US appeals court declares 158-year-old home distilling ban unconstitutional

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr/11/appeals-court-ruling-home-distilling-ban-unconstitutional

US appeals court declares 158-year-old home distilling ban unconstitutional

Judge said ban, which originated in Reconstruction era to thwart liquor tax evasion, actually reduced tax revenue

The Guardian

As tourists to sketchy places in Asia discovered, methanol poisoning is a real risk, even from large scale distillation. It is the quality control that matters. Illegal stills make quality control impossible, so legalisation and government certified testing can make it safe.

However, this ruling is not about alcohol, it is about dissolving Federal authority exercised via the trade and commerce clause of the Constitution.

There are many hobbies with which people can kill themselves if they don't understand what they are doing. I don't see how brewing is different. A grown-up person has rights and bears the consequences of negligence and that's totally normal, that's what freedom is.

As long as the product is not sold outside but for personal consumption, it must be legal to make without any certifications.

Agree completely, though sadly we are a very long way from this. In a lot of places it is literally illegal and prison-time just for growing certain naturally-occurring plants for purely personal use. I don't see how this ruling helps with that at all though