Passing the Beer Torch

[mrb]

At what age is one allowed to know about the glorious fruits of homebrewing?

My wife's 19 year old half-brother was at my house last weekend and was VERY curious about the whole brewing process. So I showed him my equipment and told him just what I do with it. He's a pretty smart kid who's planning on going pre-med in college, so I figured he would easily know what he was doing. He was particularly interested in Appfelwein, since the process didn't seem so complicated.

Either I have created a brewing beast or just helped a college kid find out how to create an easy drunk.

(I could tell that his dad didn't mind so much, but his mom was a bit pissed off that I told him my secrets. If only I had known at 19 what I do know about hombrewing.)

 

[Funkenjaeger]

As evidenced by mods banning from the forum any US residents who they find out to be under the age of 21, I'd say the age cutoff for homebrewing is the same as the legal drinking age here, 21.

With that said, when I searched the web to find some kind of law to quote in support of the above argument (when an underage kid was asking about it) I was unable to come up with anything specific. The laws governing possession and consumption of alcohol vary widely from state to state, and none of the resources I found even mentioned where homebrewing fit into the (already confusing) system.

Your best bet may be to call your local police station or something like that, so you can be sure of what the law is in your state/area.

 

[Chris_Dog]

If only I had known at 19 what I do know about hombrewing.)

Wow no kidding! I can't imagine the amount of vile tasting crap I would have come up with. I only say this because I was drinking Beast at the time. (Not that it would have mattered but the drinking age was 18 at the time).

 

[DUCCCC]

Had I known that all I basically needed to make a cheap alcohol at 16 was to toss a packet of bread yeast into a gallon of apple juice, both available to any aged person at almost any supermarket, and how to make a rudimentary airlock with a balloon, I'd have been in even more trouble than I was at that age!

To think of all the trouble I went to to get some really horrible beer. Come to think of it, maybe we need to censor the Apfelwein thread...

Matt

 

[Surly]

I would think that a 19 year old can participate in home brewing but not posess the fermented product, or of course drink it.

OT, but somewhat related. It is my understanding that under Wisconsin law, I can take my 17 yr, old child to a tavern and he/she can be served alcohol. But, once they turn 18 and are now an adult they cannot be served because I no longer am responsible for them and they are not of legal drinking age.

 

[david_42]

I suspect the only special knowledge you passed on to him is how dead simple the process can be and maybe a good yeast is a good yeast. The rest is out there. I made hard ciders in college. Which I couldn't take home, because at the time New York was an 18 state and New Jersey 21.

 

[Nurmey]

You didn't tell him anything he couldn't easily find out on the web or in a library. I have always believed that ignorance was way more dangerous than correct information. Young folks should have correct information if they ask, particularly about the things that could get them into trouble. Alcohol questions are no different sex education questions. Many believe that if you don't' tell kids about sex, they won't do it. Give me a break! You didn't give him permission to brew or drink, you just gave him information.

That fact is that a 19 year old man is going to drink or brew if he wants to, better he does it with correct information rather than trying his hand at hooch.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

You didn't do anything wrong. Passing on some knowledge is perfectly fine. My (future) kids will likely know enough about brewing beer by the time they're 12 to make it themselves. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for teaching kids about creativity, biology, chemistry, physics, safety, and responsibility. However, my kids will not be partaking in anything more than a small taste of a beer they helped create, and if I ever find a fermenter hidden under a bed, there'll be hell to pay.

That said, I still agree that allowing underage folks to participate on this forum is a bad idea. They're probably not here to learn about the science and beauty of making beer, but rather, just want a cheap drunk. I refuse to take part in that sort of discussion.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

You didn't do anything wrong. Passing on some knowledge is perfectly fine. My (future) kids will likely know enough about brewing beer by the time they're 12 to make it themselves. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for teaching kids about creativity, biology, chemistry, physics, safety, and responsibility. However, my kids will not be partaking in anything more than a small taste of a beer they helped create, and if I ever find a fermenter hidden under a bed, there'll be hell to pay.

That said, I still agree that allowing underage folks to participate on this forum is a bad idea. They're probably not here to learn about the science and beauty of making beer, but rather, just want a cheap drunk. I refuse to take part in that sort of discussion.

Well put. I don't think I'd ever find a fermenter under their bed, though. If they want to sneak a beer, all they'd have to do is walk over to the kegerator and pull themselves a pint. How would I know?? That does kind of worry me as they get a bit older. In couple more years, if they throw a party on the sly, there could be quite a few kids in my home without my knowledge getting schnickered on my homebrew.......

 

[Kevin Dean]

+1 to what Yuri said.