What's the law

[LED_ZEP]

@PenhowBrewer post about a period Boots' home brewing find on Gumtree just reminded me how I used to make a little "extra pocket money" back in the day.
Makes me laugh now but this took me back; I used to go in to Boots aged 13 and buy home brew kits and gear. It was only questioned once by the staff and the manager said "We're not selling alcohol so there's no problem".
What's the law these days? Can you sell kits and or equipment to under 18's? If not where is the line drawn, can you sell grain but not malt extract?

 

[simon12]

I could be wrong but I think all the alcohol and age law is to do with sale and consumption of actual alcohol and not production or possession of. I think it would be completely legal for a child to brew alcohol and from what I can tell no law would be broken if the child was to consume it as well.
Sorry re reading my English looks weird but can't be bothered to edit.

 

[simon12]

Just realised I didn't clearly say I don't think there is any law against the sale of any home brew kit to anyone regardless of age, though some retailers may have there own policy.

 

[kelper]

Children are hardly likely to 'go round the bicycle sheds' and start brewing! Nor under railway bridges. Pretty thick parents if they are doing it at home.

 

[foxy]

Whatever the law is, surely it would be the same for a 'Brew your own' establishment, whereas they will sell you the ingredients, help you make the brew as long as the end user pitches the yeast. Would there be a law regarding age, or the proprietor of the BYO establishment just be using common sense?

 

[Pavros]

I don't know what the law is but, if you go onto a brewery's website/online store, you usually have to click a button to confirm that you are over 18 whereas there doesn't appear to be a similar thing on homebrew supply websites.

 

[MickDundee]

I would think if a LHBS was selling to “under agers” and parents found out there would be Hell on in the papers etc.

Whilst it might not be technically illegal I reckon anyone obviously under 18 would be chucked out as it wouldn’t be worth the shop owner’s livelihood to do it.

 

[PhilBrew]

Malt extract can be bought at Holland and Barrett, hops can be bought in Garden Centres (admittedly they're ornamental/herbal ones that most on here wouldn't want to brew with, but at a push) and yeast can be bought in Tesco (yes it's bakers yeast, but again at a push) ... we brewers will regularly use shop-bought sugars, ferment supermarket juices, and/or mash rice, polenta or breakfast cereals from all sorts of shops ... so why stop at Homebrew supplies/suppliers

At the end of the day, the things we're buying are just ingredients, which could be being purchased to make whatever the buyer has in mind for them ... the hopped malt extract in canned kits could even be used to make a hoppy malt loaf, if you wanted ... why on earth would anyone ever feel the need to place restrictions on those things being bought?

A quick search show kids are even taught (still) about fermentation in science lessons ... and encouraged to investigate what happens by experimentation (see there (link)) ... do you really think we're going to criminalise every child that performs that experiment

Cheers, PhilB

 

[MickDundee]

A quick search show kids are even taught (still) about fermentation in science lessons ... and encouraged to investigate what happens by experimentation (see there (link)) ... do you really think we're going to criminalise every child that performs that experiment

I wish I was taught about fermentation in science at school - I might have actually been interested in it and become a brewer instead of an accountant.

 

[jof]

I remember a couple of years ago taking the kids when I popped into the local homebrew shop & the bloke on the till telling them there was nothing to stop them buying a kit & making their own beer while I was deciding on what hops to get.

What stopped them was lack of patience & waiting 'weeks' before anything was ready

 

[Moonraker]

What stopped them was lack of patience & waiting 'weeks' before anything was ready

Ahh, the impetuousness of youth - the results of my first ever wine kit aged 18 were drunk directly from the DJ within days of the fermentation finishing (wasn't even cleared or racked off first) :^)

 

[Old Geezer]

I suppose the easiest to buy and brew without arising any suspicions would simply be apple juice and yeast. It can be bought in any supermarket.

 

[jof]

Hey, My son brewed squash, sugar and yeast if you want the ultimate cheap 'alcopop'. Though next time I told hime we need yeast nutrient. Fermentation was very slow.

 

[MrRook]

I suppose the easiest to buy and brew without arising any suspicions would simply be apple juice and yeast. It can be bought in any supermarket.

If you bought apple juice without preservatives you wouldn't even need to buy yeast.

 

[Gerryjo]

I don't think there is a law to prevent them buying a HB kit as there is no alcohol and the fact that under 18s can legally consume alcohol within the home or even buy 0.5% beer as its classed as no alcohol surely leaves loopholes for those who are intrigued by the process and the final product and only then does it become illegal if they consume it outside of the home.

 

[buddsy]

I dont know the law but when I was about 12/13 me and my pal used to make quite a bit of wine.

We would go and get books from the library then go to a local small mini market and buy what ever fruit was past best. We made a great plum wine and a great peach wine.

Then we would drink it! hahaha

We used to store it all down my mates dads car pit.

We once made a batch of ginger beer and almost every bottle exploded down there!

My mate recently found a "left over" bottle of something we had made tucked away down there....30 years later! Was a bit brown looking!

buddsy

 

[Covrich]

When I decide to go into my kids bedrooms to clear the glasses out of pop I always find soemthing fermenting naturally in there

 

[johncrobinson]

I don`t think teenagers brewing is a serious problem
What surprises me is how few ADULT alcoholics do it.!!!!!

Excessive consumption of homebrew would not spare them from the health consequences.But it would spare them greatly from the financial impact .

 

[Covrich]

I don`t think teenagers brewing is a serious problem
What surprises me is how few ADULT alcoholics do it.!!!!!

Excessive consumption of homebrew would not spare them from the health consequences.But it would spare them greatly from the financial impact .

Yeah I have known a few people who i think "if only they knew how cheap 30 bottles of wine could cost them" and then thought "hmm how dangerous would that be"..

I think for the really bad ones partially by virtue of their life being out of shape they do not have the inclination to be brew sanitise and bottles ect.