Federal Lawsuit Challenges Ban on At-Home Distilling

A new lawsuit argues that the federal ban on at-home distilling, which was put in place during Prohibition, violates the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this month, the Hobby Distiller Association, an organization with over 1,300 members represented by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, filed a federal lawsuit against the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and Department of Justice over their ban on at-home distilling.

According to CEI’s General Counsel Dan Greenberg, the ban is not just “bad policy,” it’s “inconsistent with a proper view of the limited government constraints of the Constitution.”

“The Constitution created a Federal Government of limited and enumerated powers,” the lawsuit states. “The at-home distilling ban is beyond all of the powers of Congress to enact under the Constitution.”

While homebrewing was legalized in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, home distilling remained illegal, according to the Smithsonian. The lawsuit argues that Congress does not possess the authority to regulate interstate commerce, as it operates locally, nor does the federal government possess taxing power over it as it “raises no revenue.”

“The interstate sales of beer and wine are regulated in much the same way as the interstate sales of distilled beverage alcohol are regulated, but beer and wine can lawfully be produced at home under federal law,” it states.

The TTB writes on their website that distilling alcohol at home carries consequences of up to five years in prison or up to a $10,000 fine.

LINK

I hope this changes the law to allow home distilling for other than farm equipment fuel. I guess I never legally used a still in my life when I drank the distillates. I hope I'm not breaking a federal law the next time I use my still again.

Back in the day me and my next door neighbor made shine. We had our sour mash our still our worm and extra thumper keg and cooling methods. using dough to seal the keg. Using a professional glass hydrometer we had it at 188 proof. We filtered it with homemade charcoal made from oak. Made gallons of the stuff. We knew it was illegal, just never got caught. My moonshine friend is now dead many years ago.

I don't think they should make it legal to brew your own booze. The reason is that I tasted some nice smooth moonshine in the past, and that stuff could kill you A friend picked some up from some friends in his old home town in Kentucky. He came with it to where three of us were straightening up in a Bar that had had a fire, we were in the basement sorting through bottles of booze that got wet from the water used to put out the fire. We sat on some chairs down there and chugged the stuff out of the bottle, we all had a hard time getting up the stairs, and we had to get someone to come pick us up and go home. It was too smooth, but was one sixty proof approximately and it kicked like a horse. We could not stop laughing at each other because our minds were clear but our coordination was way off.

Now the other moonshine I have had was not very good, it was harsh and you could not drink a lot of it. It also tasted not so great. That was a lot safer.

I had some good aged homemade whiskey one time, but I also had some bad homemade whiskeys that were worse than any cheap whiskey you could buy in the liquer store. That was back in the seventies.

If people were allowed to make their own booze, it would mean there could be a lot of deaths from it...whether it was too good tasting, or because they used improper techniques to make it.

Well, if they did make it legal, I am sure it would cause a decrease in the population from people doing it wrong or the still blowing up....chances are with population control, they may allow it to be made by people, I predict a thousand minimum deaths a year from one thing or another in the country if they allow people to have stills. I could see allowing some small businesses that are regulated to produce it, experienced people who could produce it safely and they may make some pretty great tasting booze....but not everyone should be allowed to make it. I could see people brewing booze in apartments and burning down the whole apartment building.

People who are alcoholics would be worse off if they can cheaply brew their own booze. In the distant past I know of quite a few people who were not too smart that would have had stills...they would probably be dead today if they could have legally made their own booze. The fact that it was expensive kept them alive.

a reply to: rickymouse

Government is never the answer.

We need fewer laws, not more.

a reply to: rickymouse
My counter argument to that is sodium nitrate is legal along with making preserved food lots of people die every year from that should it be illegal?

At what point do we ban something because people make mistakes and die from it

It's not like alcohol is illegal

a reply to: TheMichiganSwampBuck

I didn’t think home distillery was illegal.
Selling it was though and there was a limit on the volume.

Guess I was wrong…🤷‍♂️

I was told the laws changed on home distilling. I remember when the laws changed for beer brewing. 1978. I have an idle micro-brewery in my garage I ran in the 90s. All grain brewing, some home-grown hops, soda kegs, carboys c02 tanks and cases of bottles/capper. I haven't run it in years. Both my sons have stills. Nice ones professionally made. Heads and tails are not for drinking, but the mids are. They are crazy strong and crazy good. Just tiny sips. Very good for medicinal purposes

originally posted by: rickymouse
I don't think they should make it legal to brew your own booze. The reason is that I tasted some nice smooth moonshine in the past, and that stuff could kill you A friend picked some up from some friends in his old home town in Kentucky. He came with it to where three of us were straightening up in a Bar that had had a fire, we were in the basement sorting through bottles of booze that got wet from the water used to put out the fire. We sat on some chairs down there and chugged the stuff out of the bottle, we all had a hard time getting up the stairs, and we had to get someone to come pick us up and go home. It was too smooth, but was one sixty proof approximately and it kicked like a horse. We could not stop laughing at each other because our minds were clear but our coordination was way off.

Now the other moonshine I have had was not very good, it was harsh and you could not drink a lot of it. It also tasted not so great. That was a lot safer.

I had some good aged homemade whiskey one time, but I also had some bad homemade whiskeys that were worse than any cheap whiskey you could buy in the liquer store. That was back in the seventies.

If people were allowed to make their own booze, it would mean there could be a lot of deaths from it...whether it was too good tasting, or because they used improper techniques to make it.

Well, if they did make it legal, I am sure it would cause a decrease in the population from people doing it wrong or the still blowing up....chances are with population control, they may allow it to be made by people, I predict a thousand minimum deaths a year from one thing or another in the country if they allow people to have stills. I could see allowing some small businesses that are regulated to produce it, experienced people who could produce it safely and they may make some pretty great tasting booze....but not everyone should be allowed to make it. I could see people brewing booze in apartments and burning down the whole apartment building.

People who are alcoholics would be worse off if they can cheaply brew their own booze. In the distant past I know of quite a few people who were not too smart that would have had stills...they would probably be dead today if they could have legally made their own booze. The fact that it was expensive kept them alive.

Unbelieveable overreach by greedy government. The only reason it's illegal is because home brewing can't be taxed. They don't care if you kill yourself, and by being an adult who pays taxes you have every right to do in your home as you please. The goverment needs to butt out! I don't even drink , and this pisses me off.

originally posted by: CataclysmicRockets
Back in the day me and my next door neighbor made shine. We had our sour mash our still our worm and extra thumper keg and cooling methods. using dough to seal the keg. Using a professional glass hydrometer we had it at 188 proof. We filtered it with homemade charcoal made from oak. Made gallons of the stuff. We knew it was illegal, just never got caught. My moonshine friend is now dead many years ago.

Dang! You drink that and not go blind!!!!!!! 188 proof. Light anything amazing on fire. MAKE A FIRE TORCH OR SOMETHING?

It's always been legal in my state. I suppose there are some ATF types that came around sniffing though...

This is what I also understood. You can make a small amount for your own consumption. It's like cannabis. In Massachusetts it is legal to have 12 blooming plants at a time. It is not legal to sell.

I purchased a small home still last year. Have yet to use it. Might do it soon. It's a good winter project for when I am not gardening and harvesting.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: TheMichiganSwampBuck

I didn’t think home distillery was illegal.
Selling it was though and there was a limit on the volume.

Guess I was wrong…🤷‍♂️

a reply to: ScarletDarkness

Unbelieveable overreach by greedy government. The only reason it's illegal is because home brewing can't be taxed. They don't care if you kill yourself,

That's absolutely true, certainly in the UK.
Guess who we have to apply to, for a distillers licence? It's not the food standards agency, it's not the department of health, it's HMRC - His Majesty's Revenue and Customs - the department SOLELY for tax collection!!!🤣
It's so blatantly in yer face about tax, NOT public safety, that I'm surprised it's been accepted by the nation who rejected the British Crown.

...Crown court can give you 5 years prison here for distilling without a license!😱🤣

Definitely wouldn't mind the law changing but I think the States would still ban it.

Man they want to control everything

originally posted by: Cre8chaos79

originally posted by: CataclysmicRockets
Back in the day me and my next door neighbor made shine. We had our sour mash our still our worm and extra thumper keg and cooling methods. using dough to seal the keg. Using a professional glass hydrometer we had it at 188 proof. We filtered it with homemade charcoal made from oak. Made gallons of the stuff. We knew it was illegal, just never got caught. My moonshine friend is now dead many years ago.

Dang! You drink that and not go blind!!!!!!! 188 proof. Light anything amazing on fire. MAKE A FIRE TORCH OR SOMETHING?

Blindness is caused by Methanol, which can be made by distilling things that aren't sugar.

Oddly enough, it's a VERY ATS WORTHY TOPIC, as the US government created the whole "moonshine will make you blind" thing by breaking into moonshine sites and adding methanol to the product. They actually DID blind, and kill people- in their effort to ban moonshine.



years ago, I was a member of the Hobby Distiller Association - I should check in with them. This is great news, and I hope they win!
Distilling your own alcohol is fun, and if you're any good at building things it's easy.
With basic plumbing parts and an understanding of the concept, you can make 180 proof (90% pure) if you're patient. It's possible to go a bit higher, I think 190-195 proof with more complex plumbing parts. You won't be going past that without a proper chem lab.

Up north, it used to be common to make apple cider in the fall- then leave it outside into january where a lot of the water content freezes- called it freeze jacking. What you drained off would be two or three times less volume with the same amount of ethanol... perfectly legal!

Anyway, done ranting. maybe I'll go check on that HDA forum

The Methanol evaporates at a slightly lower temperature than the Ethanol, so a small percentage of methanol is distilled off a batch first, with the rest being the drinkable ethanol. There are rules of thumb by the gallon, but with my small batches, I dump the first shot and keep the rest. The cold process used in apple jack will retain any methanol, but it will be small if you are only freezing a gallon. Remember that they don't remove methanol from beer or wine, so I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you're producing it by the barrel.

I live in an area where folks tell stories of secret stills in secret places and swap stories of shine and their love of it.

I'm not a drinker myself and I'm sure as heck not gonna go snooping or snitch but I agree with Ricky mouse on the reason for not making it across the board legal.

Stupid people armed with bad intl they picked up from bad sources on the internet making bad decisions and causing major problems that affect innocent civillians.

It really is a public safety concern.

Around here at least the meth producers are considerate enough to have properties outside the city limits that if something goes catastrophically awry there is very little risk to their neighbors and adjoining properties.

Same with the shiners. Small batches for personal use and no money exchanges hand when they share with friends and families and folks they invite into their circles.

Keep it secret keep it safe keep it local!

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

"Keep it secret keep it safe keep it local!"

Most importantly, Keep it legal

Well this is interesting.

boozemakers.com...

The Hobby Distiller’s Association was advocating for legalization of hobby distilling in America. As of 2020 it seems the fight has stopped. There were not enough funds backing it to take the fight forward.

There's no mention of this bill on the other distillation forum I used to frequent, either.

a reply to: lordcomac