One For Old-timers, Why Did Home Brewing Get Legalized?

[Steve Lacey]

Those who know me know that I live in Japan. Home brewing here is not exactly legal*, but that doesn't stop us. Still, the hobby bumps along below the radar because of the legal status because Japanese are reluctant to break the law and it is difficult to achieve the economies of scale to establish successful brewing supply shops.

So it gives cause to ponder how home brewing was legalized in Australia. I know it happened in 1972 in one of the first decisions of the new Labor government. But I don't know what political pressures or imperatives made it an important enough issue for the incoming government to act so quickly and decisively. I was only 9 at the time, so my memory of the events are not so clear :blink: Does anybody out there know why Gough legalized home brewing, or why he did it so quickly? I would like to know what lessons might be taken from this to help spur Japanese home brewers to organize themselves to lobby and campaign and otherwise achieve full legalization.

* It is legal to make fermented beverages as long as they do not exceed 1% ABV

 

[warra48]

Home brewing was always legal in Australia.
What stopped us prior to 1973 was that we were required to pay excise on the beer we produced.
The logic behind that was that by consuming home brew, the government missed out on the excise they'd collect from the commercial brewers.
The Whitlam government amended the Excise laws to remove excise from home brewed beer.

Can't remember just why they did it though. Maybe some election promise after 23 years in the wilderness in opposition?

 

[Steve Lacey]

OK, thanks for the clarification. I actually think it might not be so different here. I mean, it is an excise thing. However even some police here believe it is fine as long as you don't sell the beer.

Can't remember just why they did it though. Maybe some election promise after 23 years in the wilderness in opposition?

Yes, that's what I'm really trying to get at. How much home brewing was going on and what kind of a song and dance were our ancestral home brewers making about the restrictive excise laws?

Actually, come to think of it, my uncle dabbled in a bit of a home brewing back in those days. I will have to Skype him and see if he can shed any light.

 

[benny_bjc]

Does anybody out there know why Gough legalized home brewing, or why he did it so quickly?

I'm not sure of the answer but I believe Gough really loved his beer... that could be a slight contributing factor!

 

[mr_tyreman]

slightly OT but...


wasn't Bob Hawkee a champ yard glass drinker?


heres a quote i found...

this countrys most famous drinking record was set by the legendary Australian Prime Minister Robert (Bob) Hawke in 1955. He drank 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds at University College, Oxford. Hawke recalls the incident as follows in The Hawke Memoirs (1994):

 

[Fermented]

My grandfather was home-brewing from sometime in the 1920s until somewhere around the mid-40s.

He was a country boy from around Blayney (near Orange). As I understand it, the relationship with the local law was generous and sensible. In other words, don't make waves in public and no one pays attention. A good way, then.

An exploding batch on a hot summer night in the 1940s in Strathfield caused my grandmother to bring a halt to his alcohol making shenannigans.

Spoilsport.

He just had to go invest at the Catholic Club after that.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[jonocarroll]

From the AWBCA website:

An important early action of the Club was to join with others in 1973 to persuade the Government to permit the home brewing of beer of any strength; until then home brewing of beer over 2% alcohol was illegal.

which would imply that there was at least some public pressure. Well before my time.

And Hawkies drinking record is well documented

His academic achievements were possibly outweighed by the notoriety he achieved as the holder of a world record for the fastest consumption of beer: a yard glass (approximately 3 imperial pints or 1.7 litres) in eleven seconds. In his memoirs, Hawke suggested that this single feat may have contributed to his political success more than any other, by endearing him to a voting population with a strong beer culture.

in other words, it had the same effect as Latham's "interactions with a taxi driver" :huh:

 

[benny_bjc]

slightly OT but...


wasn't Bob Hawkee a champ yard glass drinker?


heres a quote i found...

this countrys most famous drinking record was set by the legendary Australian Prime Minister Robert (Bob) Hawke in 1955. He drank 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds at University College, Oxford. Hawke recalls the incident as follows in The Hawke Memoirs (1994):

Sorry I was muddled... Yes it was Bob Hawke.

 

[Steve Lacey]

which would imply that there was at least some public pressure. Well before my time.

Thanks, that's the kind of thing I was looking for. I will email them and see if they can shed some further light on the matter. Their web site also contradicts Warra48's claim that, "Home brewing was always legal in Australia." Not that it is especially important to the point i am pursuing. Their had to be some kind of law change and what I am trying to get at is what kind of organized lobbying efforts were going on to cause it.

 

[Steve Lacey]

I will email them and see if they can shed some further light on the matter.

oops, no I won't. Their "Contact Us" page has four names, two phone numbers and zero email addresses

 

[jonocarroll]

oops, no I won't. Their "Contact Us" page has four names, two phone numbers and zero email addresses

Yeah, you've got to fill out the contact form to send mail. Meh.

I'm not certain that anyone actually has any relevant information on the matter, but I can sus it out at the next meeting for you. I know of at least a couple of members who are 25+ years in the club, and they may at least know who better to contact.

It's a political thing, right? There's got to be some documentation somewhere, and hopefully that has a little more info for you.

 

[Steve Lacey]

Ah, the old web form trick. For some reasons the names were not activating when I moused over them, but I finally got it after your tip made me look a bit harder. Message sent to the president.
Cheers!

 

[tcraig20]

Sorry to take things OT, but apart from a few die-hard hobbyists, why would anyone in Japan home brew?

If you could afford the space to brew, you would have enough money to drink whatever you like!

 

[tcraig20]

Back on topic, here's an extract from my 1975 copy of Kieth Liden's 'Brewing Beer at Home'

"Until 1973 it was illegal to brew beer, if unlicensed, to an alcoholic content of 2% or more proof. However the Australian Government amended the Exice Act to bring Australia into line with countries such as Britain and New Zealand where unlimited home-brewing of beer for private consumption is permitted. The Government still obtains revenue from home-brewers because many ingredients and most equipment are subject to sales tax."

Im not sure if thats helpful or not.

 

[bum]

Sorry to take things OT, but apart from a few die-hard hobbyists, why would anyone in Japan home brew?

If you could afford the space to brew, you would have enough money to drink whatever you like!

That idea might mean something in Tokyo perhaps but I doubt it'd hold true for the entire nation.

 

[Steve Lacey]

...apart from a few die-hard hobbyists...If you could afford the space to brew, you would have enough money to drink whatever you like!

Would you? I'll have to ask my die-hard hobbyist mates about that. While there is a grain of truth in your statement, the situation is, not surprisingly, many times more complex. You would be surprised at how little space you can get away with. My apartment is 63 m² and I have a wife and three teenage sons ... and a home brewery :icon_drunk: You would also probably be surprised to learn that the affordability of such apartments (and bigger) these days, even in Tokyo, are on parity with (admittedly somewhat larger) homes in much of urban Australia. And the average apartment here has a gas range powerful enough to do a 30L boil. No need for NASA burners or sheds to house them. A balcony for the kettles, a bit of cupboard space, a small second fridge for the serving keg, an understanding family, and away you go.

Another thing is that your whole statement seems to be premised on the false assumption that anybody who is not a "die-hard hobbyist" home brews only to save money. Do you really think that's true? Or that it applies to everybody? I just read the following post on one of our brewing forums for people living in Japan. Maybe it will give you some insight to why there are quite a few of us who brew, even some who would not be described as "die-hard hobbyists".

Why I homebrew in Japan
When I lived in the states (San Diego, home of Stone), I had access to some of the best west coast style craft brews in the form of microbrews and brewpubs. A bottle of Arrogant ******* Ale was less than $3.50! and the Stone Brewery was less than 30 minutes away. I did not appreciate the land of plenty back then. Even still, I had a few friends who were homebrewng and I had a casual interest in the hobby. Enough so that I bought (or someone bought for me) a Mr. Beer kit (cue the laughter icon_geek) and I tried it.

Even then, I knew I could not stick to the canned hopped malt extract and the "booster" that came with the kit. I replaced the "booster" with 1 lb of DME and added 1 oz of cascade hops to my first batch of Mr. Beer and it came out a pretty good hopped pale ale. But I wasn't hooked entirely yet. Living in the San Diego land of plenty didn't give me too much incentive to brew my own.

Then I moved to Japan and came to the realization that I missed the beers of San Diego. I hated the taste of most US and Japanese commercial beers, the fizzy yellow stuff augmented with rice. And the few jibiru I found that I could drink all sold for over 500!

The one other necessity for home brewing that I had was a lot of time. So I ordered an equipment and ingredients kit from MoreBeer and that is how I got started. I've brewed several more batches of beer using my now retired Mr Beer kit using the ingredients I had leftover and now my first 5 gal brew using the ingredient kit from MoreBeer is bottled and ready to drink.

Somewhere in between, I discovered that Japan has a very active homebrew/craft beer community and here I am.

BTW, I'm still getting used to 2,000 for a bottle of ABA and 1,300 for a pint of Ruination IPA! Next week I'm visiting the states for a few weeks and I will show my appreciation to Stone when I get to San Diego by drinking as much ABA and Ruination as I can.

 

[tcraig20]

Another thing is that your whole statement seems to be premised on the false assumption that anybody who is not a "die-hard hobbyist" home brews only to save money. Do you really think that's true? Or that it applies to everybody? I just read the following post on one of our brewing forums for people living in Japan. Maybe it will give you some insight to why there are quite a few of us who brew, even some who would not be described as "die-hard hobbyists".

I really didnt mean to cause any offence, so sorry if I have.

People homebrew for two basic reasons: the craft of it (and its results), and to save money. Most of us take a little from each column. I enjoy making beer. I especially enjoy making (and consuming!) beers to a style that I wouldnt otherwise be able to afford. If I were Bill Gates, I wouldnt bother brewing at all.

Your example gives a fellow who has moved to Japan from San Diego: from plentiful, good, cheap beer to expensive, bad beer (in his opinion). So he turned to home brewing to make a more enjoyable product at an acceptable price. Im sure, with the right amount of money, he could import San Diego craft beer directly, but, again, the cost would be prohibitive.

If there is a bad assumption in what I said, its the cost of Japanese real estate. Seeing as Im an unsophisticated Gaikokujin (or Nanban if you prefer), Im sure you will excuse me.

 

[Steve Lacey]

Hi Craig thanks for your post. I suppose I felt a little bit offended by the sense that I was being branded in some way, but at the same time I did understand that there was some truth in what you said, and that I should try very hard not to feel offended :mellow: . So please forgive me in turn for my irascibility.

I suppose the best way of characterizing the situation is that, yes, the brewers do indeed tend to be die-hard hobbyists who are very into good beer and don't want to pay the earth for it. But many of us also love the actual process of brewing. It is hard to say what we like more, the brewing or the drinking. Some guys both have healthy incomes and limited space, yet they brew. So yes, cost is certainly a strong factor woven through our motivations, but I guess the thing I did want to correct the most was your assumption that if you had enough space to brew, then you must be so rich that cost couldn't be a factor. Some wealthy fellows who can afford to drink craft beer every night do brew, and some who have limited space and limited incomes also brew. If home brewing were legal here, I can assure you that a hell of a lot more people would do it. Perhaps with some modifications (like more compact systems with smaller batch sizes), but they would do it.

And yes, I will forgive you for being an unsophisticated Namban-jin; after all, I am one too. (second from right in the banner, making the double V)

 

[tcraig20]

Hi Craig thanks for your post. I suppose I felt a little bit offended by the sense that I was being branded in some way, but at the same time I did understand that there was some truth in what you said, and that I should try very hard not to feel offended :mellow: . So please forgive me in turn for my irascibility.

I suppose the best way of characterizing the situation is that, yes, the brewers do indeed tend to be die-hard hobbyists who are very into good beer and don't want to pay the earth for it. But many of us also love the actual process of brewing. It is hard to say what we like more, the brewing or the drinking. Some guys both have healthy incomes and limited space, yet they brew. So yes, cost is certainly a strong factor woven through our motivations, but I guess the thing I did want to correct the most was your assumption that if you had enough space to brew, then you must be so rich that cost couldn't be a factor. Some wealthy fellows who can afford to drink craft beer every night do brew, and some who have limited space and limited incomes also brew. If home brewing were legal here, I can assure you that a hell of a lot more people would do it. Perhaps with some modifications (like more compact systems with smaller batch sizes), but they would do it.

And yes, I will forgive you for being an unsophisticated Namban-jin; after all, I am one too. (second from right in the banner, making the double V)

No worries mate. At least we are genuine 'southern barbarians', unlike the Poms and Dutchmen the Japanese mistook for southerners :icon_chickcheers:

Im still having trouble visualising it though - I tend to take over half the (avg. Australian) house on brew day with various bits of kit.

 

[muckanic]

I would like to know what lessons might be taken from this to help spur Japanese home brewers to organize themselves to lobby and campaign and otherwise achieve full legalization.

With many of these sorts of issues IMHO, the ostensible reason for the government posture is frequently some sort of public health concern, whereas the real reason is financial, ie, tax and excise. As the book quote shows, we followed the Brits nearly 10 years after they changed their laws, and I assume the argument would have been some combination of evidence of no harm done and aligning ourselves with the laws of respected other countries. I think the US followed about 10 years later, but of course they were carrying a heap of prohibition mentality baggage. We still can't distill (despite it being legal in NZ) and can't grow all sorts of evil plants. At least in Japan you wouldn't face a religious counter-lobby, unlike the situation in the middle east.

I remember Dad brewing with the curtains drawn and fears about hop aromas wafting out into the street. I was also worded up not to shoot my mouth off at school and the local church. Health food stores sold a heck of a lot of liquid malt extract in the 60s! I can't remember where the hops and yeast came from - probably the same place. It was a bit like walking into your LHBS today and facing a whole lot of distilling gear whose users remain mysterious. Or walking into a head shop ...