[punatic]

The Secret Life of...

[tumarkin]

You gotta love the last lines, quoting the enforcement officer, Dixon...

"There's a lot of romance surrounding the operation of a still," Dixon, the enforcement officer, acknowledged. Folklore, too.

"It's just kind of a cool thing," he said. "I don't know how else to put it."

He hastened to add, however, that it is still a crime.

The time is coming, though it'll likely be slow in coming, when we'll be able to home distill just as we home brew beer... or wine... or mead.

The time may even come when the AHA takes on a role in making that possible (at least I hope so and think that would be appropriate.... do you?).

[tygo]

The time may even come when the AHA takes on a role in making that possible (at least I hope so and think that would be appropriate.... do you?).

I do.  But the AHA doesn't.  They're afraid of being painted with the "moonshiners" brush.  I think they feel that it will diminish their credibility in defending homebrewing, which is legal on a federal level.
   

[denny]

I can't speak for the AHA, but my feeling is that it's a separate issue.  I don't have any problem with legalizing distilling at home, but I also don't feel it should be part of the AHA agenda.


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[tygo]

Seems like a natural extension of the organization's objectives to me.  The only big bright line I see is the federal legality and that's the one the AHA doesn't want to cross in their lobbying efforts.  Our hobby is making booze.  Why is distilling that booze verboten? 

but I also don't feel it should be part of the AHA agenda.

I wonder how many of the AHA members agree with this.  It would be interesting to include the question on one of the survey's the AHA does.

[jamminbrew]

Maybe the AHA should have a separate division, called the ADA? (American Distillers Association) A separate entity, with the same support and resources the AHA has.

[punatic]

Bill Owens beat them to it:
American Distilling Institute

You'll note a LOT of the same players there as in brewing.

[euge]

Bill Owens beat them to it:
American Distilling Institute

You'll note a LOT of the same players there as in brewing.

Thank you very much sir. Found a very interesting page there.

[punatic]

Yes, it is einen verbotener gegenstand here.  But, rest assured, there are plenty of people and places to discuss it out there.  The BA and AHA choose not to participate in the discussion.

[tumarkin]

I can't speak for the AHA, but my feeling is that it's a separate issue.  I don't have any problem with legalizing distilling at home, but I also don't feel it should be part of the AHA agenda.

I understand that is the current AHA/BA thinking, but as a member speaking to a Governing Committee member, Denny; I'd ask you (and the others on the Committee) to rethink that stance. There is a fundamental similarity between beer/wine/mead and distilled spirits. There is a large and growing number of BA professionals who are expanding into distillation. It's a natural step - professionally or for home use.  Being able to distill the beer I brew or the mead I make is not a huge stretch, as long as it's for home use, not for sale.

As a member, I would like to see the AHA support this as well. Just my thoughts, but I suspect they're shared by many members. If we keep the topic open to discussion (not just here on the forum, but in general), I suspect that over time it will become a majority opinion.

[nateo]

I don't think distilling should fall within the purview of the AHA. I think there is a lot more general acceptance of beer and wine consumption than spirits, and I don't see the value in fighting the neo-prohibitionists on this topic. I think it would only take one kid with a poorly designed still blowing himself up for the AHA to lose a lot of credibility.

[weithman5]

i don't think it needs to be part of the AHA mission.  The AHA supports a legal hobby.  There is nothing stopping our members from forming a new organization to pursue legalizing home distilling.  I would wager many   are members of other organizations that support hobbies.  I don't see our resources used for this any more than I would expect a model railroad, gardening, cross-stitching, motorcycle, fishing, organization to be involved.

[gmac]

I always thought the AHA should do more to promote cross-stitching...

I don't see it as an AHA issue either.  But, I did a search and as far as I can tell (and this is by no means perfect), no one up here in Canada has ever been prosecuted for making spirits at home.  Selling, yes but never for making for personal use even though it's technically illegal.  Has me thinking...

[gogreen437]

Seems like a natural extension of the organization's objectives to me.  The only big bright line I see is the federal legality and that's the one the AHA doesn't want to cross in their lobbying efforts.  Our hobby is making booze.  Why is distilling that booze verboten? 

You could argue the similarities, but it seems just as logical (if not more so) that an organization named the American Homebrewers Association would largely concern themselves with brewing.  It is easy for me to say this because I have no interest in distilling, but choosing not to dilute the mission makes sense to me. 

[erockrph]

I would love to try my hand at distilling if it could be done safely and legally, and I can definitely see the synergy between homebrewing and home-distilling, but I don't think the AHA should dilute its focus by taking on distilling. We don't cover winemaking, so why would we cover distilling? If there was an overarching organization representing vintners, brewers and distillers together, that would be different.