Oregon Homebrew Threatened
Oregon’s home brewers are facing a new hurdle that comes from an old law which promises to squelch their efforts to better their craft.
The OLCC's decision would kill homebrew competitions like the Widmer Collaborator Project.
At issue is a state law, ORS 471.403, to be specific, that reads, “No person shall brew, ferment, distill, blend or rectify any alcoholic liquor unless licensed so to do by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. However, the Liquor Control Act does not apply to the making or keeping of naturally fermented wines and fruit juices or beer in the home, for home consumption and not for sale.”
The hiccup in the law was brought to light by a committee of the Oregon State Fair, which asked the OLCC whether its big homebrew competition, which would have been in its 22nd year this August, was operating against that law because the home brew is transported outside the home and is sampled by judges.
On Monday, the OLCC came back with an answer: The judges in these competitions are considered members of the public, and as such, the state fair’s homebrew competition, and the home-made wine competition, too, which has been operating for more than 30 years, have been operating illegally and will be shut down.
In other words, Aunt Sally’s apple pie has a shot at getting a blue ribbon at the state fair — but not her homebrew. It also means that home brewers (and wine-makers) in Oregon won’t be able to hold competitions.
It also appears that home brewers might not even be able to participate in other competitions outside the state; the OLCC is ruling that homebrew can’t be transported, because the law stipulates the beer must be consumed at the home where it is brewed. Heck, home brewers might not even be able to legally bring a corny keg of their latest IPA to friend’s summer barbecue the way the OLCC is currently interpreting the law.
Obviously, this is beyond ridiculous. It’s a short-sighted response to an outdated law. But the implications could be catastrophic to the state’s thriving beer culture. After all, it’s the home brewers that spawned the craft beer culture, and many a home brewer has “gone pro” after honing his or her skills at the homebrew level.
Indeed, at least two Portland-based homebrew clubs are being impacted by this mess. PDX Brewers have already decided to ban homebrew from its meetings, and the Oregon Brew Crew, one of the oldest homebrew clubs in the country, is meeting later today (Tuesday) to discuss whether to ban members from bringing homebrew to meetings. In-house club competitions, which are held monthly to help brewers learn more about brewing specific styles, will probably also be discontinued, and several larger competitions, including the American Homebrewers Association-sanctioned Fall Classic, and the in-club Collaborator Project, in which winners get to brew their winning beer at Widmer Brothers Brewing, will no doubt become a thing of the past. (Rob Widmer tells me they are having a “regulations specialist” look into this mess as I type).
For a very beer-centric state, the OLCC’s decision sure messes up a key element in this important and thriving industry — one that infuses more than $2.33 billion into the state’s coffers each year (according to the Oregon Brewers Guild) — not to mention being a source of state pride.
What can you do? If you are a craft beer lover and/or home brewer, even if you don’t live in Oregon, please consider giving good beer a voice in this important issue. You can find contact information for the state’s representatives here and a listing for the senators here.
If you live in-state, I think the motivation for them to listen to our voices should be pretty clear. But if you are from out-of-state, perhaps the legislators would want to hear your perspective as well — as an outsider who enjoys Oregon beer and maybe even comes here to visit and spend some of your hard-earned money. Or might not any more.
Oh, and while you’re at it, you can contact the OLCC here.
18 Comments to “Oregon Homebrew Threatened”
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ratebeer, Lisa Morrison and Tracy Taylor Thomas, RateBeer Hop Press. RateBeer Hop Press said: Fresh off the Press Oregon Homebrew Threatened http://bit.ly/aahYjY [...]
That is unfortunate, sounds like this law needs to get changed ASAP. For now though, maybe they could start a backwards homebrew competition. Instead of bringing all the beers to the judges, the judges go to all the beers. Like bar hopping, but with houses and homebrew!
This seems to come into conflict with their FAQ page about whether a licence is needed, located here: http://www.oregon.gov/OLCC/docs/liquor_license_and_license_process/tsl_app_guide_12_2009.pdf
This states that as long as you’re not accepting payment for the alcohol then no license is needed. But maybe there’s something I’m missing.
[...] Lisa Morrison and Jeff Alworth have the details about how the OLCC ruling shutdown the homebrew competition for the Oregon State Fair. Among other things. Like homebrewers not being allowed to bring homebrew to homebrew meetings. [...]
[...] what’s happening with the OLCC and homebrew, check out Lisa Morrison’s recent article, Homebrew Threatened: http://lisamorrison.hoppress.com/2010/06/29/oregon-homebrew-threatened/ [...]
[...] the rest here: Lisa Morrison » Oregon Homebrew Threatened By admin | category: OREGON | tags: asked-the-olcc, big-homebrew, its-22nd, law-because, [...]
[...] more: Lisa Morrison » Oregon Homebrew Threatened By admin | category: OREGON State | tags: asked-the-olcc, big-homebrew, its-22nd, [...]
I have sent off furious e-mails to the appropriate people. I can’t believe that in this economic climate people are stifling creativity that may lead to future jobs.
Thanks for getting the word out!
Wow! I thought the laws were a mess in Florida! This is just insane. It sounds like its time to let your legislators know that brewers are, by and large, well educated and vote! And we DON’T vote for people that support this kind of interpretation.
[...] this topic, so if you have something to add, I would suggest doing it in one of these two posts:Lisa Morrison – Oregon Homebrew ThreatenedBeervana – OLCC Blowback [...]
[...] the local homebrew community has talked about little else lately. In the meantime, check out Lisa Morrison’s post on the subject. She pretty much nails it, I think and if you’ve got the time and [...]
I’m a member of the Cascade brewers Society in Eugene. In addition, I’m on the Governing Committee of the AHA. I’m also one of the organizers of a committee to get the law changed. We’ve been at work on it for a couple months now, with the support of the AHA which has dealt with several laws of this type. We’re also in contact with the guys in WA who recently got their law like this changed. What I’d like to say is calm down….things are well under way to get the law changed once the legislature convenes in Jan. 2011. At this point, we have a couple state legislators on board and draft language we’re looking. Angry letters to legislators or the OLCC will be counter productive at this point. We need to come off as the good guys, not angry jerks. We will have a website up at oregonhomebrewersalliance.org soon that will provide updates on the situation. As the legislative session gets closer, we’ll be sending out Action Alerts to let people know what they can do. As egregious as the situation seems, it can and is being corrected. We’d like everyone to support the OHBA and our efforts on this law.
let us know when the website is up so i can offer what support i can.
[...] vitriol by me. Check out this well written post by Lisa Morrison, one of the leading lights in the Oregon beer scene. After reading, please write to the Oregon [...]
Until the website is up, you can sig up for a mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/oregon-home-brewers-alliance .
Lisa,
Do you know where I could find a copy of the OLCC’s decision?
At least no one is shutting down the big breweries! I’m curious as to what the potential would be for something like this to discourage any true beer fanatics from ever starting their own microbreweries. After all, it’s passion for beer that creates great beer companies in the first place! Interesting read btw: http://mylifemybody.com/2010/07/five-western-breweries-worth-your-time/ – it’d be interesting to see if any of these breweries started in a similar setting to what was mentioned above
Laws are written to be rewritten. The U.S.A. is a Representative REPUBLIC. By definition, that means the power resides with the people. If the people do not like the laws/rules that have been instituted by their Representatives, they can put NEW Representatives in power who *will* reflect their values and implement those values. It may take time to find the right people, campaign for those people, and get those people to the necessary positions to implement the changes… but it can be done.
These laws and ordinances did not come down from heaven, writ on stone. Other people came up with the idea and other people made them statute. New “other people” can undo them if they are oppressive or unfair.
According to the U.S. Constitution, power is SUPPOSED to be “bottom-up.” That means: individual > family > community > town > city > county > state > federal. It has been a long time since things operated that way.
Think it’s about time that changed back… don’t you?