As with all things alcohol and the law, where the line is blurry, you’re at the mercy of the person holding the wheel.
A clarification…at the Heritage Fest, you pay at the gate something like $30. This gets you a tasting glass and as many samples as you want. It started out as a festival where every beer style was served, an educational event. It has transformed in the breweries bringing in whatever style they want and has become a drunk fest.
You make it sound so inviting!
I suppose with all the microbreweries in StL these days, the festival might do OK without homebrew. Sucks to lose a venue to show off our collective talents though. I suppose the clubs could still operate an informational booth or something that would at least give the general public some education about homebrew and some free advertizing for the clubs.
I think we are also operating under the whole “it’s better to beg forgiveness, than to ask permission”. It’s always easier for the government to say “NO” than yes or maybe…
I’ve been fortunate enough to pour some homebrew at two festivals in PA. Both were a huge success, and the organizers are more than happy to have us there. I don’t know what goes into it legally, but when everyone comes to the tent they are required to sign a waiver.
My club, the Three Rivers Underground Brewers, puts on a benefit every year for Cystic Fibrosis (www.brewingupacure.org). We feature our homebrew with some commercial beers added. We are fortunate one member is a lawyer who fully investigated the legality in Pennsylvania.
I’ve served my homebrew (for free) at two local Relay for Life fundraisers, and another one for local scholarships. They are closed events. I have no clue as to the legality, but we’ve never had a problem, and the folks rent a building at the local county fairgrounds…
You’re welcome :) The fact that they are closed events and you are not selling the beer are the two main reasons it is legal.
They have been serving homebrew at this festival for years. I think the greedy city just caught on and realized there is no way to tax the homebrew.
The homebrew clubs are starting to work with the AHA to get this fixed.
One of the new craft breweries, 4 Hands Brewing, is going to have a free homebrew only festival in July during St. Louis Craft Beer Week.
Make it simple. Any homebrewers ( those who produce less than 200 gallons per year) should be free to allow their beer to be dispensed at any event in whatever manner they choose, as long as the consumers are of legal age for the jurisdiction. The rest is plain BS.