2beerguys beer blog

BEER LAW: Homebrewing legalized in Utah

Here’s a link to an article about the grass root efforts in UTAH to legalize home brewing.

Hopefully this will encourage more people to home brew.  It’s fun and a good way to teach cooking and science.

Sean

2Beerguys.com

Grassroots Beer Brewers Score a Victory in Utah
Written by Benjamin Dangl

Just three companies control approximately 80 percent of the beer industry in the US. Brewing beer at home is one way to counter this corporate monopoly. However, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama and Oklahoma still outlaw the craft. Recently, a victory for homebrewers was scored in Utah, when on February 19th the State Senate legalized homebrewing, bringing the state out of the shadows of prohibition.

…. during Prohibition, home brewers naturally took a hit. After Prohibition was lifted, wine was allowed to be produced legally at home, but beer was not. In 1978, NY Congressman Barbar Conable sponsored a bill that would legalize homebrewing. When introducing the bill to Congress, Conable said that Americans should not have to “rely on the beer barons” for their brew. It wasn’t until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Cranston Act, that home brewing was legalized in many states. At the time of the law’s passage, only forty four breweries were in operation the US.

….. however, the Cranston Act still allowed individual states to prohibit the production. Before the Utah Senate legalized homebrewing a few days ago, those who brewed at home had to get a license and post a $10,000 bond.

Click here to read the full article