Neighborhood Homebrew Bandwagon

[brewnewb]

I live in a cul-de-sac and spend a lot of time socializing with our neighbors. Between the 4 households we have 3 basement bars and 4 kegerators. Neighbor #4 will have his bar completed this fall. The guys have decided to convert all their kegerators to homebrew. We have the capacity for six, 5 gal kegs between the 4 kegerators.

The others are each buying a bucket fermentor and at least one ball lock keg. We are using my set up to make all our beer going forward.

I brew extract batches so I can go from start to finish in about 3 hours. We'll do a lot of kits and Jon's recipe he gave me for an inexpensive alternative to bud / miller lite for a daily drinking beer. We named that recipe CAB - cheap ass beer.

We are going to make our first 2 neighborhood batches this weekend. I realize I'll end up doing the bulk of the work but that's OK. Their kids are younger and my are all grown. I don't mind putzing around my basement early on a saturday morning.

I'll let you all know how we do. This should be fun.

[BlackDuck]

Are there any houses further up the street that are for sale?

[Kealia]

Are there any houses further up the street that are for sale?

If you all have the same homebrew on tap won;t you stop getting together? What would be the point?

Seriously though, it's really great to hear that there are still truly neighborhoods with this type of thing going on.

[Inkleg]

That's pretty cool! But you might have to change your forum name soon.

I tell what few friends and family I have, that if they commit to a kegerator I'll supply the beer. So far no one has taken me up on it.
Maybe my beer sux.

[FedoraDave]

That's pretty neat. Keep a lot of different styles in rotation, and you'll all be really happy.

[John Sand]

That is so great.
My next door neighbor saw me brewing last week and hopes to come over and watch one day this summer.

[bpgreen]

I've got one neighbor who brews. When I got my 12 "as is" kegs (ordered 8, expecting I'd get 6 good ones, one box came damaged and they sent another box without my asking; all twelve were in good condition) he saw me cleaning them and came over to ask if I brewed. He said he had seen me cleaning buckets, but didn't know for sure if they were fermented, but the kegs clinched it. Utah law frowns on sharing home brew, though.

[alb]

So, bar hopping with no need for a DD. That sounds dangerous in a different way!

[FedoraDave]

My son-in-law and one of his friends brew. They do extract recipes with specialty grains. I'd like for all of us to get together so they can see me make an AG batch. We just need to work out the logistics.

[RickBeer]

Utah law frowns on sharing home brew, though.

This is a really good point. While no one expects the beer police to come after them for giving a friend some homebrew (for example bringing a few bottles over to their house when invited for dinner), it should be noted that each state has its own regulations. In Michigan, the law specifically allows for "gifting" up to 20 gallons per year. The Utah law has no such gifting language.

I would be really careful here. If person A brews beer and then splits the bottles/kegs with persons B and C, not only could that violate the law, but more importantly IF something happened (someone drinks person B's keg then has an accident or person B's under 21 year old child drinks person B's keg and gets caught afterwards) then person A could be held liable. This is way different than bringing over a 6 pack to your neighbor's house to share.

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on this forum, but perhaps if person A brewed month one and then moved the brewing to person B's property month two and person B was hands on brewing, and then you traded like quantities (you give them a full keg of beer A and they give you a full keg of beer B), maybe that would suffice. If any money changed hands (like for ingredients) it could also be bad.

Of course, if none of the problems happen then it won't be an issue. I always try to ensure that my behavior doesn't put me at risk for a lawsuit that goes after my personal assets.

[brewnewb]

Are there any houses further up the street that are for sale?

Would you believe the house next door just sold a couple weeks ago?

I never really thought about any legal risks but maybe the 4 of us need to have that discussion to make sure I am not the supplier. In my mind, they are borrowing some of my equip to make "their" beer.

[John Sand]

I think that if they make it, they own it.

[BlackDuck]

How would this neighborhood, let's all get together and have a good time and make some beer event, be any different than a home brew club doing a big get together on National Homebrew Day to brew? These events sometimes draw quite a few people that split, share, trade, and borrow everything from ingredients to equipment. Nobody ever goes to jail as a result.

[ScrewyBrewer]

How would this neighborhood, let's all get together and have a good time and make some beer event, be any different than a home brew club doing a big get together on National Homebrew Day to brew? These events sometimes draw quite a few people that split, share, trade, and borrow everything from ingredients to equipment. Nobody ever goes to jail as a result.

That's a great point, every homebrew club event I've gone to in New Jersey has always encouraged people to bring their own homebrew. The difference is, I believe, that a homebrew club should be registered as a non-profit in order to charge admission to the public. More to come on this as I ponder starting up a homebrew club here in Monmouth County.

[RickBeer]

Again, every state has its own laws. For many, they specify that a Homebrew club may allow the sharing of samples in portions that do not exceed 3 oz (2 oz for mead). Of note, some Homebrew clubs meet and share at a licensed establishment. Others may meet at a supply store. If that supply store does not have a license, then technically that activity is outside the law depending on the laws in that state. In Michigan, a club may obtain a license for specific premises for $300 per year plus $1 per member over 150. Consumption can only be on the premises (so exchanges would be prohibited), and can only sell to bona fide club members. If a licensee has an event held on their premises with clubs attending, they must enter into a written agreement that includes the club has a bond or liability insurance or the licensee has to accept liability.

Under these laws, an event like National Homebrew Day held at a supply store where samples are served by clubs (in small cups) might be legal if the supply store has a license. More likely, they are not legal (which might explain why the taps at the store moved into the back room at one point, although sometimes they come out).

Again - my points were NOT to address the legality of the group brewing, nor of events. I was raising awareness of the potential LIABILITY of those actions if something happened. If I give you a bottle of homebrew I'm not worried about liability. If I give you a keg of homebrew that then you can serve to anyone (or have anyone help themselves like a child's underage friend), then I would be concerned. If you give me money (to pay for supplies), that further complicates things.

My son brought some homebrew I made for him to college (after he turned 21). I agreed on two conditions. First, none was to be shared with anyone under 21. Second, in no case was more than two to be shared with someone at one sitting. He immediately agreed, saying they had to be "homebrew worthy", as in "sponge worthy" from Seinfeld.

One final point. We each have liability coverage in rental or home insurance policies. Some may have an umbrella policy to cover amounts above those limits. If you KNOWINGLY violate the law (for example drink and drive and speed 100 miles an hour and then crash), your insurance company can try to get out of any claim by stating that you were conducting criminal behavior, rending your liability insurance null.

As I'm not a lawyer, I have no idea if the creation of a written agreement between the neighbors agreeing to share in the costs and the labor, stating that the activity is a group of neighbors brewing together, and that each accepts responsibility for the product consumed on his/her premises might be a good safeguard.