This week, homebrewing was finally legalized in Utah. This fantastic result comes after the bill passed the house early last year, but was not heard in the senate. The details of the new bill can be found here. As mentioned in the amended text of the bill, this allows for the production of up to 100 gallons during one calendar year or 200 gallons for two individuals living together. There are also provisions for tastings, competitions and transportation.

Simply stated, this is a huge step forward for brewers in Utah. Homebrewing has been thriving in Utah for several decades, but always under the shadow of the law and a general sentiment that enjoying beer is wrong (think of your immortal soul!!). Now we have legal precedent to promote brewing and appreciating beer. Perhaps one of the more important aspects of this result is that it provides a means for Utah residents to enjoy strong beer legally and responsibly in the state, perhaps even on draft. This means that beer drinkers will be able to sample beer styles unavailable through the state liquor stores, brewed by locals.

One issue I see is that of licenses for holding competitions in public areas. For example, I could imagine Squatters hosting a tasting event quiate easily since they already have licenses for that purpose. However, what about a local homebrew club holding a tasting in a park? Do standard alcohol park licenses apply in that case? It would be fantastic to see clubs organizing in public to share homebrew. I can't imagine a better way to draw awareness and promote brewing in Utah. I think that many people living in this state would brew their own if they knew how easy it was and the level of quality available using easy to obtain ingredients.

Hooray for beer!!

Update:

After writing this original post, I came across a wikinews page on the subject with some interesting quotes:

Ronda Rudd Menlove, a Republican representing the 1st district, says her primary concern in voting against the bill was the potential for alcohol to affect chilren:

When the vote was taken on HB 51, I had a constituent sitting by me, a young high school student. I briefly explained the bill to him during the debate and then asked him how he would vote on the bill and why. This is what he told me. He said that he was concerned that young people would have greater access to alcohol because alcohol would be brewed in homes resulting in great accessibility for youth living in those homes. This concerned him greatly as a member of a local youth city council as well. He is concerned about the amount of under-age drinking in his community and believed that greater access to alcohol could cause an increase in under-age drinking in Utah....

My secondary reason for voting against the bill is that I am adamantly opposed to the excess use and abuse of alcohol. I am opposed to any use of alcohol by pregnant mothers. As a secondary level teacher and high school administrator, I worked with troubled youth and special education populations. I have struggled with young people who live with the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. If you want to be very depressed, read about the lifelong effects of FAS. This syndrome affects learning and behavior that is often erratic and unpredictable. Most of the students with FAS fail miserably in school and find little success in school, jobs, or life. This is a very serious problem related to alcohol use and one that affects the innocent fetus and not the perpetrator of this action.

Utah has quirky alcohol laws. The overarching goal of preventing under-age drinking and the abuse of alcohol has created these laws. The intention is admirable and one that I support. How to achieve these goals is challenging and has resulted in laws that may seem strange to others living outside of Utah. Utah's Governor and Legislature has struggled with this and recently passed legislation revamping these laws. I voted against those changes due to the fact that little information was provided about the impact of the changes.

Kraig Powell (54th district), a Duchesne County Republican, the other representative to vote against the bill in its final form, said he did so because a constituent was "concerned about increased access to alcohol and drunk driving dangers". Meanwhile, Senate Majority Assistant Whip Gregory Bell (R-22nd district), said to the Deseret News: "I'm not comfortable with home brewing. It seems fraught with mischief to me."

I thought that these quotes demonstrated some of the key reasons why Utah has suffered through so many limitations on alcohol consumption since the days of prohibition. Speaking as a long time Utah resident, I notice a consistent misconception in Utah that limiting access to alcohol will reduce alcohol abuse. I have a feeling that most of these ideas are perpetuated by people who are out of touch with many of the ways that substance abuse starts. Perhaps the most salient counterexample to the limitation argument comes from friends who grew up in countries where there were few, if any, restrictions on alcohol consumption. The overwhelming majority of them never abused alcohol and don't know anyone who did. In contrast, I could list many people I met growing up who abused alcohol. I fact, this abuse in the U. S. is so common that it permeates popular culture surrounding high school and college party lifestyle.

I think that one should consider carefully the statement that increased availability leads to increased abuse.

In regard to the issue of hombrewing, I think it is rather silly to think that legalizing homebrewing will have any impact on underage drinking, pregnant drinking, and drinking and driving. First off, the law changed nothing for underage drinkers short of allowing their parents to legally make beer. So you might think there is a the potential for more exposure to alcohol for minors. Think again. Any parent who brews beer almost surely drinks beer and therefore would have already exposed their children to alcohol. So, no change there. Second, the law does not provide greater access to alcohol. It does not increase or decrease access to alcohol. Finally, brewing beer is at best a 2-3 day commitment to obtaining alcohol which requires some equipment, knowledge, and patience. Compared to going to a local keg party, that seems like a pretty tough road to getting a beer.

Finally, I would just like to point out that people generally are more careful with things they took the time to make, beer is no exception. Tossing back 10 Buds is a lot easier to stomach than downing one fifth of your entire batch of beer you spent $50 dollars to buy, five hours making, a week fermenting, and then another two hours bottling.