Is kegging legal in Utah?

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jma99

jma99

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Yup, I'm looking at a possible job in Utah.

I know I can homebrew, but it looks like they banned all kegs bigger than 2 liters unless you have a permit. Can anyone tell me if this applies to homebrew?

Thanks!

Joel
 
I know there are people here who do keg, I don't know if the favor any particular size.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who make a run to Evenston to get a keg. I can't imagine anyone hassling you unless you try to sell them or you're rolling it down the street.

Good luck with the job hunt.
 
Holy cow! Are hot drinks illegal there two? Or just in 1 quart thermos'. Next they'll be saying government funded medical care is evil. (Oh crap did I really just say that?)
 
Well this is technically the law:

" (iii) if the fermented alcoholic beverage is removed only in the following quantities:
(A) for personal and family use that is unrelated to an organized event where fermented alcoholic beverages are judged as to taste and quality, the quantity that may be possessed at one time is:
(I) one liter of wine for each individual who is 21 years of age or older residing in the household;
(II) 72 ounces of heavy beer for each individual who is 21 years of age or older residing in the household; or "

So technically, you are not supposed to. The reality is that homebrewer's have done this here for quite a while, and I do not know of any instances where it has been prosecuted. The homebrew shops here all sell soda kegs.

If you try and transport them around, though, I am not sure what would happen if you were pulled over carrying a soda keg around. I know it would not be an issue in your house. I do know that they will confiscate and prosecute you if you are carrying a commercial keg from wyoming back into the state.

Seems like there is a grey area around if you had enough people over 21 to all pitch in their portion of the 72 ounces of homebrew. Can everyone's portion be stored all together?

Jim
 
Let's look through the seeing stones and see! why couldn't they have picked North Dakota?
 
I'm pretty sure the law is just referring to purchasing full kegs. As far as I know it is perfectly legal to keg your homebrew in Utah and you can buy empty kegs at the home brew shops.

EDIT: Just realized the OP was from 4 years ago!
 
You know, I just double checked the statute (32B-5-304.5.b) and the prohibition on heavy beer being served from a container that exceeds 2L in volume is a retail prohibition.

Homebrewers can keg and serve from kegs at home (because it's not retail) but can't transport a full keg because it's greater than 72oz per person in the household older than 21.
 
Nah, not really. But I understand where that fits in in this situation. Sounds like Utah needs to remember that we have separation of church & state by law? Not to get too political, but it does seem to be behind their reasoning processes. It shouldn't be that big of a deal...
 
Terrible so it looks like it is legal for them to beak down your door with a swat team and measure how many oz of beer you have in the frige? I think I will stay in TX.
 
Flipadelphia said:
Why does anyone live in Utah?
Click to expand...

The scenery is great. From downtown I can drive an hour west and be alone in the desert or drive an hour east and be alone in the mountains.

It's the people that are weird.

Sure, the beer/liquor laws are weird. They are written so they can look like they are being tough on alcohol consumption. But the laws are so poorly written that anyone can easily get around most of them.

A couple of instances:
1) you can't order a pint of greater than 4.0% ABV beer on tap. It has to be served from a bottle. Because being able to order greater than 4.0% beer on tap could lead to binge drinking. However, you can order two 1L bottles (~4 pints) of greater than 4.0% beer and drink them both down.

2) The new "Zion Cutrain" law prohibits draft beer from being poured in front if customers in new restaurants. The thinking is that if children see drinks being mixed or poured then it makes alcohol attractive to them. However, if you order a greater than 4.0% ABV it has to be served in the bottle. They have to open the bottle behind the curtain. Then they bring you your bottle and a glass and you get to pour it in yourself in full view of any children.


It's just a silly game they make us play so they get to look tough and righteous. The only thing I still find annoying is the 20 minute drive to a liquor store.
 
jma99 said:
Hey, OP here, 4 years later!
Utah did not work out, and after 14 months we escaped!
Minnesota is MUCH more beer friendly, and my neighbors are not scandalized if they see me with a beer in my hand. They will even join me on occasion!
Click to expand...

Sorry Utah didn't work out. Glad things are working well in Minnesota.
 
Beernik said:
The scenery is great. From downtown I can drive an hour west and be alone in the desert or drive an hour east and be alone in the mountains.

It's the people that are weird.

Sure, the beer/liquor laws are weird. They are written so they can look like they are being tough on alcohol consumption. But the laws are so poorly written that anyone can easily get around most of them.

A couple of instances:
1) you can't order a pint of greater than 4.0% ABV beer on tap. It has to be served from a bottle. Because being able to order greater than 4.0% beer on tap could lead to binge drinking. However, you can order two 1L bottles (~4 pints) of greater than 4.0% beer and drink them both down.

2) The new "Zion Cutrain" law prohibits draft beer from being poured in front if customers in new restaurants. The thinking is that if children see drinks being mixed or poured then it makes alcohol attractive to them. However, if you order a greater than 4.0% ABV it has to be served in the bottle. They have to open the bottle behind the curtain. Then they bring you your bottle and a glass and you get to pour it in yourself in full view of any children.


It's just a silly game they make us play so they get to look tough and righteous. The only thing I still find annoying is the 20 minute drive to a liquor store.
Click to expand...

Wow. No offense at all man and I'm sure your scenery is great, but if my state has those BS laws, I'd be gone. lol, wow
 
Oops... double post.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Well, it's kinda like here in Ohio. There's no law that says you can brew beer. But you have to be licensed to sell it?!...:confused:
 
Minnesota? Really? Go find Yooper! The short amount of time I spent in SLC was odd. I went into a restaurant to have dinner, ordered a beer, drank the beer, and wondered why my waiter was ignoring me. He informed me Utah law did not not allow servers to ask a customer if they wanted another alcohol drink. Okay, whatever.
 
That's not true, at least not anymore.

Now, if your server is under 21, they aren't allowed to take your order for or serve an alcoholic drink.
 
Another crazy law in Utah, apparently they have many, but you can only get 3.2 draft beer in a pub. I was in Moab brewery last fall excited to get my first Moab Brewery beer. I ordered their IPA and was stunned. Tasted terrible. I talked to the waitress and asked for a stronger flavored beer. She said, "to get a real brewery beer you had to order a can", yes a can. I am in the brewery and had to drink a can. Tasted pretty good though.
 
balto charlie said:
Another crazy law in Utah, apparently they have many, but you can only get 3.2 draft beer in a pub. I was in Moab brewery last fall excited to get my first Moab Brewery beer. I ordered their IPA and was stunned. Tasted terrible. I talked to the waitress and asked for a stronger flavored beer. She said, "to get a real brewery beer you had to order a can", yes a can. I am in the brewery and had to drink a can. Tasted pretty good though.
Click to expand...

It's 3.2% by weight so it is about 4% abv. Yes to get stronger beers you must order a bottle or can.
 
My sis and bro in law in Utah brew quite a bit, along with a few of their neighbors. I always like visiting them as we can break out the .50 cals and hit dinner-plate gongs at 500 yds (and glocks at much, much, much less distance) with a homebrew (be it a good amber, IPA or most anything) or three afterwards. Can't imagine peeps in a big part of MN (or CA, IL, NY, etc.) not getting their lefty-shorts in a bind with that... UT rocks for so many reasons that escape many of the west or east coast snob types and unless you've spent time there you only have forum postings or records of silly laws (silly, outdated and non-followed laws that many states/jurisdictions have on the books) or similar sources of "information". Besides, where else can you be somewhere that is largely unspoiled by human masses, even if it's due to the area not being "cool"?

Edit: Utah is boring. No need to go there. Go to NY or CA!
 
Moved to SLC 6 years ago from the midwest. It took some getting used to, but I could live here forever now. There's a ton of great people and beer here, just have to look a little harder sometimes. The city has transformed so much just since I've been here, and you can't beat the geography. The religious crowd are for the most part good people on an individual basis, they just cause trouble with their group-think mentality at times.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I used to host poker games regularly and wondered if for some reason the police showed up and saw my keezer if they'd have an issue with that. I honestly don't think they would, nor would they care about my no-rake, no house advantage low stakes poker tournament.

I returned to Utah after spending 6 years in the Navy and living in Zion, IL and San Diego, CA. I love Utah. Of all the places I've been in the U.S. and all the places I've briefly visited around the world, ultimately there's no place like home.

That said, before I die I'd like to be a part of getting a little sanity in Utah's liquor laws. I don't care if they're a little tighter here than most places, I'd just like the laws to make some kind of sense and be effective at achieving their stated objectives.

One final thing, Utah's counter culture is one of the finest and most determined in the world. Viva la resistance!
 
I only have limited experience with Utah, having traveled there over the years on business.

Beautiful scenery, nice people, and while the alcohol laws are nutty, they in themselves aren't probably so horrible that I wouldn't live there.

That said, having lived my whole live within proximity to large cities (Chicago, Bay Area, Atlanta, Los Angeles), I think the SLC area is just a bit to small-town for me. That coupled with the alcohol laws put me over the top, especially when Colorado right next door also has beautiful scenery and is quite larger without the nutty booze laws. I think SLC is generally not exactly a high-income metro area, partly due to a lack of high-tech jobs for people like me.

As this point, my list of places to live are SoCal, NorCal, and Colorado. I haven't found anyplace else that has the right mix of job opportunities, climate, culture, and amenities.
 
To be fair, it's not like UT is the only state with absurd and outdated liquor laws. I'm visiting family in OK right now and %3.2 beer is the only kind of beer you can buy in the grocery store (have to go to the liquor store for something stronger). In RI, you can't even buy beer in the grocery store.

And in response to a fellow TX poster above...just try buying a six-pack at HEB at 11:55am on a Sunday.
 
You think that's bad?! Try Canada, North london & the area around the Ford plant. You can't buy beer or cigs at the convenience store. You have to goto a state liquor store & tobacco shop?! As an american, I'm doing the WTF routine big time. And KFC has these thick slices of bread & no biscuits? WTF? This is a Southern American thing...& no biscuits? The girl at the counter got huffy with me & told me if I wanted biscuits to go back to America! I said this is a Southern American thang & I'm Southern! What the hell? And beer is expensive, just like Craig from craigtube says so often. Utah is nothing compared to this farsicle place!...but I must admit, the lil British hottie at the tobacco store counter was so damn cute & that British accent...well, friends...I could listen to her all day! Damn was she cute!
 
EthanH said:
To be fair, it's not like UT is the only state with absurd and outdated liquor laws. I'm visiting family in OK right now and %3.2 beer is the only kind of beer you can buy in the grocery store (have to go to the liquor store for something stronger). In RI, you can't even buy beer in the grocery store.

And in response to a fellow TX poster above...just try buying a six-pack at HEB at 11:55am on a Sunday.
Click to expand...

here you can't buy beer in a grocery store. nor buy anything off sale (except some places can sell 3.2 beer) on Sundays, but you can sit in a bar all Sunday long & get trashed. when I think about it, that's the only time I miss living in Las Vegas.
 
unionrdr said:
Sounds like Utah needs to remember that we have separation of church & state by law? Not to get too political, but it does seem to be behind their reasoning processes.
Click to expand...


[drunken rambling]"Separation of Church and State" is a tenet of the Protestant Reformation, not something from US law. The First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or restricting your religious freedom to practice the religion of your choosing, but that's not precisely the same thing.

We Americans have an extensive history of enacting a variety of religiously-motivated laws, such as the OP describes. I remember that all too well from my four years in Oklahoma (though I have to admit Texas has a few annoying ones as well). [/drunken rambling]


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
I could swear that I remember reading that as law back in school?...but they do have some off-beat ideas for sure in some places.
 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: As a lifelong Wisconsinite, Utah's alcohol laws are utterly baffling to me.
 
EthanH said:
I'm visiting family in OK right now and %3.2 beer is the only kind of beer you can buy in the grocery store (have to go to the liquor store for something stronger).
Click to expand...

You can buy beer in a grocery store???

Signed,

Someone living in Ontario, Canada
(Here, you can only buy beer in government run liquor stores, or "The Beer Store," which is owned by BMC, and thus has very little craft beer selection. Also, taxes are high. A 6-pack of Sam Adams costs $12).
 
I don't get why people would choose to continue to live in places with such draconian laws. I understand the scenery in Utah can be pretty nice (having never been there), but the creepy Mormon polygamy thing, and the absurd nanny-state liquor laws are more than enough to keep me away. Surely political leaders there must know that their culture is hurting their economy, don't they?

Ontario has its own issues (as mentioned in my post above), but in general, it's pretty friendly to brewers and beer drinkers. You can only buy it in government-run stores or the BMC monopoly chain, but AFAIK there's no restriction on ABV on any beer sold either in stores or in restaurants, regardless of whether its draft or a bottle or a can. Servers are allowed to pour your beer in plain view (gasp!) as well as ask you if you'd like another. There's not even any limit (at all!) on how much homebrew you're allowed to produce each year. Of course, you can't sell it without a license, but I think that's pretty reasonable.
 
JonM said:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: As a lifelong Wisconsinite, Utah's alcohol laws are utterly baffling to me.
Click to expand...

I have a saying. It's never gotten much traction and I don't mean to get political, but I feel it's pretty accurate.

Utah's alcohol laws are like New York's gun laws. They were written by people unfamiliar with the subject of their legislation and who consider the item to be evil and unnecessary.

Utah's alcohol control board contains no drinkers and no bar, restaurant or hotel owners/managers. It is a collection of people who would be just as happy to ban alcohol altogether but who do us sinners a grand favor by allowing us to have our "agency" in choosing to consume alcohol.

When changing our alcohol laws comes up for discussion our legislators point to Utah's low rates of underage drinking and DUI occurrences and claim that those low rates are a result of our alcohol laws. They give no credit to the dominant faith that prohibits it's members from drinking alcohol. The reason our rates are low is because of the limit on beer alcohol percentage sold in grocery stores or on draft, because drinks are mixed out of sight of customers (only in newly established restaurants), and that you can't order your cocktail until you've placed an order for food. Oh yeah, and because we can't buy kegs of beer or mini bottles of liquor, or order a double jack and coke.
 

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