Too young to brew??

[SRFeldman79]

any lawyers here?

 

[newell456]

any lawyers here?

I am an attorney, by my posts are just my opinion. Someone could easily see it differently. What got me onto this tangeant is the fact that I have heard a lot of people, including people working at homebrew supply stores say that minors can homebrew because there is no law against it. Although threre might not be a statute in many states that says a minor shalt not homebrew, I certainly would not conclude that it is legal for a minor to homebrew, particularly if he is doing it by or for himself.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

I am an attorney

Great are we all going to get a bill now?

 

[SRFeldman79]

I'm one as well, I just have no knowledge about alcohol-related law beyond the legal limit in my state and the assumption that I could not serve someone under 21 alcohol in my own apartment (but I could be wrong about that apparently).

Perhaps I'll do some homebrewing law investigating soon.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I am an attorney, by my posts are just my opinion. Someone could easily see it differently. What got me onto this tangeant is the fact that I have heard a lot of people, including people working at homebrew supply stores say that minors can homebrew because there is no law against it. Although threre might not be a statute in many states that says a minor shalt not homebrew, I certainly would not conclude that it is legal for a minor to homebrew, particularly if he is doing it by or for himself.

IANAL...but in California at least, I know that there is a Minor In Possession (MIP) law that states that no person under the age of 21 can be in possession of an alcoholic beverage...at all! The difference is that while brewing, there is no alcohol present...yet. Once the fermentation process is underway I would assume any minor in possession of a carboy full of 4-10% ABV grog is going to get nailed if they are caught. In addition, there are laws against furnishing alcohol to a minor, usually invoked at college parties where there happen to be minors consuming . None of these situations apply to the actual brewing process until alcohol is present.

Bottom line though...if you're really concerned about a minor helping you in your brewing process and they are not your own children, I would make sure there is no alcohol in their possession. That way, you can defend yourself against the MIP and Zero Tolerance laws as they apply to minors. In addition, do some googling or other research to find any cases at the state and local levels that may have set a precedence in this subject matter.

 

[newell456]

IANAL...but in California at least, I know that there is a Minor In Possession (MIP) law that states that no person under the age of 21 can be in possession of an alcoholic beverage...at all! The difference is that while brewing, there is no alcohol present...yet. Once the fermentation process is underway I would assume any minor in possession of a carboy full of 4-10% ABV grog is going to get nailed if they are caught. In addition, there are laws against furnishing alcohol to a minor, usually invoked at college parties where there happen to be minors consuming . None of these situations apply to the actual brewing process until alcohol is present.

Bottom line though...if you're really concerned about a minor helping you in your brewing process and they are not your own children, I would make sure there is no alcohol in their possession. That way, you can defend yourself against the MIP and Zero Tolerance laws as they apply to minors. In addition, do some googling or other research to find any cases at the state and local levels that may have set a precedence in this subject matter.

IANYL- If a minor puts wort in a carboy/Mr. Beer/Ale Pale, and puts it in basement or closet, he is in constructive possession of it from there on, even if he is not holding it or not even at home. See http://www.njlaws.com/constructive_possession.htm

Further, if the state makes it illegal to either possess or attempt to possess alcohol, whether he is actually holding the carboy is really a moot issue.

Of course, none of this means anything unless someone is willing to prosecute, but I don't believe by any stretch of the imagination that a minor can legally homebrew by himself, but I also don't see any legal problem with a minor helping dad homebrew.

 

[Wort*hog]

I want to be a brewer when I grow up. Do we ever hear that? My daughter is 16 this month. 4.0 student, first chair violin, lettered in cross country and basketball. never been on a date, drop dead gorgeous and never gave me an ounce of trouble ever. I would like to see her show an interest in homebrewing. She sees me brew and treat beer with respect and moderation. I would like to see one of my kids to carry on my hobby. How many teens set brewing as a career goal? It's usually something that comes to mind long after career goals are set. Looking back it is something I wish I pursued as a teen.