Alabama Homebrewer Arrested

[Daybis]

homebrewing of beer is a felony in the state of Alabama
I live in Georgia, and people here don't understand why the Deep South is regarded by the rest of the country as regressive, undereducated, and backwoods.
This kind of thing is one of the reasons. I am amazed that something like that could be a felony.
I absolutely would never live in that state for that reason alone.

I completely agree. Unfortunately, I live in the other neighboring state where things also aren't very progressive.

 

[Starderup]

I completely agree. Unfortunately, I live in the other neighboring state where things also aren't very progressive.

I really love the South, and no state is perfect. I hope AL and MS can get a grip and move into the 21st century soon. GA only recently allowed beers above 5 or 6% to be sold. If I didn't have about a case or two waiting to chill and forgot to buy some today, I'd be sheet out of luck if I tried to get a six pack tomorrow.
Crazy laws like that need to be repealed. For states like us, AL, PA, OK, and MS, they really need to dump everything but the 21 year old restriction, and start over.
Unfortunately, the distributors have us over a barrel, and they won't let go of their monopoly easily.
People have to get off their butts and introduce some common sense back into laws.

 

[Daybis]

I really love the South, and no state is perfect. I hope AL and MS can get a grip and move into the 21st century soon. GA only recently allowed beers above 5 or 6% to be sold. If I didn't have about a case or two waiting to chill and forgot to buy some today, I'd be sheet out of luck if I tried to get a six pack tomorrow.
Crazy laws like that need to be repealed. For states like us, AL, PA, OK, and MS, they really need to dump everything but the 21 year old restriction, and start over.
Unfortunately, the distributors have us over a barrel, and they won't let go of their monopoly easily.
People have to get off their butts and introduce some common sense back into laws.

I grew up all over the country. I moved to MS from CA and at first I hated this place, but now I have learned to love this place and call it home. It was only a few years ago were we allowed to buy on sunday, and then a year or so after that we were allowed to buy it cold. We just need a change and unfortunately, religion plays a huge factor in everything down here, so I don't expect change over night.

Heck, in a town about an hour and a half north of here, the city was trying to pass a law to allow beer and light wine sales. It didn't pass and from what I could tell from the news, it didn't pass because of religious views. I think the vote failed by like 15 votes out of almost 3,000 voters.

 

[mr_goodwrench]

Starderup: I just moved my family to Atlanta from NY and I made sure to check that homebrewing was legal here before making my decision. As for the blue laws, not all Northern states are much better: before '06 in NY, you couldn't buy beer on Sundays before noon and you still can't buy wine or liquor before noon on Sundays. Also, liquor stores used to be prohibited from opening on Sunday which recently changed (although they must still close one day out of the week.) There are no wine sales at any stores other than liquor stores, so you couldn't pick up the wine for your meal at the same store where you buy the food for it.

I do agree that we should be rid of all these blue laws and I have gotten caught up in the no Sunday alcohol sales a couple of times in the 2 months we have been here. In fact we changed our grocery shopping day from Sunday to Saturday for this reason...

I certainly hope that these last couple of states get their priorities straight and legalize homebrewing. It is really sad that someone who served our country like that gets treated in such a way.

 

[cclloyd]

nothing there looks like it would be distilled. To people that know nothing about brewing, the vessels with airlocks look like something wrong, but really as a home brewer all i see is an ******* surrounded by brewing equipment.

love it!!

 

[Cheaton]

My personal favorite part of the picture is the rifle scopes. Trying to make it look as if they were confescated with the equipment as if he was protecting his illegal shadetree brewery with firearms. That sherriff, and that picture, is what's wrong with America. *********.

 

[Starderup]

I grew up all over the country. I moved to MS from CA and at first I hated this place, but now I have learned to love this place and call it home. It was only a few years ago were we allowed to buy on sunday, and then a year or so after that we were allowed to buy it cold. We just need a change and unfortunately, religion plays a huge factor in everything down here, so I don't expect change over night.

Heck, in a town about an hour and a half north of here, the city was trying to pass a law to allow beer and light wine sales. It didn't pass and from what I could tell from the news, it didn't pass because of religious views. I think the vote failed by like 15 votes out of almost 3,000 voters.

I thought it was the bible thumpers down here, but found out the real bottleneck is the lock the distributors have on the system. At least here, they are perpetuating the problem. The religious folks don't help, but they aren't the principal issue.

 

[Fletch78]

My personal favorite part of the picture is the rifle scopes. Trying to make it look as if they were confescated with the equipment as if he was protecting his illegal shadetree brewery with firearms. That sherriff, and that picture, is what's wrong with America. *********.

I thought those were refractometers!

 

[Starderup]

Starderup: I just moved my family to Atlanta from NY and I made sure to check that homebrewing was legal here before making my decision. As for the blue laws, not all Northern states are much better: before '06 in NY, you couldn't buy beer on Sundays before noon and you still can't buy wine or liquor before noon on Sundays. Also, liquor stores used to be prohibited from opening on Sunday which recently changed (although they must still close one day out of the week.) There are no wine sales at any stores other than liquor stores, so you couldn't pick up the wine for your meal at the same store where you buy the food for it.

I do agree that we should be rid of all these blue laws and I have gotten caught up in the no Sunday alcohol sales a couple of times in the 2 months we have been here. In fact we changed our grocery shopping day from Sunday to Saturday for this reason...

I certainly hope that these last couple of states get their priorities straight and legalize homebrewing. It is really sad that someone who served our country like that gets treated in such a way.

Yeah, when I lived in Massachusetts, Sunday sales were not allowed, until someone figured out that everyone was going over the state line to NH, and they were losing tons of revenue. They amended the law to allow stores within 15 miles or so of the state line to open up on Sunday. I think since then, they relaxed their laws further, but I left in 1995, so I'm not positive.

 

[wildwest450]

He should have been arrested. Do you see the size of the blingman kettle, and his fermentor is just over half full. Hack.

 

[ChshreCat]

My personal favorite part of the picture is the rifle scopes.

Actually, it looks like those are rifles, but the picture cut them off. Still, it's dumb for them to put them in the picture as if they're connected to his homebrewing. "You can have my conical when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"

Wonder if it's an election year for sheriff in that county.

 

[Sean]

Wonder if it's an election year for sheriff in that county.

Sheriff should never be an elected post!

 

[ChshreCat]

Sheriff should never be an elected post!

The problem with it being an appointed post is that the sheriff then has to police the county official or counsel that appoints him. Major conflict there. "Look the other way on our embezzlement and we'll make sure have a nice long career as sheriff..."

 

[Sean]

But maybe only 4 or 8 year career, and not nice and long. Plus the inividual is appointed by whomever and perhaps approved by the council. So 9 or 11 or however many elected people have looked at his/her qualifications. As opposed to no-one.

 

[Aubie Stout]

Love me some Ala-freaking-bama!

 

[Shooter]

Just to clarify, federal law was changed to eliminate taxation on homebrew for personal use. It doesn't say homebrewing is legal in every state in the union... it leaves that up to the states. From homebrewersassociation.org:

Exactly, it simply says it's not a federal violation and allows the states to set their own laws relevant to this issue.

 

[Ouroboros]

Its a slippery slope when we pick and choose the laws we want to follow and the ones we don't.

Hardly. Slippery slope arguments are one of the most over-used logical fallacies I've encountered. Were people who willingly flaunted laws against interracial marriage taking the first step on a slippery slope? Of course not. They simply understood that a person is under no obligation to follow an unjust law.

Rational individuals are perfectly capable of distinguishing just laws/norms that demonstrably benefit society from unjust, idiotic, or downright asinine pieces of legislation.

 

[rexbanner]

Hardly. Slippery slope arguments are one of the most over-used logical fallacies I've encountered. Were people who willingly flaunted laws against interracial marriage taking the first step on a slippery slope? Of course not. They simply understood that a person is under no obligation to follow an unjust law.

Rational individuals are perfectly capable of distinguishing just laws/norms that demonstrably benefit society from unjust, idiotic, or downright asinine pieces of legislation.

There is one area where the slippery slope argument does make sense...free speech.

In most cases, however, it has no place.

 

[vtchuck]

Yeah, when I lived in Massachusetts, Sunday sales were not allowed, until someone figured out that everyone was going over the state line to NH, and they were losing tons of revenue. They amended the law to allow stores within 15 miles or so of the state line to open up on Sunday. I think since then, they relaxed their laws further, but I left in 1995, so I'm not positive.

Tax free NH, land of cheap booze has been giving neighboring states fits for years. Maine built a state liquor store in Kittery, next to the border and lowered the prices to the NH level... but only in that store! Everywhere else Mainers had to pay inflated prices. All to prevent people from crossing the border for their booze. In Vermont, liquor control agents would sit on the border with binoculars trained on the NH liquor store... and stop customers as they crossed the border, confiscating their purchases.

And those wily Granite Staters.... always seeking more revenue, built rest areas on the turnpikes that included restrooms, vending machines and a fully stocked state liquor store.

 

[Spartan112]

Just a good ole boy...never meanin' no harm...

 

[schweaty]

Here is the Sheriff with the contraband.

The stuff in the bottle is supposed to be the 'shine. My starsan bottle looks a lot like that.

Looking at this photo to find evidence of distilling is like looking at a where's waldo picture without waldo. Everything in there looks like legit homebrewing equipment to me. Unfortunately, homebrewing is illegal in Alabama and as we all know states have the option of adopting federals laws as their own. Since the subject is so taboo in that area perhaps he shouldn't have posted on the internet a **** ton of photos with his face in it. Sadest part is that the cops say they went there looking for a meth lab and found brewing equpiment. Like others have said, I'm willing to bet that their "evidence" of home distilling is nothing more than a copper chiller.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

Brewing laws are archaic almost everywhere. I'm surprised we're only allowed 100 gallons per household.

Also it's a widely known scientific fact that Alabama sucks.

 

[Dunerunner]

At least he bought A-1 Equipment!! I'd like to pick up that fermenter at auction!!


This looks from the pic to be a BS arrest, nothing there to indicate there was distilling going on!!

 

[Zamial]

This looks from the pic to be a BS arrest, nothing there to indicate there was distilling going on!!

I will reserve my opinion on this until it has been deemed yes or no officially, for the distilling. Some stills are VERY basic and very easy to set up and break down. This info is widely available all over the internet.

If he was distilling, then he deserves the "book thrown at him". On the other hand if this is just a "home brewer" I truly feel sorry for this persons situation.


time will tell....

 

[olllllo]

I'm holding out little hope that this thread will remain open.
Please stick to the topic at hand.

Keep your political and religious screeds out of it.

If you want to talk about those things, go tot the debate forum.

 

[the_bird]

Olllllllllllllllo, please delete the OT crap and impose any participant-specific consequences before closing this thread. I'd like to be able to keep track of what happens to this poor guy.

 

[smokinghole]

I read most of this thread the other day. I might be the first person to say the following.

Even if he was distilling who cares! Homebrewing is illegal in AL and distilling is illegal nationally. I personally think that neither should be illegal and if I want to make homemade rum/whiskey or whatever then that's my business. This country is ridiculous with laws just to keep the govt coffers full. I hope he gets off free and clear even if he was distilling.

 

[fusa]

If they also seized guns, that's a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison. Even if he had a license, possessing a firearm when committing a felony (manufacturing distilled alcohol) is a very serious crime. Hopefully the prosecutor will be lenient since he is a veteran, but he might also want to make an example out of him. Federal lawyers usually cost about $40,000+. The laws are very unjust for the crime that was committed.

 

[vandeg]

Without getting into other lawful matters/debates, there has been attempts by politicians to legalize home distilling. Every year though it seems like a bill is brought up and Washington never votes on due to other more pressing matters.

I for one don't see anything wrong with home distilling, I don't do it myself because I don't feel like going to jail. Which is were the whole thing comes down to, politics and the legal system. If it was made legal, I still doubt I'd do it since I don't care for liquor. I do like a sip of rum every now and then but that usually involve a pint lasting 2 years.

As for Alabama, its there issue not ours which makes our opinions moot. Its the fight for the people who live there and if they ask for help, give it them without impeding the opinions of other residents of Alabama.

 

[olllllo]

I temporarily moved a bunch of posts to a hidden thread until I could go through them all. Some of them were well written and persuasive, unfortuately this isn't the forum for them. Others were needlessly OT, attacks or rants on religion etc.

I'm going to enjoy the rest of my Holiday. You all should too.