Beer, Motorcycles and Cigars — Beer, Bikes and Butts

Tuesday night the Alabama Senate passed a bill legalizing homebrewing — making Alabama the 50^th and final state in America to do so.

It’s incredible to think that in America, where many of the founding fathers were themselves home brewers, that it would take this long to recognize this fundamental right in all of the states. Indeed, James Madison thought beer was so important that he pushed for a national brewery, complete with a “Secretary of Beer”. Thomas Jefferson and his wife produced an estimated 15 gallons of beer every two weeks.

• History in the making: This will be the first time since pre-Prohibition days that all 50 states will legally allow homebrewing.
• Rapid-fire succession: Mississippi was the 49^th state to legalize homebrewing, and the state did so in March, only two months prior to Alabama.
• Alabama might not be last: Alabama has an opportunity to legalize homebrewing before Mississippi, since the Mississippi bill has a 90-day wait period to become effective, while the Alabama bill would go into effect immediately once Governor Robert Bentley signs it.

Posted on June 18th, 2013 by Aaron Morris
Filed under: Beer, Beer Facts, Beer History