With new law in Utah now only 4 states have a law against making homemade wine/beer

[The Straight Story]

Home brews: Hobbyists toast imminent change in Utah liquor laws

Doug Wawarzynski, a second-year law student at the University of Utah, could see that his future career and his beer-brewing hobby would come to a head one day.

The Utah State Bar asks applicants if they have ever violated the law. But making beer or wine in the basement without a license is illegal in Utah.

"I knew I'd be posed with that question and I wanted me and the law to be in line before I graduated," said the 29-year-old Salt Lake City resident, who led a yearlong push to make amateur beer and wine brewing legal in the Beehive State.

This year, HB51 breezed through the House and the Senate and was signed into law on March 24. On May 12, when it takes effect, hobbyists 21 or older who produce less than 100 gallons of wine or beer in a year for personal or family consumption are exempt from state-licensing requirements. Two people, 21 or older, who live in the same house can produce up to 200 gallons without needing a license. (Distilling spirits without a license is still illegal under federal law.)

Gary Glass, director of the American Home Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo., said that while prohibition of alcohol ended in the United States in 1933, a glitch in the wording kept home brewing illegal until 1978. At that time, it was up to each state to determine whether to legalize the practice. Utah was one of the last. Now only Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma forbid home brewing.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12067130

[fujiyama]

1. Ah I see it's in the 4 states I'd least want to live in

[CreekDog]

2. Wow, more possibilities for Family Home Evening!

:applause:

[Warpy]

3. I was a scofflaw in 1976

as were many of my friends. I could get most of the ingredients wholesale and brewing it was cheaper than my ex's usual bar bill. He even managed to participate once in a while.

Nobody much cared and there was a place in town selling yeasts and dextrose. As long as you weren't bottling it for sale, it was tolerated.

My beers were kickass. Literally. Too bottles would kick your ass.

[Mr. Hyde]

4. vinification rules. I'm still getting toasty from last years grapes and pears grown in my back yard

plus, when I moved into my new house, the previous owners left a cellar full of homemade wine that looks to be a product of the 80s. The corks are rotten and the bottles are filthy but the wine inside is the best I have ever had. The legs are great, the mouthfeel is perfect, the finish is perfect, the bouquet is incredible. I literally feel guilty whenever I open a bottle because I know it's irreplaceable. I think I'll open one tonight. :toast: