Dorm Brew

[tmabbotutep]

and I am not asking for info on how to hide my brew, My RA has helped me build a beeramid before, I was simply asking about the smell.
You guys are so opinionated.

 

[DeadYetiBrew]

no, it is not illegal to brew under 21, but it is illegal to DRINK or POSSESS under 21, so as long I don't "possess" "beer".... just some nasty water I never threw out (what do ya know!) then Im good. And I'm not here to look for info on how to brew, I already have ordered all the equipment, I only got on here to ask if there were any terrible odors that came with brewing.

Ok, well once you pitch the yeast and fermentation starts, you have beer... So as long as you don't ferment it you can brew... Just nasty water you never threw out that is in a carboy with an airlock in it, which you then bottled or kegged. Right and that tube with the burnt cilantro is a cooking accident???

To answer your question, Yes, you get a smell when you boil the wort and while it's fermenting, but since you're not going to possess alcohol i guess you don't have to worry about the fermentation smell... And yes it IS illegal to brew under 21...

Excerpt from Papazian's "Joy of Home Brewing"
"Now it is legal (homebrewing). By Federal Law an adult TWENTY-ONE (21, that's 2 and 1) years or OLDER (not younger) is permitted to brew... Not more than 100 gallons of beer in a year...and so on

Wow, i guess that blows your argument out of the water... I can see it now, I get into homebrewing and all of a sudden 1 case of an under 21 college student brewing brings prohibition back... I waited why can't you?

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I was simply asking about the smell.

You guys are so opinionated.

It will smell terrible. Drink Kool-Aid, kid.

Opinionated...maybe. But the law is fact. And what you are making is illegal for another two years in the US. Period.

I vowed not to get into this debate here, but now you pissed me off.

Don't jeopardize my legal hobby just because you want cheap hooch and/or beer that you don't have to buy at the store you can't get into.

 

[Desert_Sky]

1. We didn't have the internet. We figured it out on our own.
2. I don't feel obliged to help him.
3. Obviously he lacks the skills to pull it off since he posted his age and he identified it as a dorm.

damn....seriously you need to relax and have a brew.

 

[Evan!]

Yuri makes a good point, though. While most instances would illicit a "RDWHAHB" from me---some kid putting the legality of my homebrewing in jeopardy isn't one of them. Today's overreactionary jerkoff politicians would love to make this some kind of pet issue, and the overreactionary media would love to aid and abet. I can just see it now...one kid gets caught making "bathtub brew" in his dorm room, and suddenly, all the idiot talking heads on the morning shows are blathering about how it's the worst scourge since oxycontin. Said jerkoff politician swings into action and demands that we must ban the hobby altogether, because as long as people are legally allowed to obtain malt, hops water and yeast, there's no way to control this "scourge". I mean, good god, ANY kid could make "bathtub brew" in his/her dorm room, and then they could share it with their friends, and they could all DIE! DIE, I tell you!

And the sheeple would all fall into line and support the ban. And then I'd be forced to buy malt and hops and yeast from a dealer in a back alley at 10X the cost, and I'd have to hide my homebrew operation in a shed in the woods and guard it with dogs and a gun.

F*ck that, dude. In an ideal world, this "kid", who is old enough to go kill and be killed by "insurgents" would be able to legally combine yeast, hops, water and malt and drink the resulting liquid. But we don't live in that world. We live in the world where some kid finds a glitch in a video game which shows a pixellated sex scene, and suddenly all of the US Congress swings into action to demonize video games and call for their destruction.

[/soapbox]

 

[Cheesefood]

HE's in college. As far as I'm concerned, he's old enough and mature enough. If he hadn't made it out of his paretns house by this age, then he definitely has more important things to worry about, but since he's in college, I'll give him the thumbs up.

Welcome to the board, dorm-brewer. Forgive those who denigrade based on age instead of maturity level. Please just be kind and don't ask to do a swap with anyone. That's the only rule.

 

[Desert_Sky]

HE's in college. As far as I'm concerned, he's old enough and mature enough. If he hadn't made it out of his paretns house by this age, then he definitely has more important things to worry about, but since he's in college, I'll give him the thumbs up.

Welcome to the board, dorm-brewer. Forgive those who denigrade based on age instead of maturity level. Please just be kind and don't ask to do a swap with anyone. That's the only rule.

Now see, this is the kind of answer I expected to see from a bunch of beer drinkers. Cheers to you Cheese!

We all drank in college, this is fact. And I think its safe to say we all drank mega swill while in college. And with that said, I raise a glass to you sir for wanting to raise the bar on what you put in your pint glass. And make sure you share the fuits of your labors with your friends and their friends.

Above all, just be responsible. And it is a better idea to brew off campus for the simple fact that as a starving college student, getting your **** confiscated would be a major setback.


seriously, some of you are acting like hes making meth in his dormroom, not beer

 

[Evan!]

seriously, some of you are acting like hes making meth in his dormroom, not beer

When it comes to "The Children!", many politicians wouldn't see the difference, and many puritan-traditionalist-redstaters wouldn't either. All they would see was "underage kids manufacture alcohol by legally obtaining ingredients from the internet". Prohibition wasn't that long ago...and as for whether he's making meth, I'll say this: marijuana is no more dangerous than homebrew, and just see what happens if you get caught trying to make THAT in your closet.

As I said, in a perfect, just world, this guy would be free to make what he pleased so long as it didn't harm anyone else. But the unfortunate reality of our modern culture is that politicians like to ban stuff, especially when it's "for the children".

 

[Evan!]

HE's in college. As far as I'm concerned, he's old enough and mature enough.

Same here. As far as I'm concerned, he's old and mature enough. If you're old enough to go fight and kill and die for your country, and old enough to drive a deadly weapon (car) around every day, and old enough to determine the political future of this country by voting...then you're sure as hell old enough to have a drink.

Unfortunately, "as far as we're concerned" doesn't carry too much weight with politicians who like to exploit people's fears regarding the safety of their children.

 

[Desert_Sky]

well for those who think that becasue of him brewing beer in his dorm would result in the rest of us loosing our priveledge to brew....... well sorry you feel that way. I don't think that would ever happen though.

 

[rdwj]

The way I see it, if you're underage AND dumb enough to enter your real birthday into your profile AND dumb enough to start threads about making beer while you're underage, we shouldn't be assisting.

At least show us the courtesy of lying about your age.

 

[Evan!]

well for those who think that becasue of him brewing beer in his dorm would result in the rest of us loosing our priveledge to brew....... well sorry you feel that way. I don't think that would ever happen though.

I know, probably won't happen...but...I don't put anything past our government, especially when it comes to their favorite bogeymen, drugs and alcohol. Prohibition wasn't THAT long ago...and there are actually still "dry" parts of this great nation. Personally, I don't think it's that farfetched for a few kids to get caught homebrewing and the resulting government action is to put heavy restrictions on the hobby and supporting industry. Perhaps it would not be banned altogether, but increased government restrictions would mean higher prices for us, without a doubt. Imagine if an adult had to sign for each one of your homebrew supply packages? Ever tried to ship wine or beer via FedEx? That little signature requirement thing costs money. Just sayin...it's not as farfetched as you think.

 

[the_bird]

The way I see it, if you're underage AND dumb enough to enter your real birthday into your profile AND dumb enough to start threads about making beer while you're underage, we shouldn't be assisting.

At least show us the courtesy of lying about your age.

My feelings exactly. C'mon, LIE TO ME!

How tough is it to drop your year of birth by two or three years? Phrase the question as "My g/f is concerned that the fermenting beer will smell rank." After the obligitory remark about the g/f needing to concern herself with her own odor, we'd answer the question and none would be the wiser.

And, when I was in high school, I would have never expected to be able to walk into a liquor store and ask the guy there the best way for me to get some booze. The only "adult" I would expect to help me get drunk was the creepy dude we paid $3 to buy us a case of Bud (and who wanted to be our friend). Any question that a kid trying to get started in this hobby would ask has been asked and answered countless times; I don't feel compelled to hold his hand.

 

[Fiery Sword]

This is an interesting topic, and one that has inspired a greater strength of opinion than usualy seen here. We all have our opinions but I think that the law is clear. It is illegal to hommebrew if you are under 21.

Given the "blame everybody but the moron" state of parenting and police/politicial PC/PR these days, I do not think it would be too far fetched for a 19 year old college student to ask a bunch of questions on the a'here board, brew up some hooch, drink it all, pass out, get his stomach pumped out, get suspended from school, and have Mommy and Daddy find out he got the info from some *evil* adults out on homebrewtalk.com. Scapegoat found!!!!!

In the end, why risk the safety of this amazing board by exposing the community to the risk of ending up on the wrong end of some over-zealous parent, lawyer or politician......or even the law. Assisting someone in breaking the law is, in fact, breaking the law.

That being said, I started dabbling in brewing when I was 18. I read books and bought ingredients locally. I wasn't about to expose the LHBS to risk by telling them I was 18.

 

[olllllo]

Listen. I don't care that he drinks. I don't care that he brews.
Yes, most of us did.

I think its just like the kid that hangs around the liquor store and asks if people will buy for him. Everyone has the individual right to say yes or no so there's no problem on that level. Is Evan's scenario probable or possible? I think it possible, but all of that is debatable.

Here's the problem. In the above scenario, all of the members in this forum are partial owners/ stakeholders of the liquor store and quite frankly it seems more probable than not that one concerned parent could make it financially unfeasable for TXBrewer to keep it open.

So Chimone. I drank underage and I don't care that this UTEP student does, but I am not willing to lose this forum over it. That's something I won't relax about because this has been one of the best things about brewing.

 

[l3lackEyedAngels]

Don't implicate other people with your mischief.


Man law.

 

[olllllo]

The way I see it, if you're underage AND dumb enough to enter your real birthday into your profile AND dumb enough to start threads about making beer while you're underage, we shouldn't be assisting.

At least show us the courtesy of lying about your age.

Yes! And in some small measure THAT is how we help this guy.

And, when I was in high school, I would have never expected to be able to walk into a liquor store and ask the guy there the best way for me to get some booze.

Exactly. Nor would you do anything to get someone you know in trouble.

 

[Evan!]

Yeah...losing this forum as a scapegoat in some underage booze witchhunt is another dire possibility that could arise from us aiding and abetting this guy.

Makes me think...maybe, when you sign up, there should be one of those "I verify that I am 21 years of age" buttons. It wouldn't actually require proof, but it would immunize TXBrew and all of us should some witchhunt go down. They do this on, say, Miller Lite's website.

 

[Desert_Sky]

So Chimone. I drank underage and I don't care that this UTEP student does, but I am not willing to lose this forum over it. That's something I won't relax about because this has been one of the best things about brewing.

You seriously think that could possibly happen? That homebrewing is so borderline acceptable, that it could be snatched up by the man forever?

Especially over one guy who wants to learn how to brew here? I think you are overthinking this just a bit.....Ok granted....lie to us, you are under 21 and that is law, I can accept that. But to think that one person getting caught brewing at college would bring this all the a screecthing stop is just beyond me

 

[the_bird]

Especially over one guy who wants to learn how to brew here? I think you are overthinking this just a bit.....Ok granted....lie to us, you are under 21 and that is law, I can accept that. But to think that one person getting caught brewing at college would bring this all the a screecthing stop is just beyond me

This is one case, but this issue comes up at least once a month, a lot more than that when school's out. So while this one kid isn't likely going to be the end of homebrewtalk, is your answer the same when it's fifteen or twenty kids a year? If word gets out and it's more like thirty or forty?

How many underage kids do you think lurk here? I bet it's a lot more that you'd imagine. Most aren't posting, and most are smart enough to put in a fake address and fake DOB. So, think about this not in terms of this one kid in particular (whose fundamental question is pretty minor), but in terms of how you would approach this issue in more general terms.

If your answer is the same, I'll respect that - but I'll respectfully disagree. I won't knowingly respond to someone that I know is underage, if I suspect someone is underage I'll probably grill them a little, and if I know someone is underage because of their profile I'll make sure that others are aware of that fact before they respond.

 

[olllllo]

You seriously think that could possibly happen? That homebrewing is so borderline acceptable, that it could be snatched up by the man forever?

Especially over one guy who wants to learn how to brew here? I think you are overthinking this just a bit.....Ok granted....lie to us, you are under 21 and that is law, I can accept that. But to think that one person getting caught brewing at college would bring this all the a screecthing stop is just beyond me

The acceptability of online forums and social networking is where danger of losing THIS forum comes into play. Many forums go under because they cannot do an acceptable job of regulating content. There is the federal COPA law to consider as well.

 

[the_bird]

The acceptability of online forums and social networking is where danger of losing THIS forum comes into play. Many forums go under because they cannot do an acceptable job of regulating content. There is the federal COPA law to consider as well.

What's the COPA law?

 

[trinitone]

What's the COPA law?

Child Online Protection Act

 

[olllllo]

The Children's Online Protection Act.

It was specifically drafted to protect youth from pr0n and requires that websites take measures to prevent children under a certain age...

It's why TX has to police avatars and images we throw down.

Although alcohol is not covered, it is a politically appointed commission. Without getting too partisan, a certain administration has exanded the powers of these commissions to further a certain social "movement" i.e FCC, Education, DHHS, etc.

Point is it serves as a blueprint to restrict a free internet and sites like ours if someone was so inclined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Online_Protection_Act

EDIT: Yes, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has a program to promote abstinance for 29 year olds.
http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarti...on/2006-10-30-abstinence-message_x.htm?csp=34

 

[Desert_Sky]

Im just going to agree to disagree here, and leave this thread alone from now on.....


its just that comments like "drink kool aid, kid" and such that really bother me when we were all there at one point. When I say we were all there Im referring to drinking in college. I just wish I had started appreciating better beers back in college like it seems he is trying to, instead of following the crowd and pounding BMC

i guess its ok to lurk as long as long as you dont ask questions

 

[olllllo]

Im just going to agree to disagree here, and leave this thread alone from now on.....


its just that comments like "drink kool aid, kid" and such that really bother me when we were all there at one point. When I say we were all there Im referring to drinking in college. I just wish I had started appreciating better beers back in college like it seems he is trying to, instead of following the crowd and pounding BMC

I don't think we're too far apart on opinion about that. I think that some of us feel that abetting this kind of behavior MAY cause some parent to bring this site down.

 

[Evan!]

You seriously think that could possibly happen? That homebrewing is so borderline acceptable, that it could be snatched up by the man forever?

Chimone, dude, I live in a state where the government treats alcohol like a barely-necessary evil. Hell, the STATE ("Alcoholic Beverage Control") is the ONLY entity that can legally sell distilled spirits here. And that's for law-abiding adults. When it comes to colleges, alcohol (in any form, whether it be moonshine or homebrew or natty lite) is treated as the devil incarnate. They blame all their problems on booze. Whenever a kid dies or gets hurtin an "alcohol-related" incident, the colleges get together with local law enforcement and "crack down". And when they crack down, they don't care if it's a case of Aristocrat, or a case of homebrew.

I really do wish I shared your optimism, but I don't. It wasn't 5 years ago that I was in college...and I remember quite well how the University treated booze: like something that should be banned outright, and if they could, they would.

This country LOVES scapegoats...and booze is an easy scapegoat. This is why I worry.

Especially over one guy who wants to learn how to brew here? I think you are overthinking this just a bit.....Ok granted....lie to us, you are under 21 and that is law, I can accept that. But to think that one person getting caught brewing at college would bring this all the a screecthing stop is just beyond me

I'm not saying it's all that probable, I'm just saying, why take the f'n chance? Is it really worth it? What do we get out of it? Nothing, really. Personally, it's not worth the risk. If there are kids on here who willingly submit that they're underage, I won't aid in their actions. For me, it's just not worth it. I've seen way too many freedoms taken from us because of politicians who are more than willing to exploit the fears of the people. And believe me...kids making booze and getting drunk off it and dying is certainly a fear that many parents feel...or, rather, WOULD feel if some headline-whoring news organization brought it to their attention that kids were homebrewing and getting help from adults on the internerd.

 

[Evan!]

Im just going to agree to disagree here, and leave this thread alone from now on.....


its just that comments like "drink kool aid, kid" and such that really bother me when we were all there at one point. When I say we were all there Im referring to drinking in college. I just wish I had started appreciating better beers back in college like it seems he is trying to, instead of following the crowd and pounding BMC

i guess its ok to lurk as long as long as you dont ask questions

Or just lie about your age. It's not that hard.

 

[trinitone]

It is one thing to unkowingly or unwittingly commit or help someone commit a crime. It is a completely different thing to knowingly do it.

 

[Brewpastor]

How do we control this? Do we research each post's author to see if the age they post is of drinking age? If this is to be controlled do we need to set up sign-ins that require age declaration? Do TxBrew and the mods start banning anyone under legal drinking age in their particular place of residence? This is not an easy situation to manage.

 

[olllllo]

How do we control this? Do we research each post's author to see if the age they post is of drinking age? If this is to be controlled do we need to set up sign-ins that require age declaration? Do TxBrew and the mods start banning anyone under legal drinking age in their particular place of residence? This is not an easy situation to manage.

I think we're doing it now. Good faith effort.

 

[trinitone]

How do we control this? Do we research each post's author to see if the age they post is of drinking age? If this is to be controlled do we need to set up sign-ins that require age declaration? Do TxBrew and the mods start banning anyone under legal drinking age in their particular place of residence? This is not an easy situation to manage.

I think it just requires some simple CYA verbiage in the signup. Something like "I affirm that knowledge derived from this forum and/or it's members will not be used for any illegal activity."

 

[Yuri_Rage]

For the simple reason that it always stirs heated debate and emotions, I think that we should avoid posts by underage folks. It always seems to get personal - either with the OP or with each other. I wasn't going to get involved in this one except to mention the UC Davis program, but then the kid started whining and making excuses as to why we should help him with his shady venture. Now I, too, am guilty of getting my feathers ruffled over something rather simple. Apologies for the impoliteness of my earlier comments, no apologies for the over-arching sentiment.

 

[RichBrewer]

I'm concerned about legal issues. If something happened to an under aged person (drunk driving, bing drinking etc...) and it was determined that this site taught and encouraged them to make home brew, could HBT be held liable? I think no but lawyers have a different way of looking at things.

Maybe there should be age verification upon entering. I've been to a few beer sites that require it. It wouldn't be that big a pain for us. I know it won't stop kids from viewing and posting on HBT but it might release liability.

I personally will not encourage underage drinking. Did I do it? Oh yes I did. But with age comes wisdom and we all know that kids can get themselves into a lot of trouble by drinking.
I've got 3 teens at home and the thought of them drinking sends chills down my spine. I know I can't stop them when they are out with friends but I hope I have taught them to be responsible.

All this said, I have been known to be an EAC.

 

[the_bird]

I really wish that Tx would step in and let us know how he feels about this issue. If there WERE to be any legal issues, wouldn't it inevitably entangle him at the core?

 

[abracadabra]

and I am not asking for info on how to hide my brew, My RA has helped me build a beeramid before, I was simply asking about the smell.
You guys are so opinionated.

I thought people that came to this site were looking for opinions.

 

[Hippie]

FWIW, I always thought that brewing beer smelled similar to a BREADMAKER

I agree with the need for some kind of a CYA messure, I'd hate to see something happen to this site.

 

[abracadabra]

you have to state that you are 21 or over inorder to access the Sweetwater brewery web site.

 

[Hippie]

I was thinking something like...

"Homebrewing is an adult activity, restricted to those 21 years and older, and Illegal to those younger. I agree to not use any information obtained here in an illegal manner, and agree that HBT cannot be held accountable for my actions"

Or something similar...

You may need something having everyone agree that they are over 18 for that to be binding though... kind of like a legal contract, I really don't know...

 

[Evan!]

How do we control this? Do we research each post's author to see if the age they post is of drinking age? If this is to be controlled do we need to set up sign-ins that require age declaration? Do TxBrew and the mods start banning anyone under legal drinking age in their particular place of residence? This is not an easy situation to manage.

Seems rather simple to me, actually. Quite a few beer company sites do it. For example, if you go to Miller's website, it asks you to enter the date of your birth. Now, there is, of course, no way for them to actively verify that you are telling the truth. I could claim that I was born in 1922, and the system wouldn't care. As long as I enter a date prior to today's date in 1986, it lets me in. It's a simple setup that, while it doesn't really stop kids from accessing the site, it effectively shields the owners of the site from liability (as far as I can tell, given that I'm sure that Miller has some knowledgable lawyers vetting this stuff out). That's all, just something that asks for your birthdate when you set up an account here, and if it's less than 21 years from today's date, it denies the registration.