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Many homebrewing related articles and books mistakenly claim that, President Jimmy Carter legalized homebrewing in 1978. In fact, the U.S. Congress passed an Act in 1978 exempting a certain amount of beer brewed for personal or family use from federal taxation. President Carter signed the Act, which addressed other issues as well, in 1979. States remain free to restrict, or even prohibit, the manufacture of beer, mead, hard cider, wine and other alcoholic beverages at home. Indded, several states, including Alabama, prohibit the manufacture of beer without a state license, which can be quite difficult to obtain, involving state inspections, building code compliance, tedious paperwork requirements and such.

The Federal Taxation Exemption
26 USCS § 5051(a)(1) provides for the imposition and rate of federal taxation on beer in the United States:

(a) Rate of tax. (1) In general. A tax is hereby imposed on all beer brewed or produced, and removed for consumption or sale, within the United States, or imported into the United States.

26 USCS § 5053(e) provides exemptions from federal taxation for beer brewed for personal use:

(e) Beer for personal or family use. Subject to regulation prescribed by the Secretary, any adult may, without payment of tax, produce beer for personal or family use and not for sale. The aggregate amount of beer exempt from tax under this subsection with respect to any household shall not exceed (1) 200 gallons per calendar year if there are 2 or more adults in such household, or (2) 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only 1 adult in such household.

Why the Confusion?

Part of the reason for the confusion may be some text at the beginning of Charlie Papazian’s book, “The Complete Joy Of Homebrewing.” This is a very popular book, sold in most local homebrew shops and probably one of the first purchases of beginning homebrewers.

In the Introduction to the book in a section titled “Is It Legal?”, Papazian writes that “The majority of the states in the United States have statutorily recognized homebrewing or winemaking… Homebrewing beer is not a criminal activity… In November 1978, a bill passed by Congress repealed federal restrictions on the homebrewing of beer. In February 1979, President Carter signed the bill into law… Now it is legal. By federal law, an adult twenty-one years or older in permitted to brew ‘not more than one hundred gallons of beer in a year.’ If there is more than one adult in a household, then two hundred gallons of beer can be brewed in one year.”

Since the book is so popular, Charlie’s 4th Edition, if there ever is one, should clarify that homebrewing beer remains illegal in the following states (according to the AHA’s site anyway… I haven’t confirmed any except Alabama): Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah. That is not to say homebrewing is prosecuted in those states. But there does not exist in those states an exemption for or recognition of homebrewing in the states’ otherwise restrictive regulatory licensure scheme.

Other states are not as bad but have laws written in such a way as to make homebrewing at least questionable upon reading by a reasonable person. These states include Louisana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and West Virginia.