email from Brewhaus

[noobshine]

hey pyewacket, I cant stop cracking up at your username. I saw that play live in Honduras C.A. when I was 5 yrs old. pyewacket has been an inside joke with me and my brother for 30 yrs. yet up until now I had no idea how to spell it. we're not cat people but everytime we're together and we see a cat we call it pyewacket

[Pyewacket]

Ahhh, Bell Book and Candle. But, Pyewacket has a much more ... sinister beginning. Mwahahahaha! A familiar of a witch in 1644 in Essex England. Cat or Imp...much more to the story of Ol' pyewacket!

[noobshine]

Ahhh, Bell Book and Candle. But, Pyewacket has a much more ... sinister beginning. Mwahahahaha! A familiar of a witch in 1644 in Essex England. Cat or Imp...much more to the story of Ol' pyewacket!

well said sir... well said

[carnica]

Laws can be changed. That won't happen if everyone buries their head in the sand.

Some countries in southern Europe have laws against distilling, but common sense prevails, even among the authorities. Other countries have laws and cops like Sgt J.W. Pepper in the Bond films. In Sw''en, household distilling was allowed to and fro until the 1790's when king Gustaf III had his men destroy most stills and made distilling a royal prerogative since he needed funds to continue the war that he unlawfully(!) started against Russia.

During the 1970's to the 1990's dandelion wine was forbidden because it consisted mainly of added sugar. Mead was also forbidden for some time. Today both dandelion wine and mead is allowed, but sugar mash is forbidden. It is also legal to make wine and brew beer.

If one is afraid of the law, it is stupid to make sugar washes. If you make wine, beer (you like it without hops!), mead or even dandelion wine (=sugar wash with a little flavour) you haven't broken the law.

[Max_Vino]

What the Feds are doing:
They are preparing a data base. First they are finding out who has ordered alcohol producing stills. This isn't enough to get a search warrant so second they will go to the internet providers and subpoena the internet records from groups like this one and add to the data base the names of those people. Finally they will cross reference those names with people with criminal records. The combination would generate enough information to present it to a judge for a search warrant. i.e. Joe Dokes ordered a 26 gallon still, he bragged about how much booze he is making on HD and finally he has a history of criminal activity.

Why they are doing it:
The Feds are trying to stay ahead of the curve. There has been a resurgence of interests in home distillation because:
1) Great recession....money is tight.....My wife drinks a rusty nail every evening before bedtime...this costs about $100/month...a lot for your typical blue collar worker..this has many people looking for ways to do this themselves. Ahhh don't you just love the American spirit....
2) Shows like "moonshiners"
I don't think the decision has been made to go after home distillation...yet..... and if they do, in all likelihood they will pick a few say 50-100 for prosecution to make sure everyone understands that it is still illegal.

Max

[drinkingdog]

SO why isnt there an organization representing the home distilling community like there is for the home brewing community? homebrewersassociation.org or the numerous ones representing sensible marijuana legistaltion?
That would seem like a logical step.
I would think that between the still manufacturers and enthusiasts something could be put together

I agree someone needs to represent the home distilling community. Personally I think manufacturers should. It's a win win for them. It won't take many people getting arrested that bought their still from a manufacturer over the internet for their sales to go down quickly, maybe down to nothing. As it stands now they aren't breaking the law selling stills unless they aren't keeping records of their sales. So instead of sales dropping they could double or triple their sales, who knows the sky is the limit. Win win for them and for us. They need to band together and start the movement.

[Devonhomebrew]

Are we fucked here then guys from posting on the forum. or are they not bothered by us discussing the produce of illegal alcohol?

[heartcut]

I'm not worried, now. Just watching a little closer. The odds of me getting in legal trouble are currently, IMO, really low. If the feds are going to start making examples, history suggests they will start with people that are breaking more than one law (or those with records). I'm not in that target group. If they start taking out the bigger fish I'm taking a break. I am sure if any one of us was singled out by a high enough authority, they would have followed his IP and would already know addresses and other purchases. The content of posts wouldn't mean much, though, if you just claimed to be lying.

[Max_Vino]

Devon and Heartcut,

I doubt that there are very many people posting on this board that have anything to worry about. The reason I say that is that the feds know that the idea of the woods being filled with moonshiners is a myth. Moonshining, as a job description, had its time back in prohibition and in the years that followed with dry and wet counties throughout the South. Today we live in a time where I can buy a bottle of vodka at my local liquor store for 10 bucks. When you add up your costs which would include, equipment, raw materials, fermentation, a space in which to work, insurance, bottling and labeling, reserves for legal expenses (not to mention medical and retirement). ….And include your own time, you'll find out that the numbers just aren't there. There just isn't any way someone can make a bottle of homemade alcohol and clandestinely market it to the public and make a profit. The legal distilleries have a hard enough time.

Now if you have your own bar and you're interested in counterfeiting name brands then that might be made to work and those are the guys that the Alcohol control people are looking for.

Max

[noobshine]

anyone know of a member on here getting caught and posting about it? I don't mean getting caught with some shine in the car or some otherwise flukish bust. I mean being busted as the result of a genuine investigation or tip off of some sort. if not i'd say that speaks well for our chances of remaining in the shadows. as many members as are on this site, if this hasn't happened yet, i'd say that's cause for optimism

[Halfbaked]

You can't fix the problem. You can help and if everyone you know helps you and if everyone on this site feels the same way then it is possible. There are states where you can get a permit for cheap and you can sell your product. I think Washington is one. I am not suggesting anyone sell anything but your thoughts on the problem. If your congressman and senators have signed patitions and phones are lit up everyday all day about legalization of the hobby then it will get attention. Did you vote for someone that said no on your patition. Will you vote for them again? Do they know that?

Do you have any friends that are in the govt or a lawer friend? They might know how things work better than I do. All I know to do is letters from you and your friends and family, hell even your enemys to your congressman. Call them ,call them, call them, let them know how you feel. Everyone you know everyone here on the site. Letters, letters, letters, letters. If they can't make calls because they can't get off the phone because of receiving your calls then they will get the message.

If distributors want to help, they got more resources than most. They should contact their lawers and get a partition sent out to everyone that ever bought anything from them and especially the ones that they had to give the names to the govt. Everyone in the USA is in charge of their own destiny. Legalized hooch making means much money for distributors.

Can the government win in this? YEA for sure. They can require a permit and classes so everyone is safe and make money doing it. If they are getting nothing now from your lack of participation at your local watering hole then why not. Govt makes money.

[Halfbaked]

Sorry, folks, but when I hear members here talking like sheeple about how maybe they should return merchandise or render it unusable it makes my blood boil... Reach down and realize that most of you still have the set of balls you were born with...

</rant>

1 set won't work and 100 sets with brains will help, 1000 sets and brains will be great, 100,000 sets with brains problem is fixed. If you believe it do something about it. Some one needs to start another thread on how to fix it and follow through with it. I have not been on this site very long don't want to see any one leave because of this problem.

[drinkingdog]

I know most on here hates the moonshiners show for various reasons. Whether it is the awareness that has been brought back to this hobby in a bad way such as why this post was created or the fact that the Master distillers have to put up with a whole bunch of stupid question asking noobs like me you have to admit the only way this hobby will ever become legal is to expand greatly people that want to get into distilling or already are distilling. Also the jobs and tax base that manufacturers create. The show is just a show and what they show isn't what this forum is about, but you have to admit it is adding numbers to our cause. Just remember to keep the athletic supporter on so as to protect your balls.

[Halfbaked]

Athletic supporter holds them in place to get the shit kicked out of them. Put the cup on. Got to do something about it. sorry buddy not disrespect intended. We all gotta get the prob fixed

[Parker36]

Just look at what the AHA just got done in Alabama and Mississippi. Homebrewing was just legalized there a few weeks ago. A unified Lobbying organization like that are what the hobby needs. Tell me someone has or is working on this. I would gladly throw my support and money behind an organization just like I have for the AHA.

[drinkingdog]

Athletic supporter holds them in place to get the shit kicked out of them. Put the cup on. Got to do something about it. sorry buddy not disrespect intended. We all gotta get the prob fixed

No disrespect here. As a matter of fact I was really thinking of a cup and not a supporter. It's a typing thing. Strength in numbers. Thats why and only why the tv show moonshiners might have been a good thing. Manufacturers need to start the process because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain

[LWTCS]

Working capitol is what gets lost.
Perhaps a bit short sighted? But at times it can be difficult to acquire enough working capitol to allow one to think that far away from the here and now.

[Halfbaked]

LWTCS I think we are on a different page. Working capital? This is about legalizing home distilling not working capital to open a business. Sorry I get on a soap box sometimes. I will stop now.

[LWTCS]

More often than not it takes working capitol to be heard.
Has every thing to do with working capitol.

[seabass]

There are ways to get working capital. What it takes is a vocal minority to get the word out. Then there are things like kick start.com, petitions, harassing your representatives with phone calls, getting manufacturers and pro distillers to get on board, etc.

[chrisc69]

iv read over a good part of this im not to concerned their isnt much they going to be able to find with me and their records unless they start asking for id at the shops and farm supply's for corn and grain and sugar o i do buy oak but im turning to ebay for that and well i dont buy much as i re char all of my oak a few times b4 i give it to someone with a meat smoker and i made 1 of my stills the other was a modded one and paid in cash no id was asked im in Australia anyway

[mash rookie]

More often than not it takes working capitol to be heard.
Has every thing to do with working capitol.

LW, What about all the millions that were made by the Chinese still Importers and their representatives? Wasn't there a guy that had the whole North American continental distributorship? Wouldn't it be worth their while to pay the lobbyist’s to push for legalization?


Funny, Tater is looking pretty freaking smart now isn't he?

Welcome home.

[bigbone32]

Wowzer. This is the first time since I moved to Brazil I'm actually glad I live here. I bought my rig in the US and had it shipped to a US address but it will never see the US again.

[MRP]

Well, it will be interesting --and entirely interesting-- to monitor the forums to see who gets letters or emails and, especially, who gets visited. In truth we have a great deal of speculation, and now we are in readiness for real information. (You >will< give us us Heads Up, right?...)

Personal hunch? The Stay Discreet & Don't Sell folks will be fine. Though nervous. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Y'all?

[Clearwater]

Personal hunch? The Stay Discreet & Don't Sell folks will be fine. Though nervous. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Some call it paranoia. Others call it survivalism.

[carnica]

Some call them Sissy, some call them Mollycoddle.

I guess some people have a jolly good time right now.

[linuxfanatik]

Shucks! I'm used to Witch-hunts! They do it in England and I guess it goes on in the Good ol' US of A too! Shall I, shan't I, be a 'witch' and give the Feds something to 'worry' about? Hell! I'll jus' play possum an' pretend I don't exist and I'm really on the second star North of Washington State!

[linuxfanatik]

Hm..Bigbone - now that's a cool name..lookin at boobs does that I guess but then, I look at PC's in the same way as I look at boobs - am I strange or what???

[Ronin frog]

Some peaple call it paranoia-
I call it prudent plan-ing

[drinkingdog]

This kind of forces still manufactures into fighting for this next generation of home distilling if they want to stay in buisness. I would say if they wan't to continue the profits they have been enjoying to this point they better start fighting for them and fighting for us because even though they aren't breaking the law selling stills and supplies to people which the majority they know will be useing them for not so legal things will lose all they have worked for when the fed's use the info that they are gathering to arrested and prosecute their customers from the sales info that they have to provide to the Fed's. At that time their profits will dewindle to nothing. The only way to change things for their benift as well as ours is to lead in the process to legalize home distilling. Of course they will need our help because this is a joint venture for the good of all. Untill then be safe discrete and grow eyes in the back of your head.