Iowa has two classifications to consider: “beer” is 5% ABW or lower, and “high alcoholic content beer” is higher than 5% ABW.They, too, are restricted to 100 gallons for a single-person household, and 200 gallons for a double-person household. Brewers in Idaho are restricted to using “native-grown” products to brew with.Delaware doesn’t have a requirement for the number of adults who live in a household, but limits the brew capacity to 200 gallons. Connecticut allows for 100 gallons for two-person households, and 50 gallons for one-person households. In many states, you can brew up to 200 gallons of homebrew a year if two adults live on the premises, and only 100 if you’re single.However, Mississippi still has cities and counties that are considered “dry” where no alcoholic beverages are allowed.

Utah didn’t legalize homebrewing until 2009, Oklahoma until 2010, and Alabama and Mississippi until 2013.14 percent, in North Carolina 15 percent, in South Carolina 17.5 percent ABV, and in Oklahoma 3.2 percent ABW (with the proper state-issued permit). However, you probably don’t want to go Live on Facebook to show off your super-boozy 19 percent ABV Imperial IPA if you’re in a state with ABV restrictions! In Tennessee and Mississippi, it’s illegal to brew anything more than 10 percent ABV, in West Virginia 12 percent, in Washington, D.C. Now, I’m pretty sure there isn’t an ABV/ABW inspector running from house to house with a hydrometer to make sure brewers are in compliance. Some states allow brewers to do their thing, but have restrictions on the alcohol by volume (ABV) or alcohol by weight (ABW).In honor of this important date in history, we wanted to revisit some of the more…interesting laws that have plagued (er, been on the books for) homebrewers and craft-beer lovers, past and present. One issue lawmakers say gets in the way of changing laws is that there are just so many people wanting to get new laws on the books, and they have to prioritize-homebrewers getting to brew might not be at the top of that list of laws to change, but they’re also not at the top of the list of laws to enforce, either. While laws in some states are actively enforced and prosecuted, many times they’re overlooked (which probably depends a lot on how much of a problem they become in the community, complaints by other citizens, and other factors). With the huge surge in homebrewers over the past decade or so, however, many laws that were outdated (and some that were pretty absurd) were called to task and changed to fit our current culture.īut some states still have some pretty prohibitive laws concerning homebrewers. Homebrewers are vital to the craft-beer industry, but many found that they were unable to participate in their pastime (or at least had to brew on the DL) because of legal obstacles. The beer industry is full of brewers who got their start in a basement or garage, experimenting with extract kits, all-grain systems, and other cool gadgets. However, many states, counties, and even cities have passed their own laws. The ingredients were easy to come by, and it wasn’t as dangerous to produce as liquor. Homebrewing had been banned when Prohibition began in 1920, but-shockingly-homebrewing surged past its pre-Prohibition popularity. The law officially became effective in 1979. October 14 is the anniversary of the day that homebrewing beer without federal taxation was made possible in the United States, thanks to President Jimmy Carter, in 1978.

Maryland homebrew laws