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Brewing over 200 gal. limit

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Hey now..
I am the original poster.....So has anybody ever heard of anybody, anywhere getting in trouble for brewing too much beer? .....and I am talking about with some government agency......not their spouse!:D
 
Hey now..
I am the original poster.....So has anybody ever heard of anybody, anywhere getting in trouble for brewing too much beer? .....and I am talking about with some government agency......not their spouse!:D

Not unless they were selling it. No worries man.
 
oh I ain't worried....It just seems like a ridiculous law. It's like saying the speed limit is 55.......but no one has ever gotten a ticket for going over the limit.
 
On a serious note, I would be surprised if the BATFE even had a mechanism of enforcement of that limit. Their alcohol division is probably more geared toward tax collection and the selling of unlicensed hard alcohol.

;)
 
your LHBS must supply the amount of ingredients you buy to ATF every time you make a purchase. They then calculate this to determine the estimated amount of beer you are brewing. If you are making a beer with a heavy grain bill you may accidentally go over your quota.

or not.

FYI, There's no way that the amount of grain you buy correctly correlate to the number of gallons you brew. Those grains have a lot of other uses.
 
this is one of the dumbest threads i've seen on here

I guess for the OP, nobody knows of any. But I think an earlier poster was correct in saying its just meant to keep people from brewing 1,000 gallons and calling themselves a "homebrewer" and then take donations for their beer.
 
6 12oz beers a day is a lot... heck 3 beers a day for two people is a lot, IMHO. We're talking EVERY day so if you miss a day you gotta make it up! HAH!
 
Wow... if you can make and drink that much beer.. you r my hero!

Im up to roughly 50 gallons made so far this year.. I give a lot of beer away to friends, and host a brewing party about every other week where a bunch of friends drop by, and we drink while (Mostly I) brew another batch.

It goes quick. Went through more than 10 gallons during Superbowl alone.
 
Im up to roughly 50 gallons made so far this year.. I give a lot of beer away to friends, and host a brewing party about every other week where a bunch of friends drop by, and we drink while (Mostly I) brew another batch.

It goes quick. Went through more than 10 gallons during Superbowl alone.

I cant stand brewing with other people, unless they really know what theyre doing. For me, its a way to get away for the day, and escape work, chores and swmbo.
 
To continue on with this thread...has anybody ever been threatened or heard of someone threatened with a "cease and desist" order for trying to sell/barter homebrew. What are the penalties? Of course I wouldn't ever do this but I was curious what the fine/jailtime is.
 
To continue on with this thread...has anybody ever been threatened or heard of someone threatened with a "cease and desist" order for trying to sell/barter homebrew. What are the penalties? Of course I wouldn't ever do this but I was curious what the fine/jailtime is.

I don't believe the issue is whether or not it is homemade (though there might be other department of health issues to contend with there), but just that you'd be selling alcohol without a license. There are lots of examples for people getting busted for that.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/pas...d_with_selling_alcohol_without_a_license.html
http://www.panhandleparade.com/inde...r_selling_alcohol_without_license/mbb7713680/
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090512-NEWS-90512049

Here's an entire blog about the issue:
http://theliquorlicenseadvisor.com/blog/

If I understand correctly, proper licensing and sales protocol protects bar and store owners from some amount of liability. If you are just selling beer to dudes you know and they decide to do something stupid, you may be significantly more exposed to lawsuits than you would be if you were a convenience store.
 
I made 198 gallons last year and then pitched a nice starter into 5gal of wort...the feds were at my door by krausen time.

This is the best post in this thread. I truly got a good LOL from this :D

@Phunhog - 5 pages in and you're still asking the same question just phrased differently. Apparently no one has heard of an honest homebrewer having their door kicked in by the feds or state governments for brewing over 200 gallons. As mentioned already, it's mainly to keep people from doing microbrewery's and pretending to just be homebrewing thereby skirting the law, and taxes.


Rev.
 
Hey now,
Well I finally have my quasi Brutus 10 up and running. It is so nice to be brewing 11 gal at a shot:mug: I remembered that there is a limit of 200 gallons a year of homebrew. I just wondered if anyone, anywhere has ever been popped for this? I am not talking about somebody trying to sell it, just somebody who brews a lot and gives a lot away to friends. Which I know is technically illegal. It just seems crazy to actually try and enforce this law.

As has been mentioned in this thread, it may be just a teeny bit crazy to talk about it. You don't need to read too many threads on HBT (or other forums) to run into people who range from those who imply that they're >200 gal, through those who basically state it as a fact, all the way to those who brag about it.

My philosophy: Don't poke the bear.
 
buy grain with cash and keep your mouth shut. i NEVER brew more than 175 gallons a year just to keep a safety margin :D
 
@ the Rev.....I guess that is what I am after...I am guessing that there are over 100K homebrewers. I can't believe that everyone is "playing by the rules" and not "doing microbrewery's and pretending to be homebrewing thereby skirting the law, and taxes"
In a way I think that is awesome that no one knows of any case where a homebrewer was fined/cited/whatever for selling homebrew.
Look...I am trying to start a fully licensed nanobrewery. I have to follow laws, keep excellent records, and pay excise taxes. In other words there is a lot to go through to "be in the game". All in all it is a good thing. It just seems like it would be so easy to work the system that I can't believe nobody has gotten popped for it.
 
Phunhog said:
@ the Rev.....I guess that is what I am after...I am guessing that there are over 100K homebrewers. I can't believe that everyone is "playing by the rules" and not "doing microbrewery's and pretending to be homebrewing thereby skirting the law, and taxes"
In a way I think that is awesome that no one knows of any case where a homebrewer was fined/cited/whatever for selling homebrew.
Look...I am trying to start a fully licensed nanobrewery. I have to follow laws, keep excellent records, and pay excise taxes. In other words there is a lot to go through to "be in the game". All in all it is a good thing. It just seems like it would be so easy to work the system that I can't believe nobody has gotten popped for it.

You'd be incorrect there. You asked whether we knew of someone not selling their homebrew getting in trouble for brewing over 200 gallons. Fairly recently, there was a homebrewer in Alabama who got in trouble with the law for selling homebrew, and I'm sure there have been plenty of others. Word spreads quickly. Don't do it.
 
Using google, I am unable to locate the instance referred above. Is there an article which details the enforcement?

I did not find any article for any Alabamian(s) selling homebrew or going over state or federal home beer production limit(s). Although, is it legal to homebrew in Alabama?
 
Using google, I am unable to locate the instance referred above. Is there an article which details the enforcement?

I did find an article for a man in Alabama who is charged with breaking state distilling law(s). However, I did not find any article for any Alabamian(s) selling homebrew or going over state or federal home beer production limit(s).

I couldn't find anything either. Perhaps jbrookeiv is thinking of this guy who got arrested for homebrewing and possibly distilling in Alabama (where both are still illegal).
 
Guess i should bury my brew journal out in the yard somewhere. That things has batch numbers, dates, names,etc.

It NAMES NAMES!
free-scared-smileys-1044.gif
 
Ok I think this is ready for "Mythbusters"...We all agree it is technically illegal to sell homebrew. Yet none of us has been able to come up with any sort of evidence that anyone, anywhere has ever been arrested/cited/prosecuted for selling their homebrew. The case in Alabama involved a homebrewer who was also distilling..and in a dry county to boot. Maybe the government says it is "illegal" but really doesn't care because it isn't worth the resources to enforce the law. Are they going to spend the money to investigate and prosecute somebody selling homebrew kegs to neighbors? Again I am not advocating breaking the law but.....is it a law if nobody actively enforces it?
 
Ok I think this is ready for "Mythbusters"...We all agree it is technically illegal to sell homebrew. Yet none of us has been able to come up with any sort of evidence that anyone, anywhere has ever been arrested/cited/prosecuted for selling their homebrew. The case in Alabama involved a homebrewer who was also distilling..and in a dry county to boot. Maybe the government says it is "illegal" but really doesn't care because it isn't worth the resources to enforce the law. Are they going to spend the money to investigate and prosecute somebody selling homebrew kegs to neighbors? Again I am not advocating breaking the law but.....is it a law if nobody actively enforces it?

But, like I said before, there's no shortage of precedent, will, and policy for busting people who sell alcohol without a license. If you sell a couple of sixers to your buddies, it is unlikely anybody would know or care. But I'd bet cash dollars that trouble would crop up quick if a homebrewer tried to sell a financially meaningful quantity.

Who knows...perhaps all this proves is that nobody has been foolish enough to try.
 
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