It's a class 3 felony to homebrew in the town I live in...

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jmcquesten

jmcquesten

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So it sounds like a great adventure to move to bush Alaska, but after over a year as a homebrewer, moving to a 'damp' town really sucks. I moved to Kotzebue, Alaska in the arctic circle and it turns out that it IS illegal to homebrew here. I didn't find out the hard way, but I did ask local police and Lawyers. The town is 90% native (eskimo) and they have a serious problem with alcohol. It was damp until 2010 when the town opened their first liquor/beer store. They claim that alcohol negatively impacts "their people", but yet the town opened and runs the only place you can get any kind of alcohol. In order to legally purchase alcohol, you have to buy a $50 permit at the liquor store which is good for one year. The permit allows you to buy $16 six packs of Sam Adams, Moose Drool, or a few Alaska beers as well as a limited selection of liquor and wine. The prices in the town run store are outrageous. The permit also allows you to place bush orders, or a mail order that is shipped from a liquor store in Anchorage. When I say mail order, I mean just that. You are required to either fill out an order form and mail it to the store in Anchorage, or go to there in person. Then they package it up for you and ship it to the local package store here in town, which charges a $25 pick up fee. So one way or another, the crooked town is going to get their money from you drinking. Funny thing is, it's still cheaper to place a mail order, pay shipping, and the $25 fee than it is to buy the same quantity in town, plus you get a better selection than what's available in town. So, to get to my point, don't take homebrewing for granted. It's a great hobby/passion, and you don't realize it until you can't do it anymore. The fact that it is legal in all states, but not all localities is ridiculous. The native people here have such a problem with alcohol that the local community feels the need to try to control everything. They can't solve the problem, so they are profiting from it. People that would responsibly enjoy the hobby of making good beer are punished because a bunch of drunks like to illegally make jailhouse liquor out of sugar and bread yeast just to get wasted. I can't wait to get home to pick up where I left off on my nice, newly built all grain system.
Enjoy your homebrew, and have a few for a fellow brewer who can't. Until then, I'll be planning for my return.
 
In truth, I'd brew. Inside and small batches if my stove couldn't handle larger ones. Keep my mouth shut and call it a day. But you're night, I take for grated the things I can do and never thought of home brewing being illegal. That's absolutely insane and archaic.
 
Would have expected a way more friendly outlook on brewing itself with all the pioneer/subsistence living you hear about Alaska. Wasn't aware that localities could do this - start a homebrew speakeasy!
 
It's like here in Ohio. There's no specific law saying you can,but it just states that you need a permit,license,etc to sell it. so far,no problems with the cops since they've known me for years. They no I'm no underground type selling or trading my HB's. so it's legal as long as you follow the rules here. Gotta love that stuff. Maybe I do need to join the AHA?...:mug:
 
Interesting.....and sad....Alaska was like the first state to decriminalize possession of (<4 oz) cannabis, yes??? Like almost 40 years ago..... I'd say brew it, and keep it to yourself.....I think homebrew as a personal thing is the least of any city/town/province/state/government's worries, realistically. Don't drink and drive, go to work sober, it's all good, no one needs to know any more. I know I'd be brewing....
 
Honestly, I'd befriend the police in town, find out if they drink, and if they do, I'd butter them up with some homebrewed beers every once in a while. The authorities there are obviously corrupt based on what you said. So, if there's something in it for them then I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem turning the other way.
 
worthogg said:
A timely post on the anniversary of the end of Prohibition in America.
Click to expand...

Wow, I didn't plan that.

And believe me, the idea of just brewing some 3 gal. extract batches on the stove has crossed my mind more than a few times. Here's the other issue, my girlfriend/roommate is a law clerk for the judge in town (yes, they have a judge and court). That would sound like an ideal hook up, however he doesn't drink and I don't think he cares much for people that do. To brew in our apartment would be too risky with the position she is in, so that option is out of the question. I'll be sticking with the bush order option until I can get out of this place.
 
Man, that sucks! You could probably challenge it in state or Federal court, but that takes money, probably more than you care to spend on this sort of thing. Don't suppose you could move outside the city limits??? :)
 
It is difficult you should not brew up there, but compare, it is a stone cold ***** to be in a family with one or more addicts. I have no easy or clever answers. I ain't preaching, just mentioning what I have read and researched.

It has placed a terrible burden on many families in AK, especially those with native genes. The genetics may play into it, perhaps not being able to metabolize alcohol as well as Europeans. Add isolation and boredom and 24 hours without sun, it would cause me to go over the edge.

I have made a very nice non-alcoholic porter by heating the result to 170F for an hour to evaporate the alcohol, then making up the volume with water. Cool, add a bit more yeast and priming sugar, and the result has 0.5% ABV. Lots of flavor, almost no alcohol. It is a choice.

Alcoholism in a whole town is a problem with no easy solution, and they are trying to do something about it. Maybe it is a lousy step. You have not been there too long. Maybe with your fresh viewpoint you can come up with some suggestions.
 
Can you give me the mayors number, I want to call him when im drunk off my ass and give him a piece of my mind!

You should send the police chief a 12 pack of home brew via usps and put a return label from the mayor! lol
 
I am in Oklahoma. When it was illegal to brew did all my brewing in the garage with the door cracked and was really quiet about it. The atmosphere here is completely different though, as I don't think anybody really gave a flip if people brewed or not, I just played it safe. Good luck to you, it's a sucky situation to be in.
 
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. I know that a good portion of the Alaskan bush is dry.

Side note in the realm of "it's a small world": My father worked on a mineral coring rig in the Alaskan backcountry in the 80s. His home base? Kotzebue! It's rough you have some tough laws, but at least it's a beautiful place!
 
Setesh said:
I am in Oklahoma. When it was illegal to brew did all my brewing in the garage with the door cracked and was really quiet about it. The atmosphere here is completely different though, as I don't think anybody really gave a flip if people brewed or not, I just played it safe. Good luck to you, it's a sucky situation to be in.
Click to expand...

Hey, it's only illegal if you get caught, right? :mug:
 
jmcquesten said:
Wow, I didn't plan that.

And believe me, the idea of just brewing some 3 gal. extract batches on the stove has crossed my mind more than a few times. Here's the other issue, my girlfriend/roommate is a law clerk for the judge in town (yes, they have a judge and court). That would sound like an ideal hook up, however he doesn't drink and I don't think he cares much for people that do. To brew in our apartment would be too risky with the position she is in, so that option is out of the question. I'll be sticking with the bush order option until I can get out of this place.
Click to expand...

Yep, I posted a listing of boroughs and towns on another thread showing the wet, damp and dry locations in Alaska. I've been to nearly every major "town" in Alaska. Many of the bush villages also. I too work for the State Courts and I know the judge, actually most judges and court administrators, across the state.
I know about the native issues, heck, when we living were in Bethel, they had to keep mouthwash and Lysol locked up - anything with any alcohol content because the natives were abusing it.
Now to add to the burden, outside interests are telling the State we don't have enough legal infrastructure to curb our native DV and Alcohol problems and they recommend we go to a tribal land (reservations) system to increase the judicial and LEO (native officers/VPSO) presence AND increase our luxury taxes more. We already have some of the highest alcohol and smokes markups in the country. Nevermind the native corporations already own vast stretches of Alaska and we must pay for permit use for 'their rivers, lakes, streams and country'.

Sorry - got into a bit of a rant there. I like Kotzebue and have friends there but I wouldn't live there.
 
I remember seeing on Flying Wild Alaska where some dude got busted for smuggling vodka into a dry town. Dude went to jail and got some hefty fines too.
 
I remember the alcohol smuggling episode too. If I remember correctly, the amount of profit to be made was gigantic. The police were tipped off and they made the arrest. It's kinda like dope dealers who brag. Somebody they know gets busted, and to prevent going to jail they roll the guy over. I have zero tolerance for dope dealers, somebody's kid eventually ends up in foster care...
 
I suggest that some contributors to this thread go back and read the posts by "Epimetheus" and "Subsailor." There is a very real, epidemic problem with alcoholism among indigenous people in Alaska......and it's by no means limited to there. When I spent a few weeks in and around Gallup, NM on summer work a number of years back, the most common sight in any empty lot was a carpet of broken glass from liquor bottles.
This problem has to do both with DNA and with culture, and what you read in the OP is Alaska's attempt to control it. IMHO, it'll work about as well as any other kind of prohibition. You create a black market of any kind where there is sufficient demand, the price just goes up until people can get what they want. The abject failure of the "war on drugs" is due to this, but people (witness all the gun control proponents) never ever learn.
 
I remember when we were in Gallop,NM back in the late 60's/early 70's,on Friday & Saturday drunken natives were all over the streets. Including passed out on the curb.
 
jmcquesten said:
Wow, I didn't plan that.

And believe me, the idea of just brewing some 3 gal. extract batches on the stove has crossed my mind more than a few times. Here's the other issue, my girlfriend/roommate is a law clerk for the judge in town (yes, they have a judge and court). That would sound like an ideal hook up, however he doesn't drink and I don't think he cares much for people that do. To brew in our apartment would be too risky with the position she is in, so that option is out of the question. I'll be sticking with the bush order option until I can get out of this place.
Click to expand...

Maybe a different girlfriend:eek:
 
I would normally say just do it, but then I had a look at class 3 felonies in Alaska:

"least serious type of felony conviction in Alaska and can result in a prison term of up to five years and a fine of up to $50,000. (Alaska Stat. §§ 12.55.035, 12.55.125.)"

I think I might just stick it out. You probably wouldn't get the max if you where somehow caught, but you may get the one judge with a stick up his a$$ who wants to make an example
 
Arctic circle? How can you stay warm up there without alcohol?!

I'd still brew, in secret, in the walls if necessary! That's what they did during prohibition! My great grandmother made moonshine in her basement. Kept it in a hidden cabinet in a fake wall. They are only going to come after you if they suspect you are selling alcohol.
 
Like that speakeasy in Chicago. you had to stick this rod in the right hole in the wall to get the wall door to open. Now that'd be cool...a fallout shelter homebrew bar!:ban::mug::ban:
 
Officer: Uh, Sir...what are you doing with that 55lb sack of malted barley on the back of your snow mobile?
You: Who wants a malted milk shake?
Officer: But it says 2-row Pale Ale Brewer's Malt
 
I'm confused with the whole damp town thing. I understood dry (no alcohol) and wet (normal place) but damp, wtf?
What is the actual definition of a damp town, as it seems like you are allowed to be in possestion of alcohol (maybe you need the permit). the control seems to be on the sale of liquor.
I would check through the actual state legislation and determine if they do infact specifically outlaw homebrewing. It may be a case of people thinking that if buying it is illegal/restricted then brewing it must be too.
 
Jayhem said:
Arctic circle? How can you stay warm up there without alcohol?!

I'd still brew, in secret, in the walls if necessary! That's what they did during prohibition! My great grandmother made moonshine in her basement. Kept it in a hidden cabinet in a fake wall. They are only going to come after you if they suspect you are selling alcohol.
Click to expand...

You can&rsquo;t really. And I'm not trying to. I'm just stuck paying outrageous prices for the very limited selection that is available here in town, and mail ordering decent stuff from Anchorage. I've never been so happy to get a 12 pack of Sierra Nevada, 3 12 packs Boston lager, 24 pyramid outburst, 2 - 6 packs of 21st ammendment fireside chat, 1- 6 of brew free or die, 2-4 packs of torpedo, and a 6 of Oskar blues chub scotch ale... Even if it did set me back $260. These people wouldn't know what any of that was, much less appreciate it. The trend here is a cheap ($25) bottle of rotgut R&R whisky, which is drank straight from the bottle until finished. It's only been 2 months up here so far, and I'm ready to get back to civilization. At least I can say I lived in the arctic, experienced days without the sun rising, and have been to Alaska. Not too many people can or would want to. I can see why now.
 
The free market can change things.
Move out asap & make your statement to Alaska by no longer being subject to their bullshlt laws.
They will have that much less $$ coming from you.
When everybody moves and they no longer have tax-slaves just
MAYBE they will figure out that their ideas of tyranical legislature were just that.
May you find yourself in a more free state soon.
 

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