our whole quasi-puritanistic social structure is pretty messed up IMHO. I don't understand when beer went from good for you to evil. So I want to have a beer for breakfast on the weekend... who cares. "OMG, but it isn't even 12:00 yet!"

What pansy ass decided you couldn't have a beer before noon, but drinking a 2L of soda and 3 cups of coffee was fine and acceptable. Beer is so much healthier than what most people drink. Sorry for the rant

i am 24 and started brewing when i was underage. it sucked when i ran out of homebrew!

I made two batches of Mr. Beer when I was 17 with my younger brother. When it was done - he, a friend and I "went to the saloon!"

We got wasted and we managed to boil it while my parents were out and ferment it under the stairs in the basement. it was :rockin:

For the purposes of this site we have been enforcing the age that you can legally drink in your locale.

Are there some on this site that are under this age? Undoubtedly.

Why do we enforce such a policy? 1)Because of the popularity of some of our beer swaps. 2) To provide some level of accountability and responsibility for our members. 3) To protect this site from overzealous activism.

If you on this site and you cannot legally drink in your locale, do us all a favor and do not jeapardize your brothers and sisters in brew.

After all, should you find yourself in a bar as underage drinker, you don't order exotic drinks, make a scene, start fights or offer to run the SuperBowl pool, do you??
Drink your PBR and lay low or leave.

Do us this courtesy.

BTW: ^^^^ This is in the best interests of the site.

Has nothing to do with any feelings about political / social opinions about drinking (i.e. the military, etc.)

haha - i thought everyone here was 25-middle aged.

And you have issues with the middle aged? I could beat up drunks half my age!

no way - middle aged dudes know whats up. the guy at my lhbs shop asked if I wanted to have a brew with him and talk about some beers. he pulled out a couple of giant mugs from the hofbrauhaus - filled them up - and then I learned more about brewing than I did from any of the books I've read. The guy is astounding.

i agree that if your old enough to vote or join the army your old enough to drink, but i think mixing firearms and alcohol is a bad idea.
the first time i tried to brew was freshman year in high school, we were studying cellular respiration in Bio and my teacher brought up yeast as an example of anaerobic respiration, until then i had never even thought about where alcohol came from. long story short i left school early to start my experiment and ive been brewing ever since.

YooperBrew said:

And you have issues with the middle aged? I could beat up drunks half my age!

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Well, I'm not half your age Yooper, but just out of curiosity, how much do you charge for that?

Yuri_Rage said:

I would love if this country changed the laws regarding alcohol to be a little more "European." Something like this: If you're with your parents, you can drink regardless of your age. You should be at least 16 before you can buy alcoholic beverages.

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Actually anybody can drink with their parents in the state of Wisconsin legally. Now if the bar serves you is a different story since you can't prove it unless you carry the birth certificate around and both have an ID.

I completely agree with the site policies regarding age. Whether you agree with the law or not, it's usually in your best interest to abide by it.

as was mentioned previously - I had no idea this site did brew swaps. how do I get in on one of these?

drsocc said:

as was mentioned previously - I had no idea this site did brew swaps. how do I get in on one of these?

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They're generally for paying members only.

What's funny about the site policy is there is no need to register to learn how to brew. If someone underage wanted to take the time to read a bunch of threads and the wiki, they would never have to sign up and I'd say they'd have the knowledge to brew some damn good beer.
On the other hand it seems the underage people do a damn good job of making an ass of themselves when they sign up and it's rather easy to tell.

Information isn't illegal and neither is barley or hops and yeast for that matter.

There is another reason why the drinking age is not 16 or even 19. It's because the human brain is still developing during those years and there can be a considerable amount of damage done to a young human brain with long-term exposure to alcohol. The other side of this is that if you tell a child not to put their hands in the cookie jar, the first thing they are going to do when you turn your back is put their hand in the jar! Responsible parenting is the key. And yes, sometimes we have to have the difficult conversation with our kids....

Just my 2 cents.

jay075j said:

There is another reason why the drinking age is not 16 or even 19. It's because the human brain is still developing during those years and there can be a considerable amount of damage done to a young human brain with long-term exposure to alcohol. The other side of this is that if you tell a child not to put their hands in the cookie jar, the first thing they are going to do when you turn your back is put their hand in the jar! Responsible parenting is the key. And yes, sometimes we have to have the difficult conversation with our kids....

Just my 2 cents.

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And that is pseudoscience that, if it were true, would imply that European kids are less intelligent than American kids since they tend to start consuming beer and wine occasionally around age 14-15 and regularly by age 18. I can assure you that they are doing just fine! Alcohol, in many areas, is part of the cultural heritage and social fabric, and kids grow up to understand that. Sure, they'll overdo it occasionally, but that tends to be frowned upon by peers as well as adults.

I would prefer a graduated drinking age like Germany has, as well as parental/guardian exceptions so that kids can be properly introduced to alcoholic beverages instead of the current nonsense.

I'm always amazed at the creative ways we often come up with to get around the law.

When I lived in Chicago, I would go to the local grocery store, bring beer up to the checkout, and the teenage clerk would ask me to press the button on the register that read "Liquor" as she would be checking out my groceries. Technically, then, I would be selling myself the beer that I brought to the counter.

jay075j said:

There is another reason why the drinking age is not 16 or even 19. It's because the human brain is still developing during those years and there can be a considerable amount of damage done to a young human brain with long-term exposure to alcohol.

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My French and Indian War re-enacting group goes by "The Buffalo Theory". Most here have probably heard this but, for those who don't know...

Your brain cells are like a heard of buffalo, beer is the equivalent of say, lions or hyenas... the predator isn't going for the healthy buffalo... they're going for the weak, sickly buffalo.

This, is how beer makes us smarter... by weeding out the week brain cells.



But seriously, everything in moderation. True, binge drinking will be detrimental to a still-forming nervous system, however it is also true that there are benefits to say, drinking one glass of red wine... its rich in antioxidants and promotes good cholesterol.

cheers for the good discussion!

Your French and Indian War group also still shoot muzzle loading guns with black powder. It's 2008.










Just playin'...I bet you guys have a lot of fun with that stuff.

Any chance of a "shoot" with the "shooting implements?" Can't hurt to ask, right?

When I was a teenager, the one thing that I wanted more than anything was to be treated like an adult. It's part of the coming of age process. In most European countries, since alcohol consumption is not considered "an adult thing" and kids begin drinking moderate amounts of alcohol by 13 - 14, the incidents of binge drinking among 16 - 20 year olds is lower. It's just not that big of a deal when you can easily drink whenever you want. No need to prove that you're an adult by drinking a bunch of alcohol.

While it's legal in most U.S. states for a parent to give their children alcohol at any age (as long as the amount doesn't border on harm or abuse), it's socially frowned upon. This isn't the case in most European countries. There, it's not abnormal to see a ten year old having half a glass of wine with dinner.

That being said, we have to follow the laws of our land. If you don't agree with the law, work through the proper processes to change it.

It can be done.

The true reason for that is she being underage cannot legally sell you beer. However, what retail establishment is going to deny a sale because she isnt old enough to sell the beer.

I agree with Yuri the law is there plain and simple. Regardless of the sense it makes it is usually best to follow them.

That being said, I definitely do not agree with all the laws that this land has put in place. I also agree that if you are old enough to pick up a rifle and fight for this country you should damn well have the right to have a beer or 6 or 12 for that matter. I spent 4 years in the Corps and I was able to drink, it wasn't until the buricrats (sp) got a crazy notion in their head that maybe the rules should apply straight across the board. I say BS to that, let those college hippie protesters pick up a rifle and stand a post across from some Iraqi guy who hates us just as much as we dislike them.

JestersRed said:

My French and Indian War re-enacting group goes by "The Buffalo Theory". Most here have probably heard this but, for those who don't know...

Your brain cells are like a heard of buffalo, beer is the equivalent of say, lions or hyenas... the predator isn't going for the healthy buffalo... they're going for the weak, sickly buffalo.

This, is how beer makes us smarter... by weeding out the week brain cells.



But seriously, everything in moderation. True, binge drinking will be detrimental to a still-forming nervous system, however it is also true that there are benefits to say, drinking one glass of red wine... its rich in antioxidants and promotes good cholesterol.

cheers for the good discussion!

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- Beautiful and she's Smart too - Jester you are one lucky SOB!

+1 Yuri.

With your parents: no age.
Natural drinks (beer, wine, cider): 16
Distilled alcohol: 18

For reference, I was eighteen when I started brewing and posting. I'd been able to buy beer in Quebec for 11 months, but I wasn't allowed to buy it where I lived.

It's not that underaged kids always make asses of themselves, it's just that the underaged kids you notice are, coincidentally, the ones who are also jackasses.

My theory is that "If you can brew it, you can drink it". It takes a lot of understanding for someone to brew beer and to make it taste good. People also appreciate their work because they dedicate 6-7 hours of the day to brew it and then have to wait at least another month to drink it. To me, they are actually learning something that could benefit them in the future (that is if they are looking to be a brewer!)

If you're old enough to die for your country you're sure as s#it old enough to kick back and enjoy a few.
My daughter is a year old. I'll gladly teach her how to brew when she's a toddler if she wants to learn. I don't think I'll let her have a glass until she's somewhere in her teens though just because of developmental reasons.
Why not allow your kids to grow up exposed to alcohol? it's better they know and respect it in the safety of their own home with responsible adults rather than learning with other 18 year olds who too are experimenting with alcohol for the first time. I think we all know what that leads to.

Even if a minor is theoretically old enough to homebrew, most states, mine included, make it a crime for a person over 21 to possess alcohol, so any distinction is moot. Once the wort becomes alcohol the minor cannot possess it.

And on the off-topic discussion of changing drinking ages for military personel or anyone, the federal government got all states to agree to go with 21 or those states that did not would lose millions in federal highway funding. So, if you have a few state congress persons or senators sponsoring a bill at your state legislature, it is little more than a publicity stunt because any lowering of the drinking age means a loss of federal highway funds for that state. I'm not saying I agree with it, but any hypothetical lowering of the drinking age, for anyone is simply not going to happen.

since when is a minor under 21? I know the law, but I hate that word used for people of the ages 18,19 and 20. Sure as hell are not minors in any other aspect. If society wants to remove all responsibility until 21 then that's what they should do. Until then let's treat em like they're adults the day they turn 18.

z987k said:

since when is a minor under 21? I know the law, but I hate that word used for people of the ages 18,19 and 20. Sure as hell are not minors in any other aspect. If society wants to remove all responsibility until 21 then that's what they should do. Until then let's treat em like they're adults the day they turn 18.

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Indeed.