USA: Utah approves new alcohol ordinance

The City Council, in a 5-2 vote on August 23, approved a new alcohol ordinance without the two paragraphs that would have made the hobby of beer- or wine-making at home a criminal, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Thus, home brewers here can breathe a little easier, knowing their city officials will not be watching to see what they are doing with all that malt and barley

But hold off on that celebratory drink - the pastime is still illegal under a state law that seldom gets enforced. "It's a Class B misdemeanor and carries a fine - a licensing issue within the purview of the state," said City Attorney David Carlson about Utah's circular law.

Utah law puts home brewers in the same classification as other manufacturers of alcoholic beverages - and a manufacturer's license, along with associated fees, is expensive. Utah law also demands that home brewers get their license from the federal government, which doesn't issue such licenses.

"By putting it on the city's books that home brewing is illegal, it criminalizes the activity and we could enforce it with civil fines," Carlson said.