What's with all the hating on the underage brewers?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
mattd2

mattd2

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
3,846
Reaction score
392
Location
NZ
I have noticed that as soon as it is discovered that someone under the legal drinking age asks a question on here they get run outta town, worst case was just this week when a guy a week shy of being legal was asking for advice so he could get started after his birthday.
What gives? Why are we scaring off all the young brewers because it's not legal for them to be in possesion of alcohol but we turn a blind eye to all those in states were homebrewing is outlawed?
Sure if some high school kid comes on here trying to find how to make some cheap hooch, kick his ass to the curb. But if he is here to learn about beer so that he (sorry shouldn't be so sexist), or she, has a better understanding of it and is more respectful of beer and alcohol, I for one think they should be nurtured. I would think that someone like this that has been guided in the way of the craft brew would be less likely to be a binge drinking menace to society.
Just saying this as I did brew a few kit & kilo beers back when I was 16/17 and even though my parents thought I was being a dork, they thought it was better than me sitting infront of the playstation all day. I mean kids will drink no matter if they get there older brother to buy it or they brew their own, I'm just saying why don't we show kids that it's more fun to enjoy the experience of a beer rather than drink to get drunk.

aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnd /rant
 
Fair enough but what about the outlaw states? I mean it says were you are on the forum right under you name, pretty obvious to anyone that cares about taking a homebrew forum down.
 
Because no state specifically outlaws homebrewing, and the states that are ambiguous don't take it upon themselves to persecute homebrewers.

On the other hand, try giving minors homebrew in any state, and see how fast the lawman shuts you down.
 
And even if they did, the rest of us and the folks who run this forum aren't in that state so they have no jurisdiction. If the forum started aiding people in something that was illegal in all 50 states, that's another thing.
 
Amen. Also, while we are at it, if someone in college (even of age) asks for a cheap beer to make for a bunch of people you get a bunch of hate comments - "This is about craft beer! Not making a bunch of cheap beer to get drunk on for parties!". Yet when someone asks the same question, except it's for a wedding, they gets tons of help - "Try Cent Blonde! Cream of 3 crops! OMG so good!". It's funny how the most popular recipes are the lightest and cheapest ones to make...

Another thing, since when is information illegal? What is illegal is the act. I work at a huge liquor store with a homebrew section, and they do not require ID for any homebrewing supplies, yet they are very strict about IDs when buying alcohol. What's illegal is if you commit the crime - not knowing how to do it.

I knew more about craft beer and making it when I was underage than 99+% of people of age. I came up with my Foreign Extra Stout recipe when I was 20... ended up getting a 43/50 from BJCP. That was with 2-row. MO makes it noticeably better. I need to enter that some time.
 
out of curiosity what is the law over there? in britain you can't buy it until you're 18 but you can drink it under that age with parental consent/supervision-a glass of wine with a meal lets say- is it the same deal over there or are you not allowed to touch it at all until you are 21?
 
martinworswick said:
out of curiosity what is the law over there? in britain you can't buy it until you're 18 but you can drink it under that age with parental consent/supervision-a glass of wine with a meal lets say- is it the same deal over there or are you not allowed to touch it at all until you are 21?
Click to expand...

Same here, it changed to from 21 to 18 about 10-15 years ago I think and now they are talking about putting it back up to 20.
 
ChshreCat said:
And even if they did, the rest of us and the folks who run this forum aren't in that state so they have no jurisdiction. If the forum started aiding people in something that was illegal in all 50 states, that's another thing.
Click to expand...

Again fair enough but can the feds really shut down the whole website because some 18 year old was asking about how to make beer and someone told them? Shouldn't the registration process really be overhauled then so that you can not sign up to HBT if you are underage in the place were you are living?
 
I have always wondered the same thing as the OP. I wish the forum could be a little more lenient to people just looking for information. But a forum does have to have rules and it is much easier to just enforce them as they are written then it is start decided when to cut the slack.

Basically although I don't agree with it 100%, I understand it
 
Some states allow parents to provide alcohol to minors depending on the situation. Sometimes it's just their choice, sometimes it's for religious ceremonies, etc.

I have to agree with the current policy. Kids don't need us to learn how to make hooch. And they can wait until they are 21 to interact with the others on the site.

It's not worth the potential hassle of irate parents forming a group and blaming homebrew for their kids problems. It then gives the hobby a bad name.

Besides, if they aren't smart enough to read the rules to start with, and enter their age accordingly, they really don't have the forethought to drink responsibly.
 
Homercidal said:
Besides, if they aren't smart enough to read the rules to start with, and enter their age accordingly, they really don't have the forethought to drink responsibly.
Click to expand...

hmmmmmm.... I have also wonder whether that is a normal occurance

Sign up underage -> get harrased for being underage -> sign up new account with "actual" birthdate
 
Playing devils advocate. Coudn't you just say you are 21 when registering even if you are not. Nobody would really know.
 
We live in such a litigious society that people COULD conceivably get hauled in for encouraging someone to commit a crime. What about the forums online that goad people into committing suicide or tell young girls how to starve themseves to the point of death? You don't think the Feds subpoenad the site for the identities behind people on the forum? (Hint, they have done this.)

I'm not saying there are legal grounds, but laws have never stopped litigation from starting and screwing up someone's life before being dropped.

To the other point; if someone lies about their birth date when joining and the admins are unaware, they are essentially absolved of responsibility because of the deciet in joining. It's a petty safeguard, but it's about the best you can get online without being prohibitively stupid.
 
There's at least one Canadian 19 year old the the Mods have allowed to post, because he is of legal age in his municipality.

But it really just boils down to one thing....Respect for TX and the Mods here for putting together this wonderful supportive site.

Just like we don't discuss distillation on here because it is illegal in the US, we don't talk about drug use here. Philosophical or however you want to rationalize it, if it is about something illegal, we steer clear of it.

And in the US it is illegal for someone under 21 to consume and therefore brew alcohol. Heck if you click on just about any brewery website these days you must first click on your age to declare that you are 21....

Like this http://www.michelob.com/public/agegate.aspx?ReturnUrl=/default.aspx

And it's not just the macros....Even Micros like Stone require you click through your age. http://www.stonebrew.com/

We also don't talk about the selling or trading of homebrew, or even where folks acquire their kegs for keggle builds.

Our hobby skates a thin line to many folks in the outside world, that's why it took 40 years since the end of prohibition in the 30's til 1978 for homebrewing to even be legalized, and in some states it STILL isn't .

Folks STILL think you can go blind from homebrewing.

SO we try to keep up appearances here. And therefore out of respect for TX who created this site, and for the great community we have here, which we would hate to see shut down, whether we agree with the legality of drugs, or distilling, or the age limit of posters or whatever, we just simply don't discuss certain things here.

It's not because of big brother, and the mods are not "the man" we're all just trying to keep this great place the way it is.

Like I said, it's about respecting this site, nothing more.
 
For the record I think this is a great site. I was just asking questions. Mods & admins do a great job.

It sucks that people can get sued or whatever simply for providing information in a supposedly free society. But that is what lawyers do I suppose. But that is another topic.
 
I'm not going to get into a debate about this, I just have a few things to say.

One, the rules are the rules. You must aver that you are of legal age in your country to participate in this forum. If you're not smart enough to at least put the "correct" birthday, then you will be gone.

Two, we've had several posts that say things like "how do u make alkohol cheap 4u?" Of course, you guys don't usually see that because it's obvious that they may be underaged and the post is gone.

Let me just say this- there are LOTS of forums and "how tos" out there. Google "homebrew" or "pruno" to see what I mean. So, it's not like these poor underaged kids have to go back to what we had to do in the 70s and pay a bum to get our beer for us. They can still find the information online.

I know that we have some simple recipes on here- apfelwein, Cream of Three Crops, etc. That's cool with me, as that's what some people like to drink.

But do you really want to participate in a forum that protects underaged drinking? Do you want to read posts like "i'm underaged but i luvs beer"? Is that the kind of forum you want?

We have a certain "tone" to our forum. It's a friendly place, with open discussion among adults. We have other rules, too- like no personal attacks, no name calling, etc. We don't have anybody starting threads about how we told so-and-so to stop calling people dicks and we're not allowing freedom of speech.

Our rule is "You must be of legal age in the country in which you reside to participate in this forum" or something like that. I really don't see why this is being debated. If you want to go on a beer forum with kids, they have them out there.
 
YooperBrew said:
One, the rules are the rules. You must aver that you are of legal age in your country to participate in this forum
Click to expand...

Yup, it was something you posted a couple weeks back in a thread that caught my eye. I'm pretty sure you were the one who defended the Canadian 19 year old who posted when others where saying he was underage.

:mug:
 
in wisconsin, you can legally drink in bars if you have parental consent.

altho, that might have changed since I was 18 (8 years ago....)
 
i'm lovin the new grandma-follow the rules of my house and i'm the sweetest lady you'll meet. break em and i break you!
 
Oh yes, to the OP. In the town where I am, not only are under 21s not allowed to drink, there are even protected from having to SEE adults having a responsible drink in public. One local restaurant is barred from serving meals outside with wine just in case a child walks past. All bars with an outside smoking area are bounded by a 6' high fence. All bar windows are covered in whatever way possible so that no person can see inside.
 
Just to provide some thoughtful information (as I don't care one way or the other on this debate). When I read through brewing related laws, it looks like you can legally brew at age 18+, but you can't drink or purchase alcohol until you are 21+.

So,, what if an 18yr old wanted to brew up a big belgian to age for his/her 21st? Just a thought. Also, we have to remember that laws and regulations don't stop people from disobeying them.
 
albannach said:
So,, what if an 18yr old wanted to brew up a big belgian to age for his/her 21st? Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling that if an underage poster came on asking that he'd be handled differently by the mods and regulars that the usual "*giggle* me and my friends want to get high" underage posters we tend to get on here.

I think he would be first GENTLY told about our POSTING guidelines (which actually don't preclude anyone from reading stuff, just from posting) and more than likely someone would send him to some thread links with the best info on the subject. But I also have a feeling that if someone is that already knowledgeable about brewing to want to do that, then more than likely they have probably used the search function and found the info. If they are that savvy about brewing then more than likely they are tech savvy enough to do some digging on their own.

Or are smart enough NOT to post their age as underage upon signup. :D
 
Revvy said:
I have a feeling that if an underage poster came on asking that he'd be handled differently by the mods and regulars that the usual "*giggle* me and my friends want to get high" underage posters we tend to get on here.
.....
Or are smart enough NOT to post their age as underage upon signup. :D
Click to expand...

Wait... can I smoke hops to get high?!!? :D

Yes, there are some of that second group you mentioned on here. I know of several that have gone on to become supporting members and have been actively brewing for years.
 
This is a brewing site.
In the course of what we do, age generally speaking, is not a brewing related topic.
Does your age affect mash efficiency?
Does your age prevent you from bottle conditioning? No. No.

However, when an poster discusses their age, it inevitably and rapidly narrows to a a theme or singular question.

How do I circumvent the law?
How do I get others to help me circumvent the law?

This is why we also kill the weed threads.

While it should be obvious that we cannot verify birth dates, there is a surprising amount of information out there in googleland about folks. The takeaway is to be conscious of what you post about yourselves.

Finally, the first rule of this place should be, "Don't be a dick."
Ask questions about beer. Answer questions about beer. Don't add any extra information about doing things that normally would get you and others in trouble.

Example:
Right-
"I would like to know about ingredient to make strong Belgian beers."

Wrong-
"I would like to know about ingredient to make strong Belgian beers because I am hosting an overnight retreat for Belgian foreign exchange alter boys and I want to have them unconscious for at least 5 hours as the drive across state lines is 2 hours and the hike to the bunker is 30 minutes."

That's on the ridiculous side, but seriously. Nobody likes to be duped.

I don't normally hang out with kids under 21 both in reals and online. That's just me. That is the craft beer world and that is the pro brewing world. That's our club rule. That's our LHBS rule. Deal.

Don't put your brew brothers and sisters in any moral or legal jeopardy. Don't take advantage of us because we like to help.
 
olllllo said:
Wrong-
"I would like to know about ingredient to make strong Belgian beers because I am hosting an overnight retreat for Belgian foreign exchange alter boys and I want to have them unconscious for at least 5 hours as the drive across state lines is 2 hours and the hike to the bunker is 30 minutes."
Click to expand...

Now there you go quoting Laughing Gnome Invisible out of context again.

His drive is 3 hours not two. :D
 
I started brewing when I was 18. Everyone seemed to be very helpful, but I didn't really come off as being underage.
 

Similar threads

olie
Legal distilling in the USA
Replies
24
Views
4K
Sailingeric
Sailingeric
J
Non-alcoholic homebrew - buzzed feeling?
Replies
7
Views
845
mashdar
mashdar
S
It's Been A While
Replies
3
Views
458
redrocker652002
R
Dunkydonuts
Hi from the Netherlands
Replies
6
Views
542
passedpawn
passedpawn
K
What do you do with all the beer?
2
Replies
55
Views
3K
NSMikeD
N
Williams Brewing 300

Latest posts

Back
Top