What's with all the hating on the underage brewers?

[Revvy]

So,, what if an 18yr old wanted to brew up a big belgian to age for his/her 21st? Just a thought.

I have a feeling that if an underage poster came on asking that he'd be handled differently by the mods and regulars that the usual "*giggle* me and my friends want to get high" underage posters we tend to get on here.

I think he would be first GENTLY told about our POSTING guidelines (which actually don't preclude anyone from reading stuff, just from posting) and more than likely someone would send him to some thread links with the best info on the subject. But I also have a feeling that if someone is that already knowledgeable about brewing to want to do that, then more than likely they have probably used the search function and found the info. If they are that savvy about brewing then more than likely they are tech savvy enough to do some digging on their own.

Or are smart enough NOT to post their age as underage upon signup.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I have a feeling that if an underage poster came on asking that he'd be handled differently by the mods and regulars that the usual "*giggle* me and my friends want to get high" underage posters we tend to get on here.
.....
Or are smart enough NOT to post their age as underage upon signup.

Wait... can I smoke hops to get high?!!?

Yes, there are some of that second group you mentioned on here. I know of several that have gone on to become supporting members and have been actively brewing for years.

 

[olllllo]

This is a brewing site.
In the course of what we do, age generally speaking, is not a brewing related topic.
Does your age affect mash efficiency?
Does your age prevent you from bottle conditioning? No. No.

However, when an poster discusses their age, it inevitably and rapidly narrows to a a theme or singular question.

How do I circumvent the law?
How do I get others to help me circumvent the law?

This is why we also kill the weed threads.

While it should be obvious that we cannot verify birth dates, there is a surprising amount of information out there in googleland about folks. The takeaway is to be conscious of what you post about yourselves.

Finally, the first rule of this place should be, "Don't be a dick."
Ask questions about beer. Answer questions about beer. Don't add any extra information about doing things that normally would get you and others in trouble.

Example:
Right-
"I would like to know about ingredient to make strong Belgian beers."

Wrong-
"I would like to know about ingredient to make strong Belgian beers because I am hosting an overnight retreat for Belgian foreign exchange alter boys and I want to have them unconscious for at least 5 hours as the drive across state lines is 2 hours and the hike to the bunker is 30 minutes."

That's on the ridiculous side, but seriously. Nobody likes to be duped.

I don't normally hang out with kids under 21 both in reals and online. That's just me. That is the craft beer world and that is the pro brewing world. That's our club rule. That's our LHBS rule. Deal.

Don't put your brew brothers and sisters in any moral or legal jeopardy. Don't take advantage of us because we like to help.

 

[Revvy]

Wrong-
"I would like to know about ingredient to make strong Belgian beers because I am hosting an overnight retreat for Belgian foreign exchange alter boys and I want to have them unconscious for at least 5 hours as the drive across state lines is 2 hours and the hike to the bunker is 30 minutes."

Now there you go quoting Laughing Gnome Invisible out of context again.

His drive is 3 hours not two.

 

[Vaughn]

I started brewing when I was 18. Everyone seemed to be very helpful, but I didn't really come off as being underage.

 

[JetSmooth]

I started brewing when I was 18. Everyone seemed to be very helpful, but I didn't really come off as being underage.

Retroactive Bannination!

 

[claphamsa]

Retroactive Bannination!

lolz

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I started brewing when I was 18. Everyone seemed to be very helpful, but I didn't really come off as being underage.

You didn't play on my bloody lawn as well, did you?

 

[olllllo]

This is not a confessional thread either.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

This is not a confessional thread either.

Phew! So I don't have to say what I did with your alter boys then? Cool!

 

[JetSmooth]

This is not a confessional thread either.

Thanks goodness, because I know IP was feeling obligated to talk about his underage animal husbandry.





You know he was in 4H!

 

[Revvy]

Retroactive Bannination!

I now preset to the mods, The Ban Hammer of Time for all their retrobannination needs.

So I suck at speed photoshop, so sue me.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Your date of birth and age are displayed in several places on the forum. Only the administrator will have access to your date of birth should you choose to hide it via the privacy option below.
Please contact the Administrator if your date of birth has changed.

I always found this amusing.

 

[Yooper]

Just to provide some thoughtful information (as I don't care one way or the other on this debate). When I read through brewing related laws, it looks like you can legally brew at age 18+, but you can't drink or purchase alcohol until you are 21+.

So,, what if an 18yr old wanted to brew up a big belgian to age for his/her 21st? Just a thought. Also, we have to remember that laws and regulations don't stop people from disobeying them.

To my knowledge, It's illegal to brew if you are under the age of 21, even with parental consent. The reason is because once you pitch yeast, the wort is now considered beer.

I've never heard of a state where it was legal to brew at 18, although it certainly is possible. Even if it is possible in one state, we're not about to start becoming experts on the law of brewing. If you're a US resident, we all know it's 21. Not "almost 21", but 21.

As was mentioned earlier, in order to post on the site you must say that you are of age. If you're not smart enough to subtract 21 from 2010, we don't want you here anyway!

 

[SwampassJ]

I just hate other peoples kids.

 

[sudsmcgee]

in wisconsin, you can legally drink in bars if you have parental consent.

altho, that might have changed since I was 18 (8 years ago....)

As far as I know it's still true. I saw a kid at the bar with his parents last month.

 

[Yooper]

As far as I know it's still true. I saw a kid at the bar with his parents last month.

Yeah, that's still true. Kids can drink with parental consent and their presence, at any age, in Wisconsin. Some bars don't allow it, but most do.

The funny thing is that there are tons of small "mom and pop" type bars all over Wisconsin. Kids can work for their parents. So, a 15 year old bartender can serve a 15 year old kid. Legally. If both kids have parents on the premises who give their consent. At least, that was true not too long ago- it may have changed. There is talk now about changing the law to not allow underage drinking at all, but at this point it's still legal.

 

[mattd2]

I agree that we/I don't want to see a whole heap of kids on here with "howz u mk br 4 chp?????/" threads and I am thankfull for the deligence of the mods that remove these before I have to even read a title with horrible txt speak.
But what gets my back up are when normal members are taking it upon themselves to crusify seemily respectful young "adults" that have put their correct details in asking for advice on how they can get in on enjoying beer as apose to being stuck with guys that are doing keg stands on BMC.
The 2 recent cases that come to mind are the guy aged 20 years 51 weeks getting answers like "It's not legal for you to brew" when he was asking about equipment or the 19 year old guy in Canada that got the same answer when the drinking age where he is is 18 (neither of them had mentioned their age in the thread IIRC).
I know the rules are the rules, but shouldn't we be letting the mods sort this thing out and let them be the ones who make the call, I just think we end up coming off as pretincious ******** for berating someone who is interested in our hobby.

We have the report button for this reason, If you are not a mod and you feel like a post breaks the rules, use it or just ignore the post.
Why can we just all get along!

 

[Homercidal]

Federal Homebrewing law allows brewing at the age of adult, which is 18. HOWEVER, it defers to state law, and there is no state that allows homebrewing under the age of 21. So lobby your state to lower the homebrew age!

 

[albannach]

To my knowledge, It's illegal to brew if you are under the age of 21, even with parental consent. The reason is because once you pitch yeast, the wort is now considered beer.

I've never heard of a state where it was legal to brew at 18, although it certainly is possible. Even if it is possible in one state, we're not about to start becoming experts on the law of brewing. If you're a US resident, we all know it's 21. Not "almost 21", but 21.

As was mentioned earlier, in order to post on the site you must say that you are of age. If you're not smart enough to subtract 21 from 2010, we don't want you here anyway!

I started brewing at age 22; I'm now 24. I have an IQ of 142, I'm a college student with a 3.9 GPA (out of 4), undergrad & already have a professional job in my field. Can I still be here .

Wasn't trying to argue a point, was just trying to provide a stimulating "what-if" ethical/legal discussion item. Like I said, I personally don't care if a 12 year old brews beer (might have a problem if he/she started drinking without supervision obviously).

I think ollo said it best though (and I quote "don't be a dick"), this is a forum about beer; talk about beer, anything else is unnecessary information that just wastes the reader's time.

And to the poster who told me to lobby my state; as far as the laws in my state go,,,

If:

1. An 18yr old (legal (just legal) definition of "adult") was not claimed as a dependent on another party's tax return.
2. That 18yr old rented/owned or otherwise fit the legal definition of "head of household"

Then, that 18yr old could brew in his/her residence. However, as Yoop has already mentioned, as soon as yeast is added to the wort, the 18yr old could be hauled off for possession.

Since most people don't want to brew and drink wort alone, it wouldn't make legal sense to brew underage. Just wanted to provide stimulating facts to make the conversation less "bashing" and more "discussion".

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/statutes/georgia

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

No hate. Just no tolerance.

Brewing may or may not be leagal in some jurisdictions on State level but, even guilt by association in matters of alcohol and minors is frowned upon by the Feds.

 

[TxBrew]

out of curiosity what is the law over there? in britain you can't buy it until you're 18 but you can drink it under that age with parental consent/supervision-a glass of wine with a meal lets say- is it the same deal over there or are you not allowed to touch it at all until you are 21?

In Texas you are allowed to drink underage with the consent and presence of your parents.

The other mods tackled it and they are correct. Part of the terms of use for this site is that you are legal to brew in you country. If you are not, and have signed up, you have already violated the rules of the forum.

It's not unheard of for people to get charged with aiding to the delinquency of minor down here. It happens a lot. I would hate to be brought up on charges because I knowingly allowed someone underage to brew, get drunk, drive, kill someone, then all of sudden I am responsible. That would suck. Knowing how sue happy people seem to be it seems best to avoid that hornets nest all together.

For the record if someone is banned because they are underage, they can pm me with proof of their turning 21 (telling me it's there birthday is enough) then I restore their previous account.

 

[Ashz]

Well, where do you draw the line then? I have seen some underage people looking into owning pistols crucified for hinting at owning them illegally on other forums (notice the phrase owning them illegally). Is that wrong? I don't think so. How about driving underage on a permit on your own? Is that wrong? Granted the act is different from talking about it, but if you are on this site then IMHO the intent is there.

Coming on this site, registering and agreeing to the terms and conditions may seem like something you just click through to you and I, but it clearly states the rules and conditions for registering.

I am not saying that an 18 year old can't be responsible enough to brew beer. Simply that they better be from where that is legal.

The generation now has got respect on the back burner. It may be because of the iterwebz, or lack of parental enforcement, it doesn't matter really. If you don't have the respect or at least the intelligence to follow THE RULES then you get the bannanation hammer. Simple as that.

Threads that talk about stills or the act of....locked. Threads with obvious disregard to the clear and obvious rules of joining should be dealt with in that manner. Pruno threads and the like are obvious red flags. But it becomes quite clear, very quickly when an underage person is "smart" and asking the "right" questions.

The bottom line in my opinion is this. There are dark nasty places on the tubes where these types of questions get answered. HBT is not one of those places. It's as simple as that.

 

[mattd2]

It's not unheard of for people to get charged with aiding to the delinquency of minor down here. It happens a lot. I would hate to be brought up on charges because I knowingly allowed someone underage to brew, get drunk, drive, kill someone, then all of sudden I am responsible. That would suck. Knowing how sue happy people seem to be it seems best to avoid that hornets nest all together.

Yeah it is sad how when something like that happens and instead of taking responsibilty for allowing it themselves (I mean how can you really miss a carboy of beer in your kid's cupboard!) the parents try to shift the blame by saying my son ask this forum and they told him how to make beer (not that it matters that he could have just read it in a book at the libary), they need to be shut down and pay me $$$ for my emotional distress.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Threads that talk about stills or the act of....locked. Threads with obvious disregard to the clear and obvious rules of joining should be dealt with in that manner. Pruno threads and the like are obvious red flags. But it becomes quite clear, very quickly when an underage person is "smart" and asking the "right" questions.

Ummm...I thought we already do that.

 

[maztec]

No alcohol until you're 21 in the states.

That is incorrect. Many states allow drinking in the parental he under supervision. Some even allow it in public, if a guardian orders the beer.

 

[ChshreCat]

I was just meaning general rule. To walk in to a store and buy a six pack, you need to be 21.

 

[northernlad]

My immediate response to seeing this topic was:
Because its illegal
Period, end of report. There is not need to debate the gray area, etc or why it is dealt with the way it is.
On the flip side, no one ever has to join this forum or ask one question to get all the information needed. They only have to peruse at their leisure.
If you are stupid enough to join as a minor and ask questions then you ought to be run out of here.

 

[bh10]

I know this has been said, but you can drink/brew at any age LEGALLY as long as you are at your place of residence and have parental permission.