Want to craft beer in your Central Valley home? What California law says you can and can’t do

You don’t have to travel far to get a good beer in Modesto. You might not even have to leave the house, if you’re a home brewer or a friend of someone who is.

“I really enjoy sharing my beer with people and hearing them say, ‘Wow! You made this?’” said Henry VanderWeide III, a home brewer in Ripon. “It never gets old.”

California law allows residents to craft beer and make wine in their homes, with some restrictions, including a cap on how much can be made. But what about selling it?

We reached out to California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which sent us information about how residents can make beer in their homes and share it, legally. Here are the rules are regarding brewing beer in your residence, as well as advice from a local home brew club if you want to do it yourself:

What are the restrictions when home brewing beer?

A license or permit is not required to brew beer (or make wine) as long as it is not for sale. It must be for personal or family use, according to ABC.

It is a misdemeanor to sell or donate homemade beer or wine unless it’s given to a nonprofit for sale at a fundraising event in which the organization is the only entity benefiting. The general penalty for a misdemeanor in California is up to one year in jail and/or a fine up to $1,000, said Devin Blankenship, a spokesperson for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Other regulations regarding donating home-brewed beer are outlined in the Business and Ethics Code. For instance, the brewer must be 21 or older.

Only for “very specific circumstances” may home-brewed beer be taken beyond the premises where it was made, Blankenship said. This includes home brewers club meetings and home-brew competitions.

These types of events can occur only on premises that already have an on-sale retail license with ABC, Blankenship said.

VanderWeide is a founding member of The Brewins Home Brew Club, an American Homebrewers Association registered club established in January 2016. The Brewins meet monthly at sites including Ripon’s American Legion Post 190 and at breweries.

Meetings involve club business like upcoming events, educational sessions, guest speakers, smelling and tasting members’ brews, games and friendly competitions, VanderWeide said.

“One of the members will brew a beer using only a single variety of hops, keeping it a secret,” VanderWeide said. “The rest of us try and guess the variety by smelling both the hops and beer brewed with it, as well as tasting it.”

A home brewer cannot make more than 100 gallons of beer per year, or 200 gallons if there is more than one adult in the household, Blankenship said.

VanderWeide said it’s not hard to stay under the yearly limit. With three adults in his household, he said he brews 10 gallons at a time about once a month, or about 120 gallons per year.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Home brewing can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be, VanderWeide said. He said the equipment can range from free to thousands of dollars, and a five-gallon batch can cost anywhere from $20 to $80.

“At $20, that’s about 50 cents a pint,” VanderWeide said. “The juice is worth the squeeze there.”

VanderWeide said there are ways to cut costs. Most home brewers start with a turkey deep fryer, an ice chest converted into a mash tun and a plastic bucket or glass carboy to ferment in. They then upgrade from there.

He said he thinks the best way to save is to split the equipment among friends, which is where joining or starting a club can benefit someone wanting to get started.

“You really only need most of the equipment for one day anyway,” VanderWeide said. “Might as well share the cost.”

When it comes to getting into brewing beer at home, VanderWeide said the sooner you get started, the sooner you can get better at it.

“It seems intimidating at first, but having someone who brews show you the ropes can really shorten that learning curve,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

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