Posted on 09/06/2017 8:19:52 PM PDT by ForYourChildren
Treating home distilling as illegal makes little sense, given that homebrewing and wine making have been legal at the federal level since 1978.
In the aftermath of its failure to pass a health-care overhaul, Congress appears poised to turn to tax reform. While income and corporate tax rates will likely garner most of the attention, alcohol producers are also hoping for changes to booze taxes. Specifically, brewer, vintners, and distillers have been pushing on Capitol Hill for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which would lower federal excise taxes on alcohol.
Despite attracting nearly 300 co-sponsors in the House and more than 50 in the Senate, the bill has failed to get a vote in recent sessions of Congress. There’s renewed hope for the act this year—perhaps as part of a larger tax overhaul—but the current version of the bill is missing a key feature of previous iterations: the legalization of home distilling. Whereas the 2015 version of the act included a provision that would have permitted distillation of up to 24 proof gallons per year for personal consumption, that provision has been stripped from the new version of the bill.
Americans Can Already Brew Some Kinds of Alcohol
Treating home distilling as illegal makes little sense, given that homebrewing and wine making have been legal at the federal level since 1978, when President Jimmy Carter signed legislation allowing Americans to produce limited amounts of beer and wine for personal consumption. Nearly 40 years later, many beer industry analysts have argued that Carter’s home brewing reform was a key factor in the meteoric rise of the craft beer movement.
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(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
GREAT ARTICLE!
Lots of links and information on how deregulation spurs industries, using beer and breweries as examples.
In 1978, the United States had fewer than 200 breweries. Today, there are more than 5,000 breweries nationwide, with the vast majority being craft breweries. These numbers should come as little surprise, since legalizing homebrewing encouraged a generation of wannabe brewers to experiment and perfect their craft in basements and garages around the country. While it’s hard to know the exact number, it’s believed that up to 90 percent of craft brewers started out as homebrewers.
I think they don’t want people to “blowed up real good, like”
The universally acclaimed recipe and instructions for BEGINNERS to make wine...
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/edworts-apflewine.html
Musical accompaniment - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM-v3J9EfXA
“I think they don’t want people to “blowed up real good, like””
Maybe not, but I still can’t find the power over alcohol give to the Feds in the Constitution.
Similar to healthcare.
Nope. Revenooers.
“Its all about taxation.”
Not in this case, it’s all about control. You can’t do it.
It’s not about taxation.
I think that the reason it is not is related to safety.
In those moonshine reality TV shows, they say that some of the distillate is methanol, not ethanol. And methanol is highly toxic. I suppose there could some sort of licensing involved, where people have to demonstrate that they know how to identify and separate the methanol from the ethanol. And also how not to set the alcohol on fire.
Home brewing beer and wine is not likely to end up with methanol. Although I have read where people gave themselves botulism from badly brewed concoctions.
“Not in this case, it’s all about control. You can’t do it.”
I think it should be legal but there are a lot of stupid people out there that don’t know methanol from ethanol.
“I think it should be legal but there are a lot of stupid people out there that don’t know methanol from ethanol.”
That is still not given to the Feds.
You have to work at it to brew bad beer. As long as you’re on top of sanitation, you’ll most always get a decent batch. Brewing really great beer, now that’s something else again.
Bookmark
Freedom to do things frightens most people...who will rationalize all sorts of safety/revenue/disaster excuses for banning said freedom.
I took up the hobby of making my own moonshine for about year for personal consumption. All the equipment to make it was legal to buy under the guise of making ethanol for use in the gas tank of your car.
Truthfully; I don’t like hard alcohol at all so 99% of the shine I made went through the lips of friends. I just wanted to see if I could do it. It’s far easier than making beer or wine. Darn near foolproof really. Even if done wrong; there will still be some alcohol made.
I had my fun with it, satisfied my curiosity about it all, then got rid of the equipment.
If someone ever wants to give it a try; just get one of those table top one gallon water distillers that will turn one gallon of mash into one pint of shine. Want it stronger than 110 proof? Run it through the distiller again. I wouldn’t do it though. At 110 proof or 55% alcohol; you are at a good level for both taste and potency.
I agree; it should be legal for personal consumption which is probably why the authorities turn a blind eye to those who do it for the most part. It might be different where you live.
My thought, as a sorta Prepper, was that it would come in handy as a bartering item. Then I thought about all the sugar it would require and realized the sugar would probably be even more valuable as a bartering item. I didn’t want to store all the sugar I had so I gave it up with the equipment. Seemed fair to me.
Seem to recall lots of folks making blackberry wine prior to 1978
“Freedom to do things frightens most people...who will rationalize all sorts of safety/revenue/disaster excuses for banning said freedom.”
You nailed it right there.
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