Is this illegal?

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Zippox

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I have 5, maybe 10 gallons of a lambic I made to dump. They are gushers and honestly suck. Is it illegal to dump beer down the storm drain?

I'd rather not open them in my house and risk the wild yeast affecting future beers so I'd prefer to do this outside...

Ugh.
 
I can't imagine the lawmakers thought of that one yet but who knows... I've dumped worse in storm sewers... [emoji53]
 
I have 5, maybe 10 gallons of a lambic I made to dump. They are gushers and honestly suck. Is it illegal to dump beer down the storm drain?

I'd rather not open them in my house and risk the wild yeast affecting future beers so I'd prefer to do this outside...

Ugh.

Give them away to your enemies.
 
There's wild yeast and bacteria floating around all over the place. Dumping a few bottles will be fine. It's all organic, biodegradable, stuff that appears naturally in nature. You're not dumping it in large quantities directly into the water treatment plant where it can actually offset microbial balance (something that pro brewers, especially larger ones, have to worry about with their water company). While I can't definitively speak to every local ordinance by a long shot, I'd be very much surprised if it were a problem.
 
Pretty sure there's a big ol' pipe under your toilet that goes right into sewer.

Make sure to mumble something about Thai/Indian/Mexican food on your way into bathroom and nobody will expect you back out for at least 20-30 minutes.
 
Where I live just outside Chicago it is illegal to dump anything in the storm sewer. After all, it is for storm water only, as opposed to the sanitary sewer which is for anything else. It may be because our storm sewers drain directly to waterways.
 
I pour old yeast cakes into storm drains. Anything biodegradable is fair game IMHO. I live near the ocean, though.
 
No problem, a good friend works at the "Poop Factory" and they say that beer and wine add lots of stuff for the buggies to eat and make faster work of the clarification system. I dumped a five of a wheat beer and asked him about the very same question.

He asked me to not flush condoms or tampons though...
 
It very well may be illegal, but it is not a good practice, regardless. In many cities, storm sewers drain into local rivers, lakes, and/or oceans without any significant treatment. 10 gal of beer probably won't kill all the fish, but you wouldn't want everyone dumping whatever in there all the time. People have been known to dump used oil and other nasty crap down storm sewers, so laws have been written to forbid dumping at all.

Open the bottles outside and dump into a bucket. Cover the bucket to bring it into the house, and dump it down the toilet. That way you can be assured it will receive the proper treatment before being discharged into a waterway.
 
It very well may be illegal, but it is not a good practice, regardless. In many cities, storm sewers drain into local rivers, lakes, and/or oceans without any significant treatment. 10 gal of beer probably won't kill all the fish, but you wouldn't want everyone dumping whatever in there all the time. People have been known to dump used oil and other nasty crap down storm sewers, so laws have been written to forbid dumping at all.

Open the bottles outside and dump into a bucket. Cover the bucket to bring it into the house, and dump it down the toilet. That way you can be assured it will receive the proper treatment before being discharged into a waterway.

No, he lives in Minneapolis, the MET takes ALL of the sewer water (not storm) and treats it. Yes, flush that stuff.
 
No, he lives in Minneapolis, the MET takes ALL of the sewer water (not storm) and treats it. Yes, flush that stuff.

Maybe, but... found this:

Stormwater runoff in Minneapolis flows into storm drains through catch basins (storm drain inlets) located in city streets. The collected stormwater then runs through a series of tunnels that eventually empty into the Mississippi River. The catch basins are critical to controlling runoff. They should not be clogged, and nothing but stormwater should be drained into them. In some areas you will see Catch Basin Stenciling (web page coming soon!) with the words Please Don’t Pollute! Drains to River (Creek or Lake).

...so maybe not? As a general rule, don't dump anything in storm sewers.

Edit: I may have misunderstood when you said "the MET takes ALL of the sewer water (not storm) and treats it." That seems absolutely correct. However, the OP was asking about dumping into the STORM sewer, which MET does not treat. Anyhow, having done my environmental good deed for the day, I really must return to fighting more serious crimes. Sorry about any confusion with your post. (A reply starting with "No," doesn't seem like one that agrees with the quoted post.)
 
Maybe, but... found this:

Stormwater runoff in Minneapolis flows into storm drains through catch basins (storm drain inlets) located in city streets. The collected stormwater then runs through a series of tunnels that eventually empty into the Mississippi River. The catch basins are critical to controlling runoff. They should not be clogged, and nothing but stormwater should be drained into them. In some areas you will see Catch Basin Stenciling (web page coming soon!) with the words Please Don’t Pollute! Drains to River (Creek or Lake).

...so maybe not? As a general rule, don't dump anything in storm sewers.

We agree then, down the toilet is fine, not the storm drain. You really should read my whole reply first, It would have saved you a post. :mug:
 
Now, wait just one minute – this thing is a lambic? if you're not hurting for space, I'd just hold onto 'em, I think @OldSock talks about beers he had that took a year or two in the bottle before they "turned the corner"? Maybe pop 'em and re-cap if you're worried about bombs, but if you've got gushers, it means the bugs are still working. I'd just forget about these beers for a year or two and see if they don't finish the job.
 
Would you take the keg and dump it directly into your local stream / lake?

I would flush it down the toilet / bath / shower.
 
Dump it in your yard. It will not hurt the grass, may in fact help it (probiotics and the like) and that way you will get around the "no dumping" in storm sewer rules.

I have dumped some old, old, old oxidized macro keg beer from a 15 G sankey that someone dropped off at my house into my yard and it is just as green and weed filled as ever.
 
I have 5, maybe 10 gallons of a lambic I made to dump. They are gushers and honestly suck. Is it illegal to dump beer down the storm drain?

No. Unless some rats in the storm sewer drink it and mutate into huge, red-eyed, growling monsters that spew toxic kraussen on everyone in their path and take over the world.

Other than that, it sounds perfectly legal to me.
 
Now, wait just one minute – this thing is a lambic? if you're not hurting for space, I'd just hold onto 'em, I think @OldSock talks about beers he had that took a year or two in the bottle before they "turned the corner"? Maybe pop 'em and re-cap if you're worried about bombs, but if you've got gushers, it means the bugs are still working. I'd just forget about these beers for a year or two and see if they don't finish the job.

Maybe so, but if they're gushers now, then I'd be concerned about bottle bombs. Whether the beer is good or bad, I don't want that crap exploding anywhere near me. I would not wait, I'd dump it. I'd also dump it right down the drain.
 
Your fear of contaminating your house is pretty irrational...just open them in your kitchen sink and dump them down the drain. Unless you use your sink as a bottling bucket what's your concern here?
 
Your fear of contaminating your house is pretty irrational...just open them in your kitchen sink and dump them down the drain. Unless you use your sink as a bottling bucket what's your concern here?

Good point. The crap I've put down my sink is way worse than a poor-tasting beer.
 
I was expecting a much more interesting thread with this title :(

Unless your sink is right next to your fermentors, I don't see much of an issue dumping it down the drain in your house.
 
If I saw some guy walk out to the street and dump a carboy down the storm drain I would be pretty sketched out. I can't imagine what my 90 year old neighbor would think.
 
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If I saw some guy walk out to the street and dump a carboy down the storm drain I would be pretty sketched out. I can't imagine what my 90 year old neighbor would think.

My neighbor would think it's time to call the cops. He's kind of a stickler for rules though.
 
Your fear of contaminating your house is pretty irrational...just open them in your kitchen sink and dump them down the drain. Unless you use your sink as a bottling bucket what's your concern here?

The utility sink that I would dump the lambic into is 1 foot away from where I do all of my bottling. Normally I wouldn't be a stickler and worry much about wild yeast contaminating my future beers, but shortly after I made my first batch of lambic I checked the sump pump hole under the utility sink and it had a pellicle very similar to that of my lambic.

So it seems that me transferring the first lambic into a carboy and throwing another 5 gallons of wort on top of the yeast cake was enough to get the yeast in the air in that room and settle in that hole. So I think my concern that wild yeast would stay in the air is valid and not worth the risk.

It also looks like I will only have to dump 5 gallons. I think the 2nd batch of lambic I had simply over-carbonated (3 volumes). I cracked open a couple from the first batch which I carbonated at 1.5 or 2 volumes and it tastes decent and is carbonated appropriately.
 
The utility sink that I would dump the lambic into is 1 foot away from where I do all of my bottling. Normally I wouldn't be a stickler and worry much about wild yeast contaminating my future beers, but shortly after I made my first batch of lambic I checked the sump pump hole under the utility sink and it had a pellicle very similar to that of my lambic.

Unless you're dipping your bottles into the sump pump hole it still shouldn't be an issue for bottling so long as you're cleaning and sanitizing your bottles properly. The air all around you is filled with fungal spores, pollen, bacteria, dust, etc. I honestly think you're worrying way more about something isn't an issue. Unless you want the City to come out and talk with you I would not dump anything down the storm drain.
 
I doubt there is anything you could pour down the storm drain to make the Mississippi any worse haha!

Pouring in St. Paul will go to the same river ;)
 
Yes, you could get a citation for illegal dumping for pouring a large quantity of beer down the storm drain. It has a substantial organic load because if the residual sugars and the alcohol.

I don't understand why you are overly paranoid about opening them in the house. You were planning to drink them all outside? Were you not planning to reuse the bottles?

If the bottles are coming back in the house for reuse, don't worry about opening them in the house. If you're not reusing the bottles, just toss them in the trash unopened.
 
I'll probably dump it in the lawn and recycle the bottles. I have enough of those anyways.
 
Yep. Pretty much anywhere its illegal to dump stuff down the storm drain. But I believe it's not illegal if you don't get caught...
Or just empty it in the garage drain, backyard behind the shed...anywhere. But getting caught pouring stuff down the storm drain can be VERY expensive.
 
Pretty sure there's a big ol' pipe under your toilet that goes right into sewer.

Make sure to mumble something about Thai/Indian/Mexican food on your way into bathroom and nobody will expect you back out for at least 20-30 minutes.

Storm drain and sanitary sewer are NOT the same.

One channels to a processing facility. The other channels to nearby creek, river, or lake.
 
I've dumped hops in storm sewers...

As long as it isn't toxic and isn't prone to clogging it, I don't see the issue.
 
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