U.S. Federal Law
For more than 150 years it has been against the law in the United States to distill at home as a hobby for personal use. Proper registration and permits are required, along with payment of excise tax and precise record submission on a regular basis.
In 1978 laws were changed to allow the home production of beer and wine, but it stopped short of allowing home distilling for the same purpose. This left would-be hobby distillers in the cold, unable to enjoy their hobby legally.
The Hobby Distillers Association, with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, filed a lawsuit agains the US Federal Government and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in December of 2023 alleging that the prohibition on hobby distilling was an overreach, and beyond the powers given to the federal government under the US Constitution. On July 19, 2024, Judge Pittman, sided with the HDA, marking the biggest win for the hobby distilling industry ever. This historic achievement is not final yet, though. Judge Pittman stayed the order for 14 days to give the government and Department of Justice the chance to appeal the decision. In addition, after the 14 day stay there is still an opportunity for the government to appeal, but the injunction would be in place until an appeal is filed. We are currently in the waiting process to see if the government chooses to appeal the decision, but remain very hopeful that the ruling will stand if an appeal is requested and granted.
Regardless of the outcome, our intention is to continue the fight, be it at the federal level or at the state level to legalize hobby distilling in each state.
Continuing our fight to legalize hobby distilling requires ongoing funding. Please sign up to be a Hobby Distillers Association member today to help us continue this fight!
State Laws
State laws can change. We do our best to keep the list below as up-to-date as possible, but please confirm with your state and local governing bodies the law regarding hobby distilling in your area before doing so.
Coming soon
State laws regarding hobby distilling will be updated soon.
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming
Alabama
State Law
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