Trouble waiting to happen

[rklinck]

Has it ever occurred to any of you that if the police ever found themselves inside your homes they would be mighty suspicious? And I am not talking about cops who think it is illegal to brew beer.

For me, I am pretty sure that some of the things in my house would look a lot like a drug dealer's house to the police. I mean, I have large bags of white powder (bottling sugar), small packages of green bud/leaves (hops), and multiple scales including some that are very precise. I'm thinking this is a recipe for a comedy of errors. Sure, the cops would eventually test the hops and sugar and figure out they are not drugs, but until they did, they would be sure that I was a drug dealer.

 

[unionrdr]

I keep my hops in their packaging in the freezer. My dry brewing ingredients in their bags in the pantry,still labeled. My fermenter stand full of stuff in.on the fermenter stand next to the comp hutch. They did come over once after the neighbor (that moved out last month) stood outside one summer on her cell phone,talkin to someone "yeah,it looks like a meth lab or something". Idiota. So anyway,the cops see my fermenter stand & asked,"oh,you make wine"? "Nah,I brew my own craft beers" & gave the short explaination. Not one problem since.

 

[rklinck]

I keep my hops in their packaging in the freezer.

Hops would be the big issue. I buy hops in bulk whenever possible, then weigh them out into 2 oz bags, vacuum seal them, and throw em in the freezer. Somehow, I imagine that a cop will be curious when he sees a bunch of bags of green cones/leaves that are labeled "Citra 2oz 13.9%"

 

[Renegades_Brew]

I think it would be interesting to have the cops over and see the large set of glass carboys filled with some "mystery" liquid. Some with a healthy lacto infection with those big alien looking pelicle bubbles.

 

[unionrdr]

I guess it's a good thing I didn't have a wort chiller layin around. They already know my family is from WV...

 

[hellawaits77]

So anyway,the cops see my fermenter stand & asked,"oh,you make wine"? "Nah,I brew my own craft beers" & gave the short explaination. Not one problem since.

Pretty much what I'd expect to happen. Most cops (yes, there are some who are) aren't dummies. No need for anyone to worry.

 

[roastquake]

As long as they don't walk in as I measure my priming sugar "one line per gallon"

 

[Yooper]

The cops are fine- it's my neighbors I worry about sometimes!

Let's see- I have lots of copper and stainless, with steam coming out the door, and I had one neighbor joke that I was "cooking meth".

I have gram scales, white powders in baggies (gypsum, mostly), green climbing plants, a freezer full of green dried plant material, bigger scales in the basement, etc. I have jugs of acid wash, test tubes, flasks, small amounts of strong acids, and all sorts of miscellaneous brewer's stuff.

And I have other hobbies- hunting, archery, soapmaking, etc- that use things like firearms, knives, lye (I have about 2 cases of lye!), arrows with razor edged broadhead tips, hanging scales, etc.

I'd say that the brewery gear and the kegerators would be the least suspicious thing I have!

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Your thinking WAY to much...

FIRST of all, a cop should never be in your house without a search warrent.
If you have a search warrent against you, your brewing supplies should be the last thing your worried about.
If you keep your sugar under your bed in a shoebox and not labled then possibly they can mix that up.
I keep mine in the pantry...labeled...SUGAR.
Hops i could see being mixed up with bud but it goes back to statement 1...why are the cops in your house??

Most cops are actually nice guys. If you give them a hard time, well then your in for a hard time also.
Just answer questions and if they still dont believe you offer them a homebrew!!

 

[BlackGoat]

I'm currently watching breaking bad from the beginning (no spoilers!) and every time I see them set up to cook meth I think it looks like my kitchen when I'm getting my yeast starters together for a multiple brew day. I'm sure brewing looks sketchy to people, especially when you see a big carboy full of bubbling foaming liquid. Out here in CA its legal to buy pot through the mail if you have a "prescription" so the hops thing isn't so much of an issue here. Not that I really care what anyone thinks.

 

[roastquake]

The cops are fine- it's my neighbors I worry about sometimes!

Let's see- I have lots of copper and stainless, with steam coming out the door, and I had one neighbor joke that I was "cooking meth".

I have gram scales, white powders in baggies (gypsum, mostly), green climbing plants, a freezer full of green dried plant material, bigger scales in the basement, etc. I have jugs of acid wash, test tubes, flasks, small amounts of strong acids, and all sorts of miscellaneous brewer's stuff.

And I have other hobbies- hunting, archery, soapmaking, etc- that use things like firearms, knives, lye (I have about 2 cases of lye!), arrows with razor edged broadhead tips, hanging scales, etc.

I'd say that the brewery gear and the kegerators would be the least suspicious thing I have!

In upper Michigan I'm guessing that hunting rifles and bows aren't very suspicious, they sure aren't here in the Carolinas. "Thank you uncle Ted!"

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

The cops are fine- it's my neighbors I worry about sometimes!

Let's see- I have lots of copper and stainless, with steam coming out the door, and I had one neighbor joke that I was "cooking meth".

I have gram scales, white powders in baggies (gypsum, mostly), green climbing plants, a freezer full of green dried plant material, bigger scales in the basement, etc. I have jugs of acid wash, test tubes, flasks, small amounts of strong acids, and all sorts of miscellaneous brewer's stuff.

And I have other hobbies- hunting, archery, soapmaking, etc- that use things like firearms, knives, lye (I have about 2 cases of lye!), arrows with razor edged broadhead tips, hanging scales, etc.

I'd say that the brewery gear and the kegerators would be the least suspicious thing I have!

Whats the going rate for a "weekend at yoopers"??

 

[rklinck]

Your thinking WAY to much...

FIRST of all, a cop should never be in your house without a search warrent.
If you have a search warrent against you, your brewing supplies should be the last thing your worried about.
If you keep your sugar under your bed in a shoebox and not labled then possibly they can mix that up.
I keep mine in the pantry...labeled...SUGAR.
Hops i could see being mixed up with bud but it goes back to statement 1...why are the cops in your house??

Most cops are actually nice guys. If you give them a hard time, well then your in for a hard time also.
Just answer questions and if they still dont believe you offer them a homebrew!!

To be clear, I am not actually worried. I am actually a former federal prosecutor, so I know cops will actually know what is going on. The thought just occurred to me while I was vacuum sealing some hops last night. And my priming sugar is not in my kitchen, it's in a big bag from a homebrew supply store (I pretty much keg and force carbonate exclusively these days, so I am not sure where exactly that bag is).

I just thought that this seems like the kind of "mix up" that would be the start of a silly movie. Those mix ups are always a bit contrived, but this one would not be that far fetched if you happened to get one of the very few bad cops out there.

 

[rklinck]

The cops are fine- it's my neighbors I worry about sometimes!

Let's see- I have lots of copper and stainless, with steam coming out the door, and I had one neighbor joke that I was "cooking meth".

Tell me about it. I only have one direct neighbor (because I am on a corner) and he called the cops on me the day I left town for my wedding because my dogs were barking after I left (he actually told me later that one of the cops told him he would have shot the dog). As you can imagine, we don't have the best relationship. I always wonder what he things when I pull my brewing rig out and spend the afternoon outside.

 

[dkwolf]

Yeah, couple the homebrew with my shooting hobby - and the fact that I reload for my pistols... all of the brewing equipment, the occasional package showing up at my doorstep with ORM-D decals, multiple 1-lb canisters of various gunpowders, and precision scales...

And then the fact that I both brew and reload in my garage with the door open.

 

[Yooper]

Whats the going rate for a "weekend at yoopers"??

You're welcome anytime! Summers are nicest. We have a cottage, a bunkhouse (known as the "deer blind" in the fall ), a house in town, etc. We always have a beer or two for friends and other brewers.