just got mine today. It was fun while it lasted

I caught the "folder full" notice and cleared the folder out, so please try again.

I have heard from customers who purchased from other companies, so it is not isolated to Brewhaus customers. The TTB also does not have access to the HDA membership list, and if they did, and used it, then we would have people that do not distill getting letters (I know at least half a dozen personally that are members of the HDA and do not distill).

I doubt that it has anything to do with the push to legalize, as the TTB would likely benefit from legalization (take NZ as a perfect example- excise tax on alcohol has increased more than 50% post-legalization).

Well I got mine today!
I have nothing left but the kettle as I done away with the column and condenser when this first started. I sent it with a load of scrap metal to a local recycler since I couldn't afford the risk involved.
The kettle is the best peanut pot I have ever had and looks great!
Have anyone of the members been contacted by the authorities yet and if so how did they fair?

"I agree with Alli. This is at best a scare tactic just as the association is making inroads and it threatens the TTB. Granted there are those that are well beyond hobbyist level operating full scale production and distribution of mass quantities of alcohol that give them the press coverage they seek. After all did the news release they sent discuss busting a hobbyist with an empty 10 gallon empty pot put neatly away and less than a few bottles of product? No.

The letter itself is a form letter, mass produced possibly by an intern. Mine came in a window envelope yet they used a mailing label over the window since the letter was simply mass produced. There's government waste at its best. Window envelopes cost more, then the added cost of the mailing labels versus using a real document program such as Word to mail merge the mailing list with the letter making it more official and real.

The association should keep a listing of members who received the letter as evidence of the agency attacking hobbyists versus focusing on those that are distributing for income in a regulated industry. Then while legislation is pending, petition our law makers to influence the agency that such tactics will not be tolerated.

Just greater arguments for organizing and gaining additional supporters!"

I plan to contact them Monday and ask why I got one since I have a permit, and, I filed my reports in January, 2014 as required by Law. I'll let you know what I find out. I did not get my letter until today's mail, so I was waiting.

w/o a condenser/tower, it's just a can. 2- the law reads - assembled - defined as boiler/tower/condenser, set up over (Or connected to) a heat source. One fact to keep in mind about Florida - It's illegal to even OWN distilling equipment w/o a FLABC permit so buying one is a violation and probable cause for the search right there... And in Fl, revenue from fines is second only to tourism Here too, mind ya, I'm just poking fun at my Seminole friends..

Other, more conservative states with more sense(like Texas), understand there are alternative uses, and so a distillation unit is not illegal to possess in Texas. But, it is illegal to make and sell drinking alcohol in Texas w/o a DSP and a state permit. Certain exclusions on production exist for dry counties, but selling is illegal regardless.

Raven- do you have your AFP? If you are making fuel and have your AFP (and abide by the rules) then you should be fine. You would not be the first person who is registered and licensed with the TTB that received the letter.

They are most likely using the list that we and other manufacturers / distributors must submit regularly. If they hacked websites to track sales / customers then a lawyer would have a ball with it, I am sure, as would the media and the Senators that the HDA has been working with.

My bad. We do have a lot of people with AFPs, so I assumed incorrectly.

What constantly astounds me is the willingness to expend resources on pursuing hobbyists is obviously considerably more than any possible revenue lost. We are not talking about moonshiners selling the stuff (prosecute the hell out of them), but, for the most part, beer and wine makers who have fermented their wash legally. The alcohol itself has been legally produced under the beer and wine making laws, so they are really not being shorted on excise tax. Alcohol is produced during fermentation, not distillation. Distillation just allows one to remove water and potentially harmful yeast byproducts.