Hmmm... (unimportant) legal question

[CreamyGoodness]

Sec. 109.21. HOME PRODUCTION OF WINE, ALE, MALT LIQUOR, OR BEER.
(a) The head of a family or an unmarried adult may produce for the use of his family or himself not more than 200 gallons of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer, per year. No license or permit is required.
(b) The commission may prohibit the use of any ingredient it finds detrimental to health or susceptible of use to evade this code. Only wine made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of the
juices of dandelions or grapes, raisins, or other fruits may be produced under this section. Only ale, malt liquor, or beer made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of malted barley with hops, or their products, and with or without other malted or unmalted cereals, may be produced under this section. The possession of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer produced under this section is not an offense if the person making it complies with all provisions of this section and the wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer is not distilled, fortified, or otherwise altered to increase its alcohol content.(c) There is no annual state fee for beverages produced in compliance with this section.


So... if I go visit a friend in Texas (stop laughing... I could totally have a friend) and they serve me a homebrew stout with a shot of whiskey to make a Boiler Maker, has he been in violation of the law?

 

[TyTanium]

Don't mess with Texas beer

 

[Zuljin]

No. The beer wasn't produced with whiskey.

 

[beaksnbeer]

What about freezing to INCREASE the alcohol content?

 

[Glynn]

Adding whiskey to a beer is considered fortifying BUT because it was done after bottling and usually done by the the drinker there ain't jack they can do about it

 

[Beernik]

Freeze distilling would be prohibited.

Boilermakers are awesome.

 

[woozy]

I think you are using the beer to make a third drink. You didn't use the whiskey to make the beer and the boilermaker, itself, isn't considered a fortified beer so much as a completely different cocktail. Putting whiskey in the primary or bottling with a shot of whiskey I think is illegal. If you take you add the whiskey to the beer, don't drink it but put it in the fridge... well that technically may or may not be legal. It's an intriguing question but not one of which I imagine will ever be practically tested. You'd practically have to chase down a fed shouting "Hey, I fortified this homebrew! It has whiskey in it! I fortified it!" and demand to be arrested before anyone will look twice. It'd probably help if you called him dirty names and physically assaulted him as well.

Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

 

[evrose]

Sec. 109.21. HOME PRODUCTION OF WINE, ALE, MALT LIQUOR, OR BEER.
(a) The head of a family or an unmarried adult may produce for the use of his family or himself not more than 200 gallons of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer, per year. No license or permit is required.
(b) The commission may prohibit the use of any ingredient it finds detrimental to health or susceptible of use to evade this code. Only wine made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of the
juices of dandelions or grapes, raisins, or other fruits may be produced under this section. Only ale, malt liquor, or beer made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of malted barley with hops, or their products, and with or without other malted or unmalted cereals, may be produced under this section. The possession of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer produced under this section is not an offense if the person making it complies with all provisions of this section and the wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer is not distilled, fortified, or otherwise altered to increase its alcohol content.(c) There is no annual state fee for beverages produced in compliance with this section.


So... if I go visit a friend in Texas (stop laughing... I could totally have a friend) and they serve me a homebrew stout with a shot of whiskey to make a Boiler Maker, has he been in violation of the law?

So technically, a bourbon barrel porter is illegal in Texas? Well... isn't that interesting...

 

[Beernik]

Aging in a burbon barrel doesn't increase the alcohol content.

 

[motobrewer]

The actual interesting part of this is it seems that mead is prohibited in Texas.

 

[lumpher]

The actual interesting part of this is it seems that mead is prohibited in Texas.

can't quote the laws, but must not be. we have several mead-makers here in texas. texas mead works and rohan meadery are 2 i know of

 

[motobrewer]

can't quote the laws, but must not be. we have several mead-makers here in texas. texas mead works and rohan meadery are 2 i know of

Well, I meant home mead making. Obviously commercial is quite different and subject to a whole different set of laws.

 

[jakenbacon]

Well, I meant home mead making. Obviously commercial is quite different and subject to a whole different set of laws.

Gotta be legal, the law stated the fermentation of fruit juices....

 

[evrose]

Aging in a burbon barrel doesn't increase the alcohol content.

But pouring in 16oz of Marker's Mark sure does.

 

[JerBeer]

The actual interesting part of this is it seems that mead is prohibited in Texas.

Gotta be legal, the law stated the fermentation of fruit juices....

Honey is not a fruit or juice. Isn't it just considered an added sugar? So I guess technically a Show Mead would be illegal?

 

[aygov]

But pouring in 16oz of Marker's Mark sure does.

Which is ironic because Austin Homebrew sells a kit that calls for the addition of Makers Mark....

 

[Doongie]

I personally would not underestimate the possibility for the law to be interpreted in a way I don't anticipate or agree with.

It seems to me wort is wort, and the instant yeast is added it is considered beer, even though it seems it has not yet had a chance to actually produce any alcohol.

Legal lines get drawn, and I am not always aware where. I would be willing to age a beer in a bourbon barrel, and argue the point that it did not raise the alcohol content, and take the risk with the law. However, I do understand that it is a risk until I get a formal legal interpretation, and it would not surprise me to find that the law considers aging in a used barrel raising the alcohol content or fortifying.

I think most reasonable people would agree with that assessment. Unfortunately I don't trust the law, or the people and courts that enforce it, to be reasonable.

 

[DromJohn]

Which is ironic because Austin Homebrew sells a kit that calls for the addition of Makers Mark....

Ignore that call. AHS Oaked Imperial Whiskey Stout is fabulous with Wild Turkey 101.

 

[b-boy]

So... if I go visit a friend in Texas (stop laughing... I could totally have a friend) and they serve me a homebrew stout with a shot of whiskey to make a Boiler Maker, has he been in violation of the law?

Just drink it fast before the cops get there.

 

[aygov]

Ignore that call. AHS Oaked Imperial Whiskey Stout is fabulous with Wild Turkey 101.

I will try wild turkey next time I brew it. The makers mark turned out well and the beer is good with some age on it.

 

[woozy]

The actual interesting part of this is it seems that mead is prohibited in Texas.

It would certainly appear so. But why should we be surprised by that?

Actually, illegalizing home production of mead makes *perfect* sense in the spirit and context of most of these laws. It's just that spirit of home liquor production laws are out-dated, picayune, punitive and arbitrary.

 

[Beernik]

Isn't Texas the same state that required all beer over 6% ABV to be labeled "lager"?

 

[lumpher]

Isn't Texas the same state that required all beer over 6% ABV to be labeled "lager"?

no. all beer 5%+ has to be labeled ale here. more or less the same thing ( and retarded, though ). you can add whiskey to it. we call that a boilermaker, as in "take a shot of whiskey, add it to a beer"

 

[motobrewer]

Gotta be legal, the law stated the fermentation of fruit juices....

Honey is not a fruit. Or a juice.

 

[Zuljin]

Honey is not a fruit. Or a juice.

I say it's bee juice.

Flower juice?

 

[woozy]

http://www.americanwinegrape.com/blog/index.php/2012/06/20/texas-home-wine-making-laws/

"“Wine and vinous liquor” means the product obtained from the alcoholic fermentation of juice of sound ripe grapes, fruits, berries, or honey, and includes wine coolers."

...
"Only wine made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of the juices of dandelions or grapes, raisins, or other fruits may be produced under this section. "

The *definitely* considered mead to be a wine and they *explicitly* omitted it.

Mead is *definitely* not legal to make at home in Texas. (meanwhile dandelion wine is explicitly *not* wine but is legal...)

 

[brazedowl]

I say it's bee juice.

Flower juice?

Bee vomit is more accurate. num num num.

 

[Zuljin]

But they didn't explicitly omit it. There is no mention of it. And homey is not a fortification. And mead is not distilled.

Sometimes laws spell out what we can do. Sometimes they spell out what we cannot do. It doesn't spell out that we can't make mead.

 

[thatjonguy]

Just drink it fast before the cops get there.

Share with the cops and convert them to homebrewers!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Sec. 109.21. HOME PRODUCTION OF WINE, ALE, MALT LIQUOR, OR BEER.
(a) The head of a family or an unmarried adult may produce for the use of his family or himself not more than 200 gallons of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer, per year. No license or permit is required.
(b) The commission may prohibit the use of any ingredient it finds detrimental to health or susceptible of use to evade this code. Only wine made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of the
juices of dandelions or grapes, raisins, or other fruits may be produced under this section. Only ale, malt liquor, or beer made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of malted barley with hops, or their products, and with or without other malted or unmalted cereals, may be produced under this section. The possession of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer produced under this section is not an offense if the person making it complies with all provisions of this section and the wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer is not distilled, fortified, or otherwise altered to increase its alcohol content.(c) There is no annual state fee for beverages produced in compliance with this section.


So... if I go visit a friend in Texas (stop laughing... I could totally have a friend) and they serve me a homebrew stout with a shot of whiskey to make a Boiler Maker, has he been in violation of the law?

Nope, it's a mixed drink.
Generally, if there is no law that prohibits it (whatever "it" is), it's not illegal.
Regards, GF.