SB 5060 in Effect as of July 26th, 2009 - Guidelines Print
WAHA Projects - Legal Efforts
Written by Mark Emiley   
Monday, 13 July 2009 08:55

On Sunday, July 26th, 2009, Senate Bill 5060 went into effect.  You are now able to legally remove homemade beer and wine from the house of production to be enjoyed in private settings.  You can easily celebrate by grabbing a keg or a bottle, heading to your neighbors house, and having a great beer-b-que with the community.  Teach your neighbors about the joy homebrewing first hand.

We've talked with the Liquor Control Board about their perspectives on having homemade beer or wine around and here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Keep it private - no openly "public" serving
2. No permit is required (banquet permits do not cover this so as long as it is private, you should be okay)
3. Avoid serving it in a place that has a liquor license (this is true in just about every state in the country, homebrew just isn't covered by their licenses)
4. The 20 gallon limit will more than likely be interpreted as a per person per incident.  Basically, 20 gallons per person per movement.  So, if you are driving alone with 4 corny kegs (5 gallons) you should be fine.  If you had 8 corny kegs with 2 people, you should be fine as well (except you may be running out of room in your car). 

As a reminder, this law was meant to cover private usage which would include sharing with neighbors, club meetings and other organized events, competitions, and exhibitions. 

But finally, we do need to say this.  We are not legal experts!  This is simply unprofessional guidance based on communications with the LCB and general guidance from national organizations.  Please do not take any of the statements here as legitimate legal advice!

Otherwise, please enjoy your new rights with pride and responsibility!  This was a great team effort to get the law changed showing that enough people with enough homebrew can accomplish anything!

Cheers!

Last Updated on Monday, 16 May 2011 14:38