A senate panel has approved one of several bills aimed at restoring Oregon homebrewers’ rights to transport their homemade beer to festivals and gatherings.
A senate panel has approved one of several bills aimed at restoring Oregon homebrewers’ rights to transport their homemade beer to festivals and gatherings.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski sponsored Senate Bill 444. The Eugene democrat has been a homebrewer since 1987.
The bill, which passed unanimously, now awaits consideration by the full Senate. It clarifies in law several dos and don’ts for homebrewers, including giving them the legal right to transport their beers and ales. That right was taken for granted from the time Congress authorized homebrewing in 1979 until a 2010 Oregon attorney general opinion determined that state law as written barred the consumption outside the home of homemade alcoholic beverages.
That newly issued interpretation of the law led the Oregon State Fair to end its 22-year-old home-brewed beer contest because it would be illegal for home brewers to transport their beverages to the fair. The state interpretation also created an uproar among do-it-yourself beer enthusiasts who have long taken their specialty brews to home gatherings, competitions and other informal events.
Read more at The Register-Guard.
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