How many batches do you make...

[Tannin Boy]

Heh heh... being unemployed for the last nine months has really helped... I have a lot of experience with fruit processing and sanitary methods, but I think I've learned more about the science behind fermentaion in the couple of months I've been following this forum than I did in the last 5 years... it's not the starting of batches that takes the time (well, except when I'm processing a lot of fruit, but I often do that in advance and freeze it), it's the bottling. Specifically, cleaning and de-labelling bottles... this is why there are at least two or three things each from 2006, 2007 and 2008 that are still bulk-aging among the 50 gallons currently in the kitchen...

Mmclean, welcome to the addiction!!

I like to reuse 1.5 Ml bottles and that seems to make it worth the trouble.
When I get to 750Ml. then I start buying them. That said, I am very lucky as the distributor is a couple of blocks down the road. I pay 12.85 case so that is not to bad, I do rather give away the 350Ml. bottles but they are a bit pricey at $18.50 case...These make a nice presentation yet I would rather give the 500Ml. they would be the perfect size for gifts IMHO. They do not carry them often unless they get a large order by request.

Some of those labels on the used bottles are way to tough to get off even after soaking, dam near need a jackhammer!

 

[Chevette Girl]

Some of those labels on the used bottles are way to tough to get off even after soaking, dam near need a jackhammer!

Yeah, if I find I need to get out the Goo Gone to get a label off, I put it in the "take it back" pile ($.15 each at the beer store)

 

[jkane]

JKane, As head of a household (if married) you can make 200 gallons a year (of wine/mead)...

I have never come close.

Depends on the state you are in. Fortunatly I am in Wi where we have no restrictions beyond the fedral law. Georgia (a few years ago anyhow) was 50 gallons and head of household was further defined. That might get too political though!

The 2 adults was what I meant by being married and and then you can have 100 gallons times 2 made!

Including beer, I have come very close a few times. Especially back in the mid 90's when I was making a batch of beer every weekend. 52 weekends in a year times 5 gallons ... Well, it wasn't EVERY weekend. I took some holidays off. ;D

Now days I do bigger batches less often.

I always wondered ... since the wine law and the beer law were enacted at different times, does that mean we can make 200 gallons of EACH!? Then where does mead really fall? Many hoembrewers consider it beer since the BJCP is the official place to judge it, could we consider it beer and/or wine? That way if we make too much wine, it could be our beer allocation, or the other way around.

 

[Medsen Fey]

I always wondered ... since the wine law and the beer law were enacted at different times, does that mean we can make 200 gallons of EACH!? Then where does mead really fall?

My understanding (and I'm no attorney) is that Mead is classified as a wine by the TTB. Any of you commercial guys care to elaborate?

Under the code of federal regulations, the home beer (25.205) and home wine (24.75) exemptions from taxation are entirely separate sections. You are therefore entitled to produce up to 200 gallons of beer and to produce up to 200 gallons of wine as well. I expect that if you consume more than that, you might need to seek some professional treatment.

I'm not quite sure where Braggots and Sake are classified in this.

 

[Jord]

I have NEVER made more than 100 gallons per adult maximum 2 adults per household!

Well OF COURSE you haven't. No RESPONSIBLE, LAW ABIDING citizen would.

I've been tinkering with this brewing addiction over the last year and a bit and have made 1 gallon JAO, a 3 gallon traditional, 1 gallon of cider, 5 gallons of beer, 3 gallons of JQP, and I have 5 gallons of cyser in secondary now. I'm planning to start a barolo kit for a friend in the next couple off weeks and while not taking officially taking part in the group brew I think I'm going to try and make a 5 gallon batch of Caramilk mead....oh and I hope to get a stout going in the next couple of weeks so I have something to drink over the winter while shovelling the driveway.

 

[AToE]

I have NEVER made more than 100 gallons per adult maximum 2 adults per household!

I got curious and looked into this for Alberta, ours is just per household, nothing to do with being married or how many people are in it.

We can make 460L (121.5 US gallons) per year each of wine, beer and cider, but cannot make say 364.5 gal of just one kind. There's nothing about mead, but I'm almost 100% sure that it is classified as wine here.

Seems pretty reasonable, any more than that and you start looking like a bootlegger.

We do have special laws for pro mead makers though that allow you to make whatever qty you want if it's for sale and you have an apiary (there were apparently issues before because to be a commercial fermentory (made up word...) you had to be making large qtys, and that's not condusive to cottage industry).

 

[AToE]

I got curious and looked into this for Alberta, ours is just per household, nothing to do with being married or how many people are in it.

We can make 460L (121.5 US gallons) per year each of wine, beer and cider, but cannot make say 364.5 gal of just one kind. There's nothing about mead, but I'm almost 100% sure that it is classified as wine here.

Seems pretty reasonable, any more than that and you start looking like a bootlegger.

We do have special laws for pro mead makers though that allow you to make whatever qty you want if it's for sale and you have an apiary (there were apparently issues before because to be a commercial fermentory (made up word...) you had to be making large qtys, and that's not condusive to cottage industry).

Sorry to quote my self, but someone just pointed out to me that I was reading our law totally wrong. It does not say anything about making those quantities per year - it is specifically worded to say that one cannot exceeed that quantity of home made ___ physically in the residence.

So effectively I can make ANY amount, as long as I never have more than 460L of home made beer/cider/wine in my house at a time.

THAT is more like it!

 

[wayneb]

What an enlightened law that encourages you to be generous and give all your "excess" production away to friends! Another reason that I like Canada!! ;D

 

[Chevette Girl]

Hey, AToE, what search criteria did you look for to find this info? I've just spent half an hour looking for Ontatio's laws on the subject and all I've tripped over so far are the Liquor Lisence Act (which doesn't mention anything other than brew-on-premises places), and the Liquor Control Act which I haven't read all the way through yet but so far sounds like it's just the Liquor Control Board of Ontario's regulations on how they operate (if we want to purchase alcohol here, we go to the LCBO store)...

 

[AToE]

I did it the lazy way, I went onto the local brew club's forum and just started a thread asking, because I couldn't find anything either. Right away somone started quoting the law, and then people started pointing out how the wording is per each type of booze, and per amount in the residence at a time, not per year.

 

[Tannin Boy]

My understanding (and I'm no attorney) is that Mead is classified as a wine by the TTB. Any of you commercial guys care to elaborate?

Under the code of federal regulations, the home beer (25.205) and home wine (24.75) exemptions from taxation are entirely separate sections. You are therefore entitled to produce up to 200 gallons of beer and to produce up to 200 gallons of wine as well. I expect that if you consume more than that, you might need to seek some professional treatment.

I'm not quite sure where Braggots and Sake are classified in this.

Medsen,

I hope you are right with respect to the volumes...This means I have quite a bit of leeway to go in my fermenting schedule...;D

Problem is with the friends I have I can't keep up to them now.....