Alabama Homebrew Legislation update (Wish 'em luck)

[uglysofa]

Didn't see this posted anywhere. HB 266 will be voted on in the house of representatives tomorrow April 21, 2011.

Passage of the Bill would grant Alabama residents the right to brew up to 100 gal. of beer per year.

 

[brewagentjay]

Crossing my fingers at this point.

 

[Benthic]

I found this media coverage about the vote on Alabama's HB 266.

Here's the important part:

**UPDATE** Due to a planned filibuster by the opposition, HB 266 has been carried over. Early word says that HB 266 might end up on Tuesday's (April 26th) Special Order Calendar. This will be a normal Special Order and the bill will not have to face the 10 minute time limit. If you have not contacted your representatives about HB 266, your help is still needed and appreciated. **UPDATE**

Hopefully they'll do better on the 26th.

Brian

 

[brewagentjay]

Last word I got was session to start at 1pm today. Haven't heard any word one way or the other yet.

 

[rico567]

Why on earth are they putting up a bill at 100 gallons / year? I suppose it ends up being "We're going to be different from the Federal allowance, because we can."

And, yes, I understand that we can basically brew what we like at home, and as long as we keep mum about it, nothing's going to happen.

 

[Backporchbrewery]

I thought the federal allowance was 100gal per year per person, up to 2 people per household which would be 200gal per household if two people lived there. Heck, 50gal per year would be an improvement... seeing as it's currently sitting at 0. lol.

 

[whiful]

:sigh: http://www.alahomebrewing.org/news

 

[DocBrown]

We originally had a nice bill that matched the legal limit (100gal per person/200gal per household), plus the freedom to transport the beer to tastings in breweries/brewpubs, hold competitions, etc... The Alabama Beverage Control nixed a lot of that (it wasn't entirely clear that we could transport the beer out of the house to any place but a specially licensed event) and they wanted to drop the limits to 50gal per household brewed and 4gal max transported. We managed to keep it at 100gal per household and 10gal transported.

The bill had 23 sponsors in the house and it failed 28-45. Alabama remains in competition for the most backward state.

 

[dford]

Alabama has some of the most ignorant lawmakers in the country.

This is proof:

 

[Mongrel]

Sorry guys.

 

[onthekeg]

Did the AHA help out with this?

 

[ThickHead]

Sad....

Thankfully, this decision is unlikely to deter many enthusiasts from doing what they like in their own homes. However, the complete waste of taxpayer dollars expended to address a non-issue like this could be considered fiscal irresponsibility.

 

[Airborneguy]

I won't be visiting my friend in Mobile while he is stationed there, that is for sure. I refuse to spend my money in such a backward state. I feel for your guys who live there

 

[Hex]

Sorry guys, can't fix stupid.

 

[RidleyBrewery]

Homebrewing legislation failed in the Alabama House of Representatives yesterday. Homebrewers remain felons in Alabama, one of only two states that continue to defy logic and federal legislation which makes homebrewing legal (since the 1970s). There were 22 co-sponsors for the bill going in and for some unknown reason 12 of them either voted no, pass, or they abstained.

12 out of 22 Co-sponsors. Idiots.

 

[dford]

I listened to the audio of the Alabama house when they debated the homebrewing issue for over an hour. It was very sad to hear some of the stupid comments made from the opponents :
*Children would become wino's with homebrew in the house
*People would get sick drinking the homebrew
*Uncontrolled homebrew would lead to bootlegging
*Loss of revenue because people would make homebrew and not buy it anymore
*More drunk drivers on the road
*Teen partys with free homebrew would become rampant across the state.

One legislator discussed an analogy between homebrew and buying shaving lotion from the drugstore and drinking it. Another suggested Noah was a wino and made homebrew on the Ark because he was bored.

These are the idiots that are making laws in the state of Alabama. No wonder Alabama is almost last in every statistic. Sad to say but if it wasn't for Mississippi , Alabama would be last in everything.

 

[Zamial]

Ya, what's wrong with the beer we gots?

I mean the beer we gots drink purty good don't it?

I aint eva heard no body complain about...da...umm...beer we have.

It drank pretty good.

Budweiser.

Whats the name of some them otha beer?

Budweiser...Miller?

Coors...ugh.

It drink purty good dont it?

I am truly sorry that the Germans from Free the Hops are invading Alabama. At least you can drink good German beers like Budweiser and Miller...

Really though I am very sad that my fellow HBers continue to suffer the oppression of ignorance in Alabama. Don't loose hope and never stop trying to get things changed! I sincerely wish each of you the best of luck!

 

[TideJoe]

At least you had a bill make it to a vote. We can't even get that accomplished in MS. The Deep South is a great place to live and is extremely underrated from a quality of life standpoint, but most of the politicians are complete hypocritical scumbags. The fact is the vast majority of AL and MS residents would never even notice if a homebrew bill was passed. Those that did notice probably didn't even know it was illegal to begin with.

 

[Airborneguy]

Another suggested Noah was a wino and made homebrew on the Ark because he was bored.

Scary, very scrary. Religion and politics should never mix and its quite scary when they do.

 

[kniles38]

I listened to the audio of the Alabama house when they debated the homebrewing issue for over an hour. It was very sad to hear some of the stupid comments made from the opponents :
*Children would become wino's with homebrew in the house
*People would get sick drinking the homebrew
*Uncontrolled homebrew would lead to bootlegging
*Loss of revenue because people would make homebrew and not buy it anymore
*More drunk drivers on the road
*Teen partys with free homebrew would become rampant across the state.

One legislator discussed an analogy between homebrew and buying shaving lotion from the drugstore and drinking it. Another suggested Noah was a wino and made homebrew on the Ark because he was bored.

These are the idiots that are making laws in the state of Alabama. No wonder Alabama is almost last in every statistic. Sad to say but if it wasn't for Mississippi , Alabama would be last in everything.

I doubt these politicians actually believe any of the idiotic things they said. They are just doing the only thing they care about, and that is trying to get re-elected. Either the beer lobby bribed them with campaign money or some far right religious group threatened votes.

 

[TideJoe]

I doubt these politicians actually believe any of the idiotic things they said. They are just doing the only thing they care about, and that is trying to get re-elected. Either the beer lobby bribed them with campaign money or some far right religious group threatened votes.

You hit the nail on the head. I lived in Alabama for 21 years and the AB lobby is HUGE. Outside of the teachers unions, it's easily the largest money lobby in the state.

 

[beerloaf]

Sorry to hear about that. That sucks. As far as them being stupid.... here in PA we are in the process of attempting to dismantle our LCB (Liquor Control Board) which is long over due. This sounds very familiar....

*Children would become wino's with homebrew in the house
*People would get sick drinking the homebrew
*Uncontrolled homebrew would lead to bootlegging
*Loss of revenue because people would make homebrew and not buy it anymore
*More drunk drivers on the road
*Teen partys with free homebrew would become rampant across the state.

The sad thing is that they are using the same exact comments here as to why the state should not deregulate and privatize alcholol sales. This is the same BS I keep hearing here locally.

beerloaf

 

[IffyG]

The Deep South is a great place to live and is extremely underrated from a quality of life standpoint, but most of the politicians are complete hypocritical scumbags.

I can agree with that for the most part (although I don't consider Nashville to be the deep south). The bass ackwards laws and way things are done down here really kills it for me.

 

[Benthic]

<snip>
Either the beer lobby bribed them with campaign money...
<snip>

You hit the nail on the head. I lived in Alabama for 21 years and the AB lobby is HUGE. Outside of the teachers unions, it's easily the largest money lobby in the state.

Really? Are you kidding me? I think someone's tin foil hat might be on too tight.

If AB/InBev was so bent on eradicating home brewers we'd see anti-home brew or anti-LHBS legislation popping up all over the place in the 48 states where it's legal--and we don't. I'm not denying that AB's lobby is large and well funded--they are. But I doubt they're worried about us. In fact, I'd be willing to be that homebrewers don't even make the radar screen at AB/InBev.

I think Kniles' comment about opposition from the (religious) right is *far* more plausible than some conspiracy by "Big Beer".

Brian

 

[adfirmus]

*Teen partys with free homebrew would become rampant across the state.

beerloaf

Free homebrew!? Where do those teens get it from? Mine cost more than store bought from equipment and ingredients!

I guess teens in AL with have to stick with bread yeast and apple juice instead of homebrewing...

Seriously though, you know rural gas stations/grocery stores don't card for beer anyways.

 

[TideJoe]

Really? Are you kidding me? I think someone's tin foil hat might be on too tight.

If AB/InBev was so bent on eradicating home brewers we'd see anti-home brew or anti-LHBS legislation popping up all over the place in the 48 states where it's legal--and we don't. I'm not denying that AB's lobby is large and well funded--they are. But I doubt they're worried about us. In fact, I'd be willing to be that homebrewers don't even make the radar screen at AB/InBev.

I think Kniles' comment about opposition from the (religious) right is *far* more plausible than some conspiracy by "Big Beer".

Brian

It's not just in the interest of AB-InBev, it's also in the interest of the distributors. Even if homebrew replaced 0.1% of beer consumed in Alabama, that's a lot of lost money for the brewers and the distributors every year (millions and millions over the years).

 

[IffyG]

It's not just in the interest of AB-InBev, it's also in the interest of the distributors. Even if homebrew replaced 0.1% of beer consumed in Alabama, that's a lot of lost money for the brewers and the distributors every year (millions and millions over the years).

Pretty much a flawed assumption because there are plenty of Alabama homebrewers doing their thing even with the laws as they are.

It's also based in the poor assumption that people that homebrew stop buying beer. I know this is not the case with me as I spend just as much or more on beer now that I started homebrewing and I doubt I'm the only one.

 

[TideJoe]

Pretty much a flawed assumption because there are plenty of Alabama homebrewers doing their thing even with the laws as they are.

It's also based in the poor assumption that people that homebrew stop buying beer. I know this is not the case with me as I spend just as much or more on beer now that I started homebrewing and I doubt I'm the only one.

I know some people just like arguing, but big beer definitely has interest in keeping control over the last couple states. Just ask the "Free the Hops" people in Alabama what the biggest hurdle was the first couple years...... big beer distributors.

 

[Benthic]

It's not just in the interest of AB-InBev, it's also in the interest of the distributors. Even if homebrew replaced 0.1% of beer consumed in Alabama, that's a lot of lost money for the brewers and the distributors every year (millions and millions over the years).

Potato...po-ta-to.

Either way, the sales volume that they may, or may not, lose wouldn't be worth spending their lobbying dollars on. They're far more concerned about taxes, labor issues, fuel costs, etc than they are about home brewers.

Look at it this way. Craft beer drinkers are only a small percentage (admittedly growing, but still small) of the American beer drinking population. Only a small percentage of craft beer drinkers are home brewers. I just don't think we're worth AB's attention.

Brian

 

[IffyG]

I know some people just like arguing, but big beer definitely has interest in keeping control over the last couple states. Just ask the "Free the Hops" people in Alabama what the biggest hurdle was the first couple years...... big beer distributors.

Based on the audio of Mr. Holmes commentary on the position, I find it hard to believe that the biggest hurdle is the distributors. Granted, I haven't followed the legislation here, but it certainly seems to me the problem is ignorant politicians.

Either way, the sales volume that they may, or may not, lose wouldn't be worth spending their lobbying dollars on. They're far more concerned about taxes, labor issues, fuel costs, etc than they are about home brewers.

Agreed.