Mississippi Beer Brewing Laws??

[william_shakes_beer]

And does the statute define wine? Do I hear a sudden upswell of barlewine in the great state of Mississippi?

 

[JeepDiver]

And does the statute define wine? Do I hear a sudden upswell of barlewine in the great state of Mississippi?

§ 67-1-5. Definitions.
(a) "Alcoholic beverage" means any alcoholic liquid, including wines of more than five percent (5%) of alcohol by weight, capable of being consumed as a beverage by a human being, but shall not include wine containing five percent (5%) or less of alcohol by weight and shall not include beer containing not more than five percent (5%) of alcohol by weight, as provided for in Section 67-3-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, but shall include native wines. The words "alcoholic beverage" shall not include ethyl alcohol manufactured or distilled solely for fuel purposes.
(b) "Alcohol" means the product of distillation of any fermented liquid, whatever the origin thereof, and includes synthetic ethyl alcohol, but does not include denatured alcohol or wood alcohol.
(c) "Distilled spirits" means any beverage containing more than four percent (4%) of alcohol by weight produced by distillation of fermented grain, starch, molasses or sugar, including dilutions and mixtures of these beverages.
(d) "Wine" or "vinous liquor" means any product obtained from the alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound, ripe grapes, fruits or berries and made in accordance with the revenue laws of the United States.

§ 67-3-3. Definitions.
(d) "Beer" means a malt beverage as defined in the Federal Alcohol Administration Act and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to such act.


And if you keep digging you will see that the possession of any Beer/Malt Beverage of over 5% ABW is illegal in MS, homebrew, or Commercial.

I am not posting this to convince the OP to not brew, If I moved back to MS, I would continue to brew. However, you also should know the law, and not listen to the armchair people that want to tell you it’s not illegal.

If you are doing this for your own consumption, or consumption with a few friends then you shouldn’t have any problem. However if you happen to piss off someone, or throw a house party and the cops show up and want to make an example, note that the manufacture of Beer is a felony with a minimum sentence of 1 year in the State Penitentiary. Now while it isn’t near as bad of a place as it was when I was grown up, when there were chain gangs, and they had a farm that inmates worked on during the hot Mississippi Summers, I doubt Parchman is a place someone would want to visit, just because they Brewed on their front porch and dared the cops to do something about it.

 

[conpewter]

By the way I'm reading you also can't order wine kits (that normally would come from a different state) and make wine either...

 

[Accidic]

I would think you could reasonably field the argument that it "could" be grown. Like most laws, this one is worded poorly which imo they do on purpose to try and create more ways to screw you. Not sure about MS but I wonder if it is like AL in that the state is the sole monopoly on liquor. I find it almost comedic that they legislate any possible competition out of reasonable business in situations like that.

 

[BobTheAverage]

What I find particularly comedic is that our state is run by "get government out of my life" Republicans.

 

[wild]

I have to assume that these types of laws are just there because they've been on the books for so long, but I can't imagine you would ever be arrested for brewing beer for your own consumption?

Wasn't a man arrested this year in AL for homebrewing?

 

[Accidic]

Not sure if it's the one you were talking about but they did put pressure on a guy that they've left in limbo to make him uncomfortable because he made comments that left egg on their face. Don't think he's been officially arrested though. Almost makes me wonder if they're afraid someone may push it in court and invalidate a law that seems to make every kitchen in the state illegal.

As for Republicans, I believe the recent vote to explicitly legalize failed from votes from both parties. Northern Brewer did an (edited admittedly) audio blurb of the proceedings highlighting the idiocy involved in that state. Also I believe the gentleman who helped organize the movement posts here as well. Supposedly Anheiser Busch got off the opposing side of the bill this year (rumor is that they helped bury it before it could make it to a vote in previous years) but it was defeated by a 2:1 vote. The Alvin Holmes guy was exceptionally embarrassing. He's actually become the model/standard for mocking idiocy where I work. Most of the vocal opponents were democrats tho. The "Nay" republicans generally seemed to shoot out down ignoring discussion. I contacted my father, mother, and grandfather who live in areas there with one of those and they apparently intend to vote against those individuals as lifelong Republicans out of pure embarrassment.

 

[Accidic]

And johny, I read the bill that the guy here was behind and it was incredibly short, concise, and clear. The reasoning was typically immature idiocy and people who were up in arms on how it would vindicate distillers as well which out explicitly prohibits. Apparently I need to guard the fact that I spent my childhood in that state since it apparently is synonymous with illiteracy.

 

[JeepDiver]

Wasn't a man arrested this year in AL for homebrewing?

There was a thread about a guy that got arrested with homebrew and homebrew equipment, but the cops were serving a warrant for something else and saw the equipment/bottles setting out. There was also some question about if they guy had a still and/or moonshine.

 

[boomtown25]

I hope my comments don't come off as being a "prick" but Reb Ale is available in more places then just Oxford (although that is definitely what it is about "Rebels"). And according to Miss Code Ann 67-3-5, Beer can only be 5% abv in MS. I invite someone to prove me wrong on this last part as I think it is idiotic and by no means am I more right than wrong most of the time.

 

[boomtown25]

To go along with this argument, I have been in MS for 32 years now, have practiced law for 9 and brewed beer and wine for about 2 years- I'm not stopping, but would love to see it truly legalized as well as raise the abv somewhere in the neighborhood of around 10% at least. MS politics, law and the like have an inherent problem with making things so simple into something so complicated that a rocket scientist would not be able to decipher it with a Rosetta Stone. Can anyone cite a specific "legalization" law from another state (I'm thinking Oregon or Colorado because they worship craft and homebrew) that we could put forth to friendly legislatures in our Congress?

 

[Ricand]

Hahahaaa!! I just found the link someone referred to earlier on the legislature discussion of homebrewing in AL. This is classic and helps you understand how stupid these southern legislatures can be. Check it out .

 

[jamesampm]

wow thats some crazy back woods thinking!

what I would do? move away from Mississippi

 

[spacemaker]

@ Ricand, How much does BMC put out to get these votes? Follow the money! Berry Forte wants you to believe those kids were drinking home brew, when in reality someone bought a few kegs of B M or C and shared it along with there meth, pot and crack. What a joke that was.

 

[tick_daddy]

I hope my comments don't come off as being a "prick" but Reb Ale is available in more places then just Oxford (although that is definitely what it is about "Rebels"). And according to Miss Code Ann 67-3-5, Beer can only be 5% abv in MS. I invite someone to prove me wrong on this last part as I think it is idiotic and by no means am I more right than wrong most of the time.

Boomtown, the law is 5%ABW which translates to 6.3%ABV. Check out www.raiseyourpints.org for answers to all of the questions raised on this thread. Cheers!

 

[tick_daddy]

To go along with this argument, I have been in MS for 32 years now, have practiced law for 9 and brewed beer and wine for about 2 years- I'm not stopping, but would love to see it truly legalized as well as raise the abv somewhere in the neighborhood of around 10% at least. MS politics, law and the like have an inherent problem with making things so simple into something so complicated that a rocket scientist would not be able to decipher it with a Rosetta Stone. Can anyone cite a specific "legalization" law from another state (I'm thinking Oregon or Colorado because they worship craft and homebrew) that we could put forth to friendly legislatures in our Congress?

That's another thing I don't understand, Boomtown25, homebrewing was federally legalized in 1978. Why MS and AL felt the need to negate that is beyond me. Btw, how is your Amarillo IPA? Did you get the kit from Midwest?

 

[frydogbrews]

this is one of those archaic laws that they never got around to changing. same way gay sex is technically illegal in a whole bunch of states.
hey boomtown, how did that cucumber blonde turn out? i wanted to make one this year but never got around to it.

 

[Accidic]

Actually the gay sex thing was invalidated by the supreme court a few years back and is legal in all 50 states as I understand it.

And to get back on topic, it isn't always just the money down in MS/AL but often hypocritical "Righteousness" as well in some cases. It amazes me when "Thumpers" pick up the excess argument and twist it to mean NONE! Yet they completely ignore other entries on the subject... (This is what happened with my father's rep specifically as he's rather vocal about it.) Even when I lived there as a kid they used grape juice in place of wine at my church (catholic) as opposed to churches I've attended post moving that use actual wine. /shrug

 

[JeepDiver]

I lived there as a kid they used grape juice in place of wine at my church (catholic) as opposed to churches I've attended post moving that use actual wine. /shrug

Are you sure about that? While I have seen other denominations do it, I grew up Catholic, in MS, in a dry County/town and we still used wine for communion. I have never see a Catholic church use grape juice.

The Catholic church has no issue with alcohol consumption.

 

[frydogbrews]

some churches here in mo use grape juice for the kids who have gone through confirmation. doesn't really matter as communion wine tastes like crappy grape juice anyway.

 

[boomtown25]

Unfortunately, the Cucumber Honey Blonde was an EPIC failure. I think I go infected and to top it off, I carbonated with Cane sugar for the first time so I think I got my calculations wrong. It smelled terrible and was extremely cloudy when I bottled it. I gave it a week and was going to try it and opened 3 and had gushers. Besides that it smelled worse and I couldn't even bring myself to try it. I think I used too many cucumbers as well. I ended upo pouring them all (all gushers) for the bottles so I could bottle my next batch.

I'm still looking forward to the Amarillo IPA (bottled it yesterday). I also bought an extra oz of Amarillo that did not come with the kit to dry hop it. Smells great. It was the AG Midwest kit.

 

[Accidic]

Yeah, I'm 100% sure. I saw the container during regular mass. I've got family scattered in every SE state from.texas to florida and up a high as TN and been to mass at all of them and only noticed the wine thing at the church in AL. Is rather amusing as I've taken communion at several other denominational churches (admittedly before I was told it was a bad thing which I still consider arrogant self righteous bull****) and each used wine.

 

[YnkBlu]

Since when are good Mississippi and Alabama folk worrying about what the law thinks about brewing at home!

 

[boomtown25]

Since when are good Mississippi and Alabama folk worrying about what the law thinks about brewing at home!

No one said we were, we just like to try to appear "respectable" in the eyes of other law abiding folk!

 

[flyingtiger]

Since when are good Mississippi and Alabama folk worrying about what the law thinks about brewing at home!

Exactly, if it wasn't for "homebrew" there wouldn't be any NASCAR!

 

[puter]

Since when are good Mississippi and Alabama folk worrying about what the law thinks about brewing at home!

There's people that brew here?
*lookin' around*
Aint that against the law or sumtin'?

 

[BobTheAverage]

There are two homebrewing shops in alabama if i am not mistaken. Yes there are brewers in MS and Alabama. Tell people you brew and others who brew will pop out of the woodwork.

 

[Silverbullet]

They don't allow home brewing, but there is also a 6% ABV cap, which would be easy to go beyond with home brewing. The law sucks, but the law is the law. Do as you will, I am not saying to do it or not to do it, just way the pluses with the chances of getting caught and said consequences.

6% cap? I stockpile Pitch Black IPA when I can and buy that off the shelves. Bottle clearly says 6.5% ABV.
I've also spoken with several individuals that brew, or at one time brewed in the state, and they all swear you can brew, just not sell. Haven't bothered to look into it because I don't care.....

 

[JeepDiver]

As of July 1 it is 10% ABV, though that limit really has nothing to do HB being illegal

 

[tick_daddy]

6% cap? I stockpile Pitch Black IPA when I can and buy that off the shelves. Bottle clearly says 6.5% ABV.
I've also spoken with several individuals that brew, or at one time brewed in the state, and they all swear you can brew, just not sell. Haven't bothered to look into it because I don't care.....

As of July 1, the law has changed on ABV. You can now purchase beer at 8.2%ABW, which is about 10%ABV. Homebrewing is still technically illegal. Please visit Raise Your Pints for more information on Mississippi's retarded beer laws: http://www.raiseyourpints.com/

And, you should care about this state's laws because they're still forcing tax dollars out of state by making homebrewers buy ALL of their ingredients and equipment.