It’s one of those clarifying moments where we step back and realize that, though it’s been legal since Carter was President, homebrewing is still a grey area for legislators in some states. Case in point - Brew Camp, a Chicago homebrew store recently posted this to their facebook page:
Hi, everybody. Thanks for your concern and the amazing support the past few days. I’d like to clarify a few things:
First of all, we simply need the correct license. We did our best to understand the city’s requirements when we started up. Over the past year, representatives at both the city and state levels have expressed that they don’t have a clear picture of “how to deal with homebrew shops” because we “aren’t a typical business.” There are hundreds of bars, restaurants and grocery stores throughout the city–all of which have clearly established licensing protocol–and only a handfull homebrew shops.
First of all, we simply need the correct license. We did our best to understand the city’s requirements when we started up. Over the past year, representatives at both the city and state levels have expressed that they don’t have a clear picture of “how to deal with homebrew shops” because we “aren’t a typical business.” There are hundreds of bars, restaurants and grocery stores throughout the city–all of which have clearly established licensing protocol–and only a handfull homebrew shops.
We are, essentially, your grocery store. And you should be protected when you buy stuff that’s going through your body. This is a good thing.
Secondly, we aren’t complaining. We’ve been treated fairly. In fact, the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (the business license folks), the Department of Public Health, the Department of Buildings … they’ve all been very friendly, efficient, and helpful the past few days. I believe they recognize we made a mistake and that we’re working diligently to fix it.
Thirdly, we’re fixing this. We spent Friday and today at City Hall working to make this right. Meantime, we’ve stopped selling online and in the shop. The homebrew community is scrutinized enough already, and we only want to contribute to a positive reputation of the hobby.
This is going to take some time. Don’t storm the castle just yet - let’s give this a chance to work out. The city is just making sure we’re all safe. We’re all anxious to get back to work, but we’re more interested in making sure we do it right.
I can only hope that this most excellent resource returns to help the spread the gospel of homebrew soon. This leads to a great question and a potential good discussion. Why did this happen? Granted, as Brew Camp points out partially this is their fault and kudos to them for pointing the finger at themselves first, but why, when homebrewing has been legal for more than 30 years do cities still not know how to license and regulate them?
Thoughts?
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