[TheForge] blacksmiths and beer

[Phlip]

> In a message dated 02-09-02 03:56:31 EDT, you write:
>
> << Just wish the laws would allow home distilling- as good as some of
these
>  brews are, I'd love to see what some of these folks could do with a good
>  mash... >>
>
> Last time I checked, so long as the production level is very low, no
sales,
> etc.,...they do.
>
> Either that, or I was sold a line by folks who don't think they're
breaking
> the law....

You've been sold a line. Distillation of potable alcohol, by any method, in
any quantity is totally unlawful without a license. If the BATF catches your
friends, they tand to lose the premises on which it is/was done, any
property conceivably involved, as well as getting hefty fines- before the
IRS gets into the act.

The reason I happen to know this is because I'm involved with a group of
people who are trying to get "home use" licenses issued so that home
distillers can do their thing- as it stands, there is no reasonable method
for a home distiller to get a permit and to function. If you're interested
in the applicable laws, I can find them for you.

Please, for your friends' sake, let them know, and keep your mouth shut
about it, so if they go ahead anyway, at least they don't get caught. And,
you might tell them to keep their own mouths shut- one of the fastest ways
for BATF to tweak to what they're doing, is for them to loudly affirm in all
ignorance that what they're doing is perfectly legal. It isn't.

Phlip, who doesn't like that law, either.