Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission

by Christie Scott Earlier this spring, the OLCC was contacted by a licensee to see if they could include home brewers in an event on their licensed premises. At that time, the OLCC requested a Department of Justice legal opinion to see if there was any legal way to allow this under the current statute (ORS 471.403). The resulting legal interpretation was that under the current statute, home brewers lost their exemption to brew without a license once the product left the home. Searching for solutions that would allow home brew and wine competitions to be held this summer, the OLCC asked DOJ to take a deeper look at this issue. After consulting DOJ general counsel, we have reached the unfortunate conclusion that no practical alternative exists to allow the home brew competitions legally within the framework of our existing statutes. “We were really hoping that we could find a legal alternative for this summer’s events,” says Rudy Williams, OLCC Deputy Director of Public Safety ...

by Joy Spencer The Oregon Liquor Control Commission was recently asked whether certain public competitions involving home made alcohol products were in compliance with the law. We provided guidance to the State Fair and other licensees which stated that such competitions were not authorized because they did not fall within the requirements of this statute ORS 471.403 clearly states that the Liquor Control Act (including the requirement for a liquor license) applies except for beer "brewed in the home for home consumption and not for sale". In consultation with the Department of Justice, we have received an initial analysis of the statute regulating home brewing (ORS 471.403) which also indicates that the law only allows for consumption of home brews in the home. The home brewers lose their exemption to craft brew without a license when the home brew is consumed outside of the home. The Department of Justice’s guidance certainly requires us to look at the competitio...