As we have states paying more and more attention to this sort of thing, you can bet we’ll be responding to it.
Passing legislation takes a long time. Changing enforcement priorities seems like a quicker fix. In MO lots of places sell distilling gear, and the state liquor agency doesn’t care. I also suspect the agents here just don’t think it’s worth their time, but it’s likely that attitude is coming from those above them. So in some cases it’s better to have ineffectual or indifferent bureaucrats than gung-ho neo-prohibitionists.
The bill almost passed this last year but it never came up for a vote in the house. We have some fairly powerful organizations that are really making progress here in Alabama. We have come a long, long way over the last 5 years - we went from a state that didn’t allow ABV over 6% or bottles over 12 oz to now having beer up to 14% and bottles up to 22oz or 750 ml. Still a lot of work that needs to be done but our beer laws are better here no than in a lot of the country (PA, for instance.)
I truly feel homebrew legalization is only a year or two away.
It makes perfect sense, unfortunately. The state makes a lot of money from the commercial sale of beer, wine, and liquor, but only a small amount (if any) on the ingredients used to make alcohol at home. This is the true reason why it is not legal.
I understand the money angle having grown up in a county in Maryland that is the alcohol distributor (Montgomery), then went off to school in a state that did the same thing ¶. However in this case I don’t see it as about money because it would be too little to be on anyone’s radar. I see it more as typical prohibition-minded morality combined with middle-class suburban angst (“think of the children!”) preventing change. Several years ago I asked my County Councilwoman whether I would ever see the day when I can go into a grocery store and buy a six-pack of beer (I envy all of you who can), and she told me that of all the laws they consider and debate, only two topics really get opposition support riled up: anything to do with alcohol and playgrounds. I was expecting the first, but not the second answer. Apparently some people are afraid that if you put in a new playground, it will attract teenagers who will hang out, deal drugs, etc., etc. My take on it is that it is easier to maintain the status quo than it is to deal with organized opposition, even if the opposition is a small minority of opinion.
We need to get those legislators to a homebrew festival. Maybe Philly?
You are gonna get a bunch of Southern Baptists to a Homebrew Festival? Clearly few of you understand the south. 
And it is not the revenue, in this case. It is old school ignorance - simply put, Southern Baptist legislators who think beer is a sin and “bathtub beer” will make you blind, or worse. They fear children will be making hooch in their parents’s shed and that home brew shops will make it easy for people to make highly toxic, highly intoxicating beverages that will destroy the mind and soul. Or, at the very least, that is what they are told by their constituency.
Now, other beer laws (like the ABV, container size, sales on premise, etc.) have been thwarted by the big beer distributors in Alabama and they have a powerful lobby which is why it has taken us so long to ctach up with the rest of the nation. But I can assure you that the big distributors care less about homebrewers. It ain’t on their radar.
My point, while tongue firmly planted in cheek, is that their mindset is only going to change when they see that homebrewers are regular people and not derelicts and that our gatherings are about having fun and sharing the fruits of our hobby. Who could deny that if immersed in our culture, if only for a day?
i feel your sentiment, however many of the mindsets down here are that alcohol is neither fun nor a fruit of a hobby. it’s more like da debil’s juice.
When you get a moment do a search on “Alvin Holmes: what’s wrong with the beer we got?”
OMG. :o
Thank god we have Louisiana to insulate us from the extremes. Notice I said extremes. Texas falls somewhere in the middle… I’d like to see 24 hour beer and wine sale but that will never happen.
I think you nailed it right there…and there lies the root of the problem. This is a tough hurdle for the homebrewers of Alabama to overcome. Persistence is key.
love that one. “The beer we got drank pretty good, don’t it?” ;D
also love his comments in the homebrewer bill debate about the govermant stamp on Chivas Regal that says it hethy.
At least he drinks beer. Sounds like he would be the perfect candidate to sit in with a brewer such as Majorvices - and see that his beer drank even better! Seriously, they need to meet with homebrewers in order to overcome their ignorance and prejudices.
the ignorance and prejudices are bred in people down here. you can’t even lead the horse to water…
If only they had the intelligence of a horse…more like a mule it appears. Good luck overcoming that, but keep trying and don’t give up!
On a historic canal boat ride in PA once, the guide said mules were better for pulling the boats because they will follow the path. Horses will walk straight until you tell them to turn - even if they are walking straight into the canal!