Testimony Letter - John Moorhead, American Homebrewers Association, on Senate Bill 102 (September 22, 2021)

Summary

A letter dated September 22, 2021 from John Moorhead, Competition Manager and Lead Liaison of Government Affairs of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA), to Chair Dick Stein and members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, in support of Senate Bill 102. The letter says the bill would allow events such as beer competitions, homebrew club meetings, educational classes, and conferences. It states that the AHA has 40,000 members, including over 1,100 in Ohio, and that passage would allow the AHA to bring its annual conference to Ohio. It cites a conference in Minneapolis, MN with an estimated $186,000 in state tax and $100,000 in local tax revenues.

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Full text

September 22, 2021

Dear Chair Dick Stein and members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee,

My name is John Moorhead; I am the Competition Manager and Lead Liaison of Government
Affairs of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA), based in Boulder, CO.

The AHA is a division of the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit trade association representing
America’s small, independent brewers, including homebrewers. The AHA is a membership
organization with 40,000 members from around the country, including over 1,100 members in
Ohio. The AHA estimates that there are nearly 1,100,000 Americans that make beer or wine at
home, thousands of whom live in Ohio.

Senate Bill 102 is a reasonable and fair piece of legislation. The Ohio Department of Liquor
control (ODL) currently adopts federal statute on homebrewing passed in 1979 but restricts the
transportation and serving of homemade beer based on current alcohol codes for licensed
alcohol.

Senate Bill 102 would allow events like beer competitions, homebrew club meetings,
educational classes and seminars, and conferences to occur. These would all have a positive
economic impact on the local and state economies. Currently, Ohio’s Liquor Law does not
include a provision on homemade beer, leaving uncertainty and ambiguity around
manufacturing, transporting, and serving homebrew. This creates inconsistencies in
enforcement of homebrew across the state.

Passing SB 102 would allow the AHA to bring their annual conference to Ohio. The event brings
in 3,000 people and the conference is only open to our membership. The conference brings in
millions of dollars in overall realized tax revenue to the host city’s local economy. A recent
conference held in Minneapolis, MN, brought in an estimated 3.98 million in economic impact
and an estimated $186,000 in state tax and $100,000 in local tax revenues. SB 102 will open
Ohio to future conferences and remove any possible obstructions to other similar events.

Many homebrewers are members of local clubs that lean on their local breweries for support, as
do the local breweries on homebrewers. SB 102 would make sure that local craft and large
breweries as well as any facility licensed to manufacture and/or sell alcoholic beverages be
protected in regard to homebrew on their premises, which includes storage for an event like a
competition, educational classes and other events not open to the public but not require the
business to suspend normal operations to host such an event.

There is concern that passage of SB 102 would create a system of unlicensed sales on licensed
premises. Over my tenure at the AHA, particularly in government affairs, and my 12 years of
homebrewing, I have not seen or heard of such an instance of homebrewers illegally selling
product. Homebrewers want to share their hobby with others safely and lawfully. SB 102 would
create a clear framework to allow them to do so.

The homebrewing community also serves to train the state’s future professional brewers. The
Brewers Association estimates that at least 90% of professional brewers in the United States got
their start as homebrewers. Homebrewers are also opening the majority of the small craft
breweries being founded in the United States. As of now there are at least 150 small breweries
in operation in Ohio with more in planning. With the passage of SB 102, there will continue to be
a healthy pipeline of entrepreneurs to open small businesses in their communities.

Because the professional and amateur brewing communities are so tightly knit, homebrewers
serve as the strongest supporters of their local breweries. They not only seek out locally made
craft beers at their favorite establishments, but also encourage their friends and families to
support local breweries and retailers that sell locally made beer.

Thus, a vibrant homebrewing community will help Ohio small businesses flourish. Stifling the
community of homebrewers by not passing SB 102 would prevent the state from seeing the kind
of growth in homebrew retailer businesses and small breweries that the rest of the country
experiences.

Several neighboring states have already adopted reasonable homebrew legislation and have
seen great benefits from passing such legislation. Three that are near Ohio are Indiana, Illinois
and Wisconsin, all thriving beer communities.

In conclusion, I strongly urge you to pass SB 102, not only is it the right thing to do for Ohio’s
homebrewers, but passage of SB 102 will prove beneficial to Ohio’s business community as well.

Sincerely,

John Moorhead
American Homebrewers Association
john@brewersassociation.org
303.447.0816 x 117


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