Is homebrewing legal in the United States?
From Home Brewing Wiki
There is no federal law against homebrewing in the United States, but some states do ban or regulate homebrewing. Homebrewers who are concerned about legality should be familiar with both the federal law regarding homebrewing and any state or local laws that might affect them.
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[edit] Federal law
In November 1978, Congress passed a bill repealing Federal restrictions on the homebrewing of small amounts of beer. Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, signed the bill into law in February 1979, and many states soon followed suit. There is currently no federal law against homebrewing as long as you stay within the legal limit with regards to quantity.
The current federal limit on homebrewing beer is 100 gallons for a single adult, or 200 gallons for a household with two or more adults. Adult here is defined as 21 years of age or older.
[edit] State law
However, individual states are free to pass their own laws limiting or even forbidding homebrewing. In Utah, for example, homebrewing used to be completely illegal, but this changed in March of 2009 [1]. Other states impose no additional requirements beyond the existing Federal law. The Brewers Association maintains a database of state homebrewing laws at their web site.
Bear in mind that states may impose lower quantity limits than the current federal limit of 100/200 gallons a year.
[edit] Restrictions on sales
The federal law, and some state laws, also restrict what you can do with your homebrew. Every state forbids the commercial sale of homebrew, but there may be additional restrictions on what you can do with your homebrew depending on where you live.
[edit] Disclaimer
This wiki page does not represent legal advice, and may not be changed as frequently as the law is changed.
