Is kegging legal in Utah?

[betarhoalphadelta]

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.

 

[EthanH]

To be fair, it's not like UT is the only state with absurd and outdated liquor laws.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.

 

[unionrdr]

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!

 

[Billy-Klubb]

To be fair, it's not like UT is the only state with absurd and outdated liquor laws.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.

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.

 

[hunter_le five]

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.

[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

 

[unionrdr]

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.

 

[JonM]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: As a lifelong Wisconsinite, Utah's alcohol laws are utterly baffling to me.

 

[kombat]

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).

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).

 

[kombat]

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.

 

[Gameface]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: As a lifelong Wisconsinite, Utah's alcohol laws are utterly baffling to me.

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.

 

[JonM]

And to be fair, I think Wisconsin and Utah are "bookends" when it comes to alcohol laws. Wisconsin is about as liberal as it gets (although Missouri is pretty close) and Utah is as restrictive as it gets. States in the middle probably look at us and think we're nuts. "What? A child can drink in a bar if he/she is with a parent?"

 

[mmb]

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

If you really dig into your own states laws, you'd find many laws on the books that are equally BS.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

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.

Utah also has a higher percentage of Hard Line kids.

If you really dig into your own states laws, you'd find many laws on the books that are equally BS.

there was a law in Rapid City, SD that stayed on the books until the 1990's that stated that if you were in a covered wagon and spotted a group of 3 or more Indians, you could shoot & kill all of them as they were considered a war party. it's scary what laws are still hiding in plain sight.

 

[Genghis]

I just got back to Ontario after a few days in Rochester, NY.

Beers of the World is a real "Beer Store" as far as I'm concerned. I want one up here. Ontario's "Beer Store" is only interested in selling product from the breweries that own it (Molson/Labatt/Sleeman), and charges craft brewers ridiculous fees to even get their brew on the shelf.

The LCBO has a much better selection, but it varies widely from store to store. I could go on a slightly different rant about the LCBO, but that's another story.

 

[EthanH]

You can buy beer in a grocery store???

I hear you. Earlier this summer I was visting friends in Ottawa for a couple weeks and we lamented the Beer Store situation often and at length. It was very surprising to find that, legislation aside, the Beer Store itself is a privately owned Anheuser-Busch-InBev/Molson-Coors/Sapporo/Sleeman venture. Had to go into Québec for good beer...

...and as an off-topic aside (possibly for its own post), I was pretty blown away by the current state of the craft beer scene in Québec. I went to college in Montréal in the early 90s and last visited maybe 10 years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by the current surfeit of good craft brews and breweries. Even little grocery stores in cottage country were stocking Le Trou du Diable, Dieu du Ciel, etc.

 

[dortho]

Here is my experience with kegs in Utah

http://utahkegruns.blogspot.com/

 

[Brewtah]

Here we go again....
Chitter, chatter and mis-information about Utah laws. Some clarifications. Anything on tap has to be under 4%. Meaning only keg poured beer can be sold in large vessels. Plenty of beer sold above 4% in bottles (including 20 oz). The zion curtain making its second appearance, 80's first time. No, you can't have multiple drinks in front of you in a restaurant. In know strange but workable and easy to manage.
One bonus is wine. Utah law prohibits marking up wine after initial pricing. Say wine of the year or any other highly regarded wine or beer. Also you can bring your own un-opened bottle of wine into a restaurant.
Yes you can keg legally, it is the total number of gallons a year not the vessel it is stored in. You can't sell your homebrew.

 

[Beernik]

The I-80 bootlegging trap is one that has been around for a long, long time. UHP used to have an undercover park in the liquor store parking lot and radio a patrol car that would snag people right as they crossed the border.

Don't ask me how I know. I will deny everything.

I'm going to flip my rational on kegging in Utah again. 32B-4-406.1.b does say it is illegal for an individual to possess beer in a container larger than 2 liters even though 32B-4-406 is a section of the code that deals with retail of beer.

The lesson to be learned is when visiting Wyoming is to drive south on 150 to Kamas (probably closed this time of year) or north on 89 to Bear Lake / Garden City.

Again, don't ask me how I know this. I will deny everything.

 

[seigex]

The I-80 bootlegging trap is one that has been around for a long, long time. UHP used to have an undercover park in the liquor store parking lot and radio a patrol car that would snag people right as they crossed the border.

Don't ask me how I know. I will deny everything.

I'm going to flip my rational on kegging in Utah again. 32B-4-406.1.b does say it is illegal for an individual to possess beer in a container larger than 2 liters even though 32B-4-406 is a section of the code that deals with retail of beer.

The lesson to be learned is when visiting Wyoming is to drive south on 150 to Kamas (probably closed this time of year) or north on 89 to Bear Lake / Garden City.

Again, don't ask me how I know this. I will deny everything.

How do you know this?

 

[Beernik]

How do you know this?

It wasn't me. It was the two-armed man.

 

[Aileen]

I worked at Lake Powell in the late '80s and we used to send someone to Durango to get a keg whenever we wanted to have a big party. Luckily no one ever got caught. A lot of the tourists brought "party balls" with them for their houseboats, at the time I was told they were legal but they're definitely above the 2L limit.
Utah is an incredibly beautiful state, especially the Moab/Lake Powell/Canyonlands/Zion areas.

Side note, grocery stores and gas stations in Colorado can only sell 3.2% beer. Until a few years ago all liquor stores were closed on Sunday.

 

[Gameface]

I worked at Lake Powell in the late '80s and we used to send someone to Durango to get a keg whenever we wanted to have a big party. Luckily no one ever got caught. A lot of the tourists brought "party balls" with them for their houseboats, at the time I was told they were legal but they're definitely above the 2L limit.
Utah is an incredibly beautiful state, especially the Moab/Lake Powell/Canyonlands/Zion areas.

Side note, grocery stores and gas stations in Colorado can only sell 3.2% beer. Until a few years ago all liquor stores were closed on Sunday.

The keg ban was enacted sometime in the 80s, not sure exactly when. The ban on "mini kegs" only happened a few years ago right after a local micro brewery purchased a bunch of new packaging equipment and started offering them.

Not to nitpick, but it's 4% beer. Using a different scale with a lower number and comparing it to percentages using the standard scale for everything else is intellectually dishonest. Not saying you're being dishonest, but calling "utah beer" 3.2% simply isn't accurate. 99.9% of the time we describe alcohol percentage using abv.

 

[Aileen]

I said nothing about "Utah beer" percentage. I was speaking about Colorado grocery store beer, using a commonly used term, "3.2". I guess I should have left off the "%" and bolded the Colorado...

 

[alewhatcuresyou]

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

So a 5 gallon keg has 640 ounces and if I had 8 wives.... no...nope no thanks one is plenty.

 

[DogStar]

In England we have only one law restricting alcohol in the home. It's illegal to serve alcohol to a person under 5 years old.

 

[hunter_le five]

In England we have only one law restricting alcohol in the home. It's illegal to serve alcohol to a person under 5 years old.

Fascists!!! Who are *they* to tell someone they can't knock back a few cold ones with their toddler after a long day at pre-school?

It's a slippery slope, man.... A slippery slope.

 

[grizzly2378]

I've visited Utah a few times and, as has been mentioned, it's a beautiful place. And really, the liquor laws weren't as pervasive as I'd feared. Another quirky one I found was that when you buy "heavy beer" in a liquor store, none of it is refrigerated. It's all at room temp, presumably so you won't consume it immediately. Also, they priced everything by the bottle, not by the 6 pack. You could buy a 6 pack of beer, but they charged you for 6 individual bottles. Makes building your own custom sixer pretty easy, actually.

Wyoming and North Dakota are both "liquor store states", in that you can only get >4% beer at a liquor store. Meanwhile, in South Dakota, you can buy hard liquor (and any manner of beer) at Walmart. But, until recently, you couldn't buy any alcohol on Memorial Day (or was it Labor Day...or both....maybe the 4th of July too).

In Montana, breweries that produce over 10,000 bbl of beer per year can't sell beer for on-site consumption. So, for example, if you visit Big Sky Brewing in Missoula you can't buy a pint, but you can get up to 4 free 4 ounce samples and buy some cans or bottles or growlers to go. Smaller breweries can sell beer, but only 48 oz per person per day (how strictly the breweries adhere to this is hit or miss).

Amazing how the liquor laws differ from state to state with little rhyme or reason.

 

[Gameface]

I said nothing about "Utah beer" percentage. I was speaking about Colorado grocery store beer, using a commonly used term, "3.2". I guess I should have left off the "%" and bolded the Colorado...

Right, I know you weren't talking about Utah beer and I wasn't trying to call you out. But there's no such thing as 3.2 beer. It's just a pet peeve of mine.

Carry on.

 

[Beernik]

The state law calls it out as 3.2% ABW.

It's a hold over from the repeal of the Volstead Act. The first alcohol that was made legal prior to the full repeal of Prohibition was "small beer". Small beer was defined as 3.2% ABW. It's in the years since Prohibition that ABV became used more than ABW.


The thing that frustrates me about the kegging law is if they want to make it illegal for individuals, fine. But make it legal for restaurants and bars to serve greater than 4% ABV beer from.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Oklahoma has 3.2 beer and that is what it is called. It is sold at bars gas stations and so o Beer that is above 3.2 has to come from the liquor store and is not sold cold.