Is it illegal to make your own alcohol?

Hey all,

A few friends and myself are considering brewing our own alcohol, but there doesn't seem to be much information on the legality of it.

Does anyone know if it is illegal or not?

Thanks

It's legal.

Course it's legal, my dad brews his own beer and cider all the time...

Reply 3

Truman

3

you can buy home brew kitting kits, hence its legal. good luck mate.

Reply 4

philjw

13

It's perfectly legal - though you wouldn't be able to sell it without a license, which you won't get.

Reply 5

Yoda

12

Can you not just buy sainsburys vodka? Its only a few quid for the bottle.

Reply 6

GJimbo

OP

6

Fantastic... we're just wanting to see what we can make ourselves - an experiment if you will :lol:

Reply 7

philjw

13

A guy in my halls tried making some home-brew - in the end it wasn't that good, and only a little bit cheaper than buying a crate from the supermarket. I suppose it's fun to do though, just wouldn't expect it to be wonderful!

Reply 8

F1 fanatic

16

philjw

A guy in my halls tried making some home-brew - in the end it wasn't that good, and only a little bit cheaper than buying a crate from the supermarket. I suppose it's fun to do though, just wouldn't expect it to be wonderful!

A friend of mine bought a wine brewing kit and managed to get in excess of 20 bottles out of it for <£20. That seemed pretty reasonable to me. It wasnt amazing, but it wasnt too bad actually - I was quite surprised!

Reply 9

evil groove

My parents used to make their own beer. Apparently it wasn't that good! They drank it anyway.

Reply 10

philjw

13

F1 fanatic

A friend of mine bought a wine brewing kit and managed to get in excess of 20 bottles out of it for <£20. That seemed pretty reasonable to me. It wasnt amazing, but it wasnt too bad actually - I was quite surprised!

Yeah, you probably save more money brewing wine than beer!

Reply 11

seaweasel

A friend and I have brewed cider a few times, it's really easy to make and tasted pretty good too. One batch was called "Curious Weasel."

Reply 12

tehjonny

8

It is legal, but I think their are rules as to how strong it can be?

Reply 13

L i b

19

It's legal to brew.

Distilling, however, will likely get you in trouble.

My old man's always making gin,... not that he likes Gin much mind you... is nice though :yy:

Reply 15

Spunky

14

Actually this sounds like a fun house-mate kind of group activity :p:

!

Reply 16

Erana

9

tehjonny

It is legal, but I think their are rules as to how strong it can be?

Nope, it can be as strong as your yeast can stand (which cuts off at around 15% generally, but I have seen hardy yeasts that can supposedly hit 18%). Distilling anything is illegal without a licence, and also dangerous (as methanol & ethanol have very similar boiling points - and methanol makes you go blind).

For the past three years I've been making homebrew fruit wines - just a few gallons at a time though, don't have the apparatus/space for anything more. I'd highly reccommend fruit wine - although it's not a quick one to brew, the results are very good. I also may be going into business with a friend soon making mead..

Apparently my parents used to get one-month brew kits when they were younger - I think they did around 2-4 gallons a month - and apparently by the time they'd finished one batch the next would be ready, and it saved them a lot of money.

If you want any tips on the longer-term brewing projects (I have no experience/knowledge of quick brews, they're boring imho), then feel free to throw me a pm.