Positive Liberty

Our house has been in a ferment these past few days.

No, it’s not about Objectivism, nor even Hegel. We’re making homebrew beer.

Whenever I talk about homebrew, I always get two comments.

–It can’t be legal.

and

–It can’t taste very good.

Both of these impressions are mistaken.

It is legal, with no paperwork or government oversight necessary. There are no taxes, no forms to fill out, and no need to worry about revenuers. In the United States, homebrew became legal in 1978. So long as you brew in reasonable quantities and do not sell or distill what you make, you need no government permits. Distillation is still illegal in the United States without a permit, though it is legal, ahem, in New Zealand.

We’ve come a long way since Prohibition. Back then my grandmother was a young child, and–true story–she used to make illegal whiskey deliveries in her Little Red Wagon. “No one ever suspected a kid,” she says. She remains a woman after my own heart. Nothing against her or her efforts, but today’s homebrews are safer, easier to make, and of consistently better quality than anything from the Prohibition era.

One word of caution, however: Some states, including Alabama and Utah, still maintain homebrew prohibitions. These laws are entirely unenforceable given recent technological advances both in communications and in brewing itself. They remain on the books, though, and thus it is best for you to check your local laws before rushing to brew at home.

As to the taste, I have to say that the average homebrew tastes much better than most commercial beers. I’ve sampled beer from probably a dozen different local homebrewers, and they’ve all been excellent. Some of them have been wildly creative, while others were perfect renditions of a classic style. I’ve had beers that were an exact copy of a Guinness Stout–and beers that resembled nothing else in the known universe.

The sky really is the limit. During the past week, I removed a 5-gallon jug of pilsener-style lager from an unheated room in the basement. It had been fermenting there during the cold months of late winter, slowly and delicately, giving it the unmistakably dry, crisp quality of the true lager style. It should be ready in just another week. Meanwhile, I’m brewing a peach wheat ale, something you might never find in the stores no matter how hard you look. One good thing about ales is that they take much less time than lagers, as they’re typically ready to drink in under a month. My partner Scott–ever the brave one–is attempting to brew a sake, which is also legal in the United States–though ironically it’s illegal in Japan.

Besides good taste, a moderate consumption of homebrew is actually good for you. The dangers are essentially nil: So long as you don’t add poisonous herbs or use any lead-lined equipment, it is virtually impossible to make a toxic beer. (Hmm… Homebrew is illegal in Alabama–and the lead poisoning cases came from? …Alabama! Surely it’s just a coincidence…)

Now, not everyone believes us when we say how good a homebrew can be. I brought a keg of my homebrew to a recent JHU History Department party. People were afraid to drink it. Heck, they were even afraid to touch it, because admittedly the kegging system I use looks a bit like something out of a munitions catalogue. But contrary to your expectations, the device does not explode when you press the red button. Instead, it produces a steady stream of delicious, nutritious beer.

One by one, the invitees tried the brew. By the end of the night, they’d nearly emptied the full 2.5-gallon keg. My advisor–who had repeatedly called the brew “rotgut” to my face–finally broke down and tried it. Then he poured himself a rather larger glass. And then he poured another. I’d made a convert.

You may now be asking–how do I get in on homebrewing? This is a common question. Dave Jansing asked it once, and I taught him how it’s done. Now he brews his own, and you can too. Many areas boast walk-in homebrew stores, which are the best places to get started. Here you can see demonstrations, ask questions, and get expert advice. In Maryland, I recommend Maryland Homebrew and Annapolis Homebrew as two very good suppliers. I try to divide my purchases between them, since I have had nothing but good dealings with both stores. The canonical reference text on homebrew is Charles Papazian’s Complete Joy of Homebrewing, now in its third edition. This book should also be available at any homebrew store you visit.

The bottom line is simple. Do you love cooking? Love chemistry? Love good old-fashioned American freedom? Or do you just love a good beer buzz now and then? Well then I say: Go forth and brew!

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