200gal limit

[jack13]

In Australia, there is no limit on production

That cannot be true. If it were, Australia would have devolved into chaos by now.

 

[Biglou56]

Hey gang,

This is my first post here, so hopefully I'm in the right sub-forum. I have been researching a freeze condensation product but it led me to some interesting legalese about homebrewing in general. I knew about the 200gal limit, but the way the CA law reads, it says "the aggregate amount of beer or wine is 200gal". Now if it said beer and wine, I would think that 200gal is the absolute amount, but it says beer or wine which makes me think I can brew 400gal total, neither wine or beer exceeding 200gal. It never occurred to me to research this and only seeing the legalese made me ponder, so I'm wondering how y'all read it and operate.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrewing-rights/statutes/california/

The specific language is in section 23356.2, a couple paragraphs down.

Who is counting? Are you selling it? Is the All seeing eye counting each gallon? Enjoy and proprigate!!!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Where in the statutes for personal production of wine and beer does it state "aggregate of" in terms of both beverages? The beer statute does not use the term at all; the wine statute (subsection B) uses it only in reference to aggregate amount of wine. Production of one does not limit the other. Unless there is something else I'm missing in Title 27 that further defines this application of "aggregate" of the two beverages, then the language of the two separate statutes should allow for 200g/year for each.

I'm simply commenting on the way the OP quoted the CA statute. "the aggregate amount of beer or wine is 200gal".

Also, do bear in mind that while you are citing the CFR, or Federal Law, the OP is referencing a state law. State laws can be more restrictive than federal laws, and local municipalities can have more restrictive laws than state law.

 

[whovous]

The federal standard, as set forth in the CFR, is crystal clear. The limit is 200 gallons of beer AND 200 gallons of wine. The state statute could be construed as ambiguous, if you are willing to accept that OR does not mean OR when used in conjunction with AGGREGATE. I think OR just means OR, but I can respect the contrary argument.

However, when a criminal law is ambiguous, the ambiguity is construed in favor of the defendant and not in favor of the state. You can't be found guilty of violating a law which has no clear meaning.

Further, it seems fairly clear that the state statute was intended to track the Fed limits from the CFR. The CFR language is clear and not disputable. If one must construe the ambiguity of the state statute, it only makes sense to interpret the state statute in the same way as the federal statute which it tracks. The state COULD set a lower limit than that set forth in the CFR if it wanted to. All they need to do is to amend it so that only one reading is possible.

Again, I am not licensed in California, and my advice is worth every penny you've paid for it.

 

[bahomebrew]

you sure about that? breweries arent allowed to do this, my understanding was that it exceeds our permitted "fermentation" license and becomes refining/distilling, a different license.

maybe thats also a CA issue, but i thought that was federal law

Everything I've read has stated that it is not legal, but I think it was a thread on this site where someone had reached out to BATF and received a green light on freeze condensing, though it seemed that the word condensing vs. distillation was key in receiving that feedback. Probably just an agent who was unfamiliar with the process. Seems to me that separation occurs whether you evaporate the alcohol and condense it separately, or freeze the water and pour off what's left.

I should clarify my original post, I was just curious about the nature of apple jack and researching for knowledge's sake, I have no intention of trying this at home.

 

[DorianHyde92]

I'm fairly certain the limitation is put in place so that commercial breweries don't loose too much business,because every beer you brew is (potentially) one you won't buy,and that hurts the feds,because they rely on all that tax revenue to (not) pay off the nation's deficit

 

[Kampenken]

Back in the late 90s I was brewing extracts as was my brother. We both at the time we're living alone and were pushing 20 batches (5gal) in a year. In Dec he called me to tell me he was brewing batch #21. I made siren noises, "you're gonna get busted brother!". Neither of us today brew at that level, more like 12/yr. Older and wiser, don't need no trouble with the Feds!