Americans can brew beer in their kitchens and make wine at home, but just try making a bottle of whiskey or gin — and people can run afoul of a federal law that dates back more than 150 years.
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that → brew → years
That distinction caught the attention of Ohio resident John Ream, a former aerospace engineer and home-brewing enthusiast who wants to distill small quantities of spirits at home for himself and his wife.
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who → catch → himself
"It is perfectly legal to make beer at home or to make wine at home, but if you make even a single ounce of distilled spirits at home, it is a federal felony," Robert Alt, an attorney representing Ream, told Fox News Digital.
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Alt → make → Digital
Ream's interest in making his own drinks began when his then-fiancée, now wife, Kristin, gave him a home-brewing kit.
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fiancée → make → kit
"Brewing was the perfect combination of art and science, and my engineering brain just totally latched onto it," Ream told the Buckeye Institute, an Ohio-based think tank where Alt serves as president and CEO.
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Alt → latch → president
After years of experimenting with brewing, Ream and his wife opened Trek Brewing Company in Newark, Ohio.
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Ream → experiment → Newark
But when Ream became interested in experimenting with distilled spirits at home, he encountered a very different set of rules.
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he → become → rules
Federal law allows qualifying home production of beer and wine for personal or family use — but distilled spirits cannot legally be produced at home.
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spirits → allow → home
Federal violations can carry significant fines and prison time.
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violations → carry → fines
The debate has also attracted attention within the home-brewing community.
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debate → attract → community
"This would be a wonderful opportunity to raise a glass to freedom and to limited government."
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This → raise → government
The American Homebrewers Association, a trade group based in Boulder, Colorado, said this year that it does not have an official position on legalizing home distilling.
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it → base → distilling
It noted that some of its members distill at home and emphasized education and safety around beverage-making hobbies.
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some → note → hobbies
Why federal law treats distilled spirits differently from beer and wine has roots stretching back more than two centuries.
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treats → treat → roots
The federal government began taxing distilled spirits in 1791, a levy that helped spark the Whiskey Rebellion several years later, according to the National Archives.
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that → begin → Archives
In 1868, amid concerns about tax evasion and the collection of liquor taxes, Congress enacted a broader system regulating distilled spirits that included restrictions on where distilleries could operate.
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distilleries → enact → restrictions
More than 150 years later, that old tax fight has produced a modern question.
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fight → produce → question
"To what extent can Congress regulate local non-commercial otherwise lawful [activity] that you engage in, in your very home?" Alt said.
"That really is the core question in this case."
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That → regulate → case
Two federal appeals courts have given different answers to the constitutional question behind that debate.
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courts → give → debate
The Sixth Circuit ruled against Ream in April, concluding that the home-distilling restriction could lawfully be used to support the collection of federal liquor taxes.
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restriction → rule → taxes
But 11 days earlier, the Fifth Circuit reached the opposite conclusion in a separate challenge, ruling that Congress' taxing authority did not justify the restriction.
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authority → reach → restriction
Both disputes have reached the Supreme Court, though the justices have not agreed to hear either case.
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justices → reach → case
"The Supreme Court gets a lot of petitions for review every year, between 7,000 and 10,000," Alt said.
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Alt → get → review
"And the court, at this point, only hears about 60 cases."
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court → hear → cases
The federal government argues that the restriction remains a permissible part of the system used to protect and collect federal excise taxes on distilled spirits.
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restriction → argue → spirits
Ream and other home-distilling advocates contend that collecting those taxes does not give Congress the authority to prohibit the hobby altogether.
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collecting → contend → hobby
For home brewers interested in taking the next step from beer or wine to whiskey, gin or other spirits, the dispute could ultimately determine whether a hobby long prohibited under federal law can move out of the commercial distillery and into the home.
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hobby → interest → home
"This would be a wonderful opportunity to raise a glass to freedom and to limited government," Alt said.
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Alt → raise → government
Fox News Digital's Deirdre Bardolf contributed to this report.
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Bardolf → contribute → report
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