Legal Homebrew Recipes from Alabama & Mississippi

Alabama and Mississippi homebrewers celebrate as the 49th and 50th states to legalize homebrewing

Craig Hendry is completing his 45-minute commute to work through interstate traffic in Jackson, Mississippi by the time 8 a.m. rolls around most Monday mornings. But this July 1 — the day a law legalizing homebrewing in the state of Mississippi took effect — was no ordinary Monday for homebrewers in Mississippi. Instead of work, it was a day of celebration for Hendry and others who spent countless hours lobbying legislators the past eight years. Two hours after the sun rose over Mississippi on this morning, Hendry’s home shop/brewery was already filling with the aroma of steeping grains as he monitored the water temperature inside his brew kettle.

“It fell on a Monday so we’re like, ‘well heck, I’m going to just burn a vacation day and brew some beer. It’s too big of a day not to celebrate and to be able to say, ‘yeah, I brewed on July 1st, the first day it was legal,’” said Hendry, the President of Raise Your Pints, a statewide grassroots group of homebrewers and supporters who began fighting for the change in 2008.

Hendry’s desire to brew on July 1 — which was a historic occasion nationwide as it marked the first day homebrewing was legal in every state since Prohibition — was matched by many in the state who have been brewing beer in their basements, garages and kitchens out of sight from authorities for years. The change in Mississippi took effect just seven weeks after Alabama became the 49th state in which homebrewing was legal.

Laws against homebrewing may seem foreign in some parts of the country. Homebrewing was legalized on the federal level in 1979, but many states maintained statutes outlawing homebrewing for years. By the time Oklahoma legalized homebrewing in 2010, the only two states left to do so were Mississippi and Alabama.

Raise Your Pints was a force in getting the law changed in Mississippi since the group’s formation in 2007. The following year, Right to Brew, a group with a similar mission in Alabama, be-gan advocating for homebrewers there. Also advocating on behalf of, and alongside, homebrewers in each state has been the American Homebrewers Association, which began taking a more active role in pursuing legislative changes in 2007, according to Director Gary Glass. Much of the AHA’s efforts were focused on educating lawmakers and citizens about the safety of homebrewing, who homebrewers are, and the potential economic benefits of legalizing homebrewing. It took years to evoke change, however on July 1 homebrewing was legal no matter where in the United States you called home.

“There were lots of misperceptions about homebrewing, with people thinking homebrewing and moonshining were the same thing,” Glass said. “These are upstanding citizens that are not doing anything that’s going to cause any harm to their local communities.”

Shortly after noon, Hendry’s household shop was filled with nearly a dozen friends who share his passion for homebrewing and the day’s first batch — an all-grain Belgian strong — was complete. After lunch, Hendry marked the day by brewing a commemorative #BIGCASCADE IPA (named after a trending hash tag local homebrewers use on Twitter), that members of Raise Your Pints created and marketed at a local homebrew store as an unofficial celebratory homebrew recipe.

Simultaneously, a friend brewed an extract batch of beer in Hendry’s homebrewery, all the while friends drank up homebrew and their favorite commercial beers, and enjoyed an array of barbequed meats bought special for the occasion. “It was a celebration,” Hendry said by phone the following day, still joyful from the experience.

Mississippi

After passing both houses earlier in the year, on March 19 Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed into law Senate Bill 2183, which closely mirrors federal law and allows single-adult households to brew up to 100 gallons of beer a year and households with multiple adults to brew up to 200 gallons a year.

Debate around beer laws has taken place in the Mississippi Legislature each of the past five years, with the previous four sessions coming to a close without revisions to the homebrewing laws. Momentum was gained in 2012 when the Legislature approved a bill dubbed the “craft beer bill” that upped the allowed alcohol by weight (ABW) of beer made by commercial brewers from 5 to 10 percent. In addition to established breweries — including some of the country’s heavyweights — advocating for that bill was the non-profit group Raise Your Pints, which Hendry and three others formed in 2007 with a focus on the ABW laws. The following year, RYP began pushing for homebrewing reform as well.

“In year two, because two out of the four of us were also homebrewers, we said, ‘Let’s work on (legalizing homebrewing) too, in addition to the ABW bill.’ So we made that our second goal,” Hendry said.
Reform wasn’t easy. RYP received little acknowledgment in the Capital the first couple of sessions. Each year, however, RYP grew larger and larger (it has 2,500 members to date) and with the help of a lobbyist, more and more members of the legislature got on board with its mission.

“We said, ‘here’s what it’s going to do; it’s going to create new jobs, 89 percent of commercial brewers started out as homebrewers, . . . and it’s going to increase tourism through homebrew competitions,” Hendry said. “Now we can include homebrew at beer festivals and that adds another aspect of it that’s going to attract more people. If I’m at a beer festival and I know there’s homebrew there, then I know that’s the line I’m going to stand in.”

The state has already seen positive changes from an economic standpoint since the bill’s passage. “A year ago we had no places locally to buy homebrew stuff, everybody was ordering off the internet. Now we’ve got four places scattered across the state. That’s four new small businesses.”

For Hendry, who has been homebrewing for a dozen years or so, the motivation was two-fold. Legalization in Mississippi was about state pride (hell, nobody wants to be part of the last state to reform), and also to advocate for a hobby he is passionate about.

“I wanted to do something good for the state. Homebrewing is partial to me because I’m a longtime homebrewer. Getting a change in law became a passion and I put a lot of time into it and a lot of work.”
While illegal until this year, it’s not as if the previous law was strictly enforced. Hendry is unaware of anybody ever being prosecuted for homebrewing in Mississippi. It’s not like homebrewing was always kept a secret either. Over the past four years there have been at least 10 homebrew competitions held in Mississippi — none of which drew attention from law enforcement, Hendry said.

The change to Mississippi state law, while signed nearly two months before Alabama’s, did not take effect until the new fiscal year — technically making it the last state in which homebrewing was legalized. Well, maybe.

“It came down to us and Alabama, and we’ve kind of agreed with them to say we are both the 49th-and-a-half state to legalize it. We got it signed first, but it just wasn’t in effect yet. We can argue all day who was the last one, that’s kind of the running joke here.”

Alabama

This spring marked the fifth consecutive year in which a bill to legalize homebrewing was proposed in the Alabama Legislature. Each proposal was met with some resistance, largely from religious groups that oppose alcohol in general, but after undergoing rounds of tweaking, language was written to garner enough support to ratify the bill this past session.

“In the Deep South, both in Alabama and Mississippi, every legislator’s district has constituents that
are very much anti-alcohol,” Glass explained.

It was not as much resistance as it was a lack of knowledge about homebrewing that dragged the process out so many years, however, according to Representative Mac McCutcheon, the sponsor of the bill legalizing homebrewing in Alabama. Between debating more pressing issues, McCutcheon said lawmakers had to familiarize themselves with homebrewing and the existing laws. (McCutcheon said some of his counterparts in the Legislature made comments that their grandparents have been making booze at home for decades, unbeknownst it was against the law).

After reaching a compromise with opponents, McCutcheon’s bill allows residents in wet communities who are not convicted felons to make up to 60 gallons (227 L) of beer, mead, cider or wine a year. The bill was signed into law by Governor Robert Bentley on May 9 and took effect immediately.

“I began to take a special interest because of the constituents in my district who are very good people — family-oriented and community-oriented people — were asking for it,” McCutcheon said. “They’re not selling it and it’s not affecting others, and why should we as the government restrict them from doing that?”
The more McCutcheon said he learned about homebrewing (he even accepted invitations to some homebrewing club meetings and watched the beer-making process first-hand), the more potential benefits he saw.

“There’s a lot of brewpubs and breweries that are opening up in our state and a lot of these entrepreneurs who are opening up these types of businesses have homebrewing backgrounds, so I can see (the new legislation) complementing these types of businesses,” he said.

Dennis Smith, who owns The Wine Smith beer and wine store in Mobile, said while a few new breweries have opened in Alabama in recent years, the state is still far behind its neighbors. “We do have a number that have started in the last few years, but we’re still playing catch up to other southeastern states,” Smith said. “This may change that. Homebrewing is the incubator for (craft brewing) businesses to start.”

Smith has seen an uptick in his own sales since the law was changed as well. “I think the publicity around the bill being passed has encouraged a lot of first-time, novice brewers to get started —we’ve sold an unusually high amount of beginner’s kits,” Smith said.

Other than potentially attracting more people to the hobby, Smith said the law also allows him to more easily reach homebrewers. Previous laws did not stop Smith from operating his beer and wine supply store over the past 12 years (possibly made easier because winemaking was already legal), but it did prevent him from advertising homebrewing equipment in the state.

McCutcheon also envisions the law will help increase tourism in the state through large-scale homebrewing events.

Enforcement of laws banning homebrewing in Alabama was similar to that in Mississippi. The AHA estimates between 5,000-6,000 homebrewers reside in the Heart of Dixie, and Kimbrell Thomson, who owns AlaBrew Homebrewing Supplies in Pelham, said the law didn’t stop most people. “Everyone is excited that it is legal now, not that they cared much before — it added to the experience that it was a felony,” Thomson said.
Further proof of how little the laws were enforced are illustrated by the fact that AlaBrew has been in business selling homebrewing supplies for 16 years, while The Wine Smith has been in business a dozen years.

There had, however, been rare cases in which arrests were made in connection with homebrewing. In those instances a violation was a felony. Similarly to RYP in Mississippi, Right to Brew was very active in garnering support for a change with help from the AHA. Grassroots efforts spread beyond state borders too, as the national fraternity of homebrewers united to put pressure on legislators. “It amazed me the attention it’s gotten nationwide. I heard from people in California, Washington, Oregon — just a lot of positive comments supporting me in the effort of getting the law passed,” McCutcheon said.

At one point leading up to a vote on his bill, McCutcheon said the number of people who contacted him on the subject had eclipsed 700.

While there are positive signs in both Mississippi and Alabama already, it will take years to realize the larger impact the change in law will have, or determine how many more people begin homebrewing because of it. Glass is confident however, particularly in Alabama because the offense had been a felony, that homebrew legalization will lead to more homebrewers. Many people who work in government, he said, shied away from homebrewing due to the risk of prosecution. “A lot of the homebrewers that I work with, they were working for the government, either NASA or supporting defense industry, and they had to have security clearances. If they were convicted of a felony they would lose those security clearances and lose their job. I know people who stopped doing it until they knew it was legal,” Glass said. More homebrew supply stores will likely continue to pop up also, which will open the door to more homebrewers to get into the hobby.

As he pushed for the law change, McCutcheon said he became fascinated with the science behind the process of making beer, however the legislator does not expect he will be one to pick up the hobby himself. But, just in
case you change your mind, Representative, we’ve supplied a few recipes submitted by the grateful homebrewers in Alabama and Mississippi for you and other readers to try. Check them out below!

Miss’ippi #BIGCASCADE Pale Ale
by Raise Your Pints

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.010
IBU = 37 SRM = 5 ABV = 4.8%

Ingredients

9.25 lbs. (4.2 kg) 2-row pale malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Cascade hops (mash)
3.25 AAU Cascade hops (first wort hopping) (0.5 oz./14 g at 6.5% alpha acids)
6.5 AAU Cascade hops (20 mins.)
(1 oz./28 g at 6.5% alpha acids)
6.5 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins.)
(1 oz./28 g at 6.5% alpha acids)
2 oz. (56 g) Cascade hops (0 mins.)
1 oz. (28 g) Cascade hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis Safale US-05 yeast

Step by Step

Add 0.5 oz. (14 g) of hops to the mash and mash at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Mash out at 170 °F (77 °C) for 10 minutes. Add 0.5 oz. (14 g) of Cascade while collecting the wort in the kettle for boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding the remaining hop additions per ingredients list. Ferment at 62–68 °F (17–20 °C) for two weeks. Transfer to secondary and dry hop for seven to ten days.

Extract option:
Replace the 2-row malt with 5 lbs. (2.27 kg) light dried malt extract or 6.5 lbs. (3 kg) light liquid malt extract. Steep 0.5 pounds (0.23 kg) of the crystal malt for 30 minutes at 150 °F (66 °C). Add extract and bring to a boil. Use 0.6 oz. (17 g) of bittering hops at 60 minutes instead of the mash and first wort hops. Follow remainder of the all-grain version.

 

inSANTIAM IPA
by Mark Murray,  Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.014
IBU = 64 SRM = 5 ABV = 7.4%

Ingredients

10 lbs. (4.5 kg) Pilsner 2-row
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) dextrine malt
11 AAU Santiam hops (60 mins)
(2 oz./57 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
11 AAU Santiam hops (15 mins)
(2 oz./57 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
11 AAU Santiam hops (5 mins)
(2 oz./57 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) Santiam hops (dry hop)
0.5 oz (14 g) Irish moss (15 min)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White
Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale American US-05 yeast

Step-by-Step

This is a single step infusion mash. Mash the grains at 156 °F (69 °C) for 40 minutes, then raise mash to 168 °F (76 °C) over 10 min and rest at 168 °F (76 °C) for another 10 minutes. Sparge with 175 °F (79 °C) water. Collect 7 gallons (26.5 L) of wort in boil kettle. This will be a 90-minute boil due to the amount of Pilsner malt to help drive off DMS. Add other ingredients as indicated. Once the boil is complete, chill the wort to 75 °F (24 °C) and transfer to fermenting vessel. Aerate the wort and pitch the rehydrated yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for 7 days and then add dry hops. For kegging I leave dry hops for 14 days, cold crash the beer and transfer to keg on 12 psi. For bottling, transfer to secondary fermenter after 7 days and then bottle with priming sugar. Allow beer to carbonate and age for 2 more weeks.

inSANTIAM IPA
by Mark Murray, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.014
IBU = 64 SRM = 5 ABV = 7.4%

Ingredients

6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Pilsen liquid malt extract
2.2 lbs. (1 kg) light dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) dextrine malt
11 AAU Santiam hops (60 mins.)
(2 oz./57 g of 5.5% alpha acids)
11 AAU Santiam hops (15 mins.)
(2 oz./57 g of 5.5% alpha acids)
11 AAU Santiam hops (5 mins.)
(2 oz./57 g of 5.5% alpha acids)
2 oz. (57 g) Santiam hops (dry hop)
0.5 oz (14 g) Irish moss (15 min.)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale American US-05 yeast

Step-by-Step

Place crushed grains in a steeping bag and soak in 1 gallon (3.8 L) of 156 °F (69 °C) water for 30 minutes. Remove the grain from the wort and place in a colander over the brewpot. Rinse grain bag with 2 qts. (1.9 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) water. Bring 6 gallons (22.7 L) of wort to a boil. This will be a 60-minute boil, making sure the liquid malt extract is added off heat to avoid scorching. Add other ingredients as indicated in the ingredients list.

Once the boil is complete, chill the wort to 75 °F (24 °C) and transfer it to the primary fermenting vessel. Aerate the wort and pitch the rehydrated yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) for seven days and then add dry hops. For kegging I leave the dry hops in for 14 days, cold crash the beer and transfer to keg on 12 PSI. For bottling, transfer to secondary fermenter after seven days and then bottle with priming sugar. Allow beer to carbonate and age for two more weeks.

 

Amarillo Amber Ale
by Kimbrell and SunAe Thomson, Pelham, Alabama

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.050 FG = 1.012
IBU = 40 SRM = 12 ABV = 4.7%

Ingredients

9.3 lbs. (4.2 kg) Pilsner malt
4 oz. (113 g) aromatic malt
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann CaraAmber®
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann CaraRed®
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann Cara Munich II®
8 AAU Warrior hops (0.5 oz./14 g at 16% alpha acids) (30 min.)
9.5 AAU Amarillo® hops (1 oz./28 g at 9.5% alpha acids) (10 min.)
9.5 AAU Amarillo® hops (1 oz./28 g at 9.5% alpha acids) (5 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Amarillo® hops (dry hops)
White Labs WLP023 (Burton Ale), Wyeast 1275 (Thames Valley Ale) or Safale S-04 yeast

Step by Step

Mash grains at 153 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Sparge to collect roughly 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. Boil for 90 minutes adding hops at times indicated. Cool wort to pitching temperature as quickly as possible, 65–75 °F (18–24 °C). Transfer wort to sanitized fermenter then pitch the yeast. Ferment at 65–68 °F (18–20 °C). Dry hops are added loose to the carboy and soaked for two weeks after primary fermentation is complete. Bottle as usual.

Amarillo Amber Ale
by Kimbrell and SunAe Thomson • Pelham, Alabama

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.050 FG = 1.012
IBU = 40 SRM = 12 ABV = 4.7%

Ingredients

6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Pilsen liquid malt extract
4 oz. (113 g) aromatic malt
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann CaraAmber®
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann CaraRed®
4 oz. (113 g) Weyermann Cara Munich II®
8 AAU Warrior hops (0.5 oz./14 g at 16% alpha acids) (30 min.)
9.5 AAU Amarillo® hops (1 oz./28 g at 9.5% alpha acids) (10 min.)
9.5 AAU Amarillo® hops (1 oz./28 g at 9.5% alpha acids) (5 min.)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Amarillo® hops (dry hops)
White Labs WLP023 (Burton Ale), Wyeast 1275 (Thames Valley Ale) or Safale S-04 yeast

Step by Step

Heat 3 gallons (11 L) of water to 160 °F (71 °C). Steep grains in a grain bag, stirring every 5 minutes for 15 minutes total. Remove grain and either let grains drain by gravity or rinse the grains in a colander with 1 qt. (1 L) of hot water to extract more color and flavors. Add Warrior hops in a hop bag and bring to a rolling boil for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard the hop bag. Add malt extract to the pot and mix well. Return to a boil. Add the remaining hops boiling for 10 minutes longer. Cool wort to pitching temperature as quickly as possible, 65–75 °F (18-24 °C). Transfer wort to sanitized fermenter and top off to make 5 gallons (19 L), then pitch the yeast. Ferment at 65–68 °F (18–20 °C). Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.

 

Weizenbock
by Paul Simms, Mobile, Alabama

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.077 FG = 1.020
IBU = 19 SRM = 19 ABV = 7.3%

Ingredients

9.25 lbs. (4.2 kg) pale wheat malt
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) Pilsner malt
0.33 lb. (0.15 kg) chocolate malt
4 AAU Perle hops (60 mins)
(0.5 oz./14 g at 8% alpha acids)
8 AAU Perle hops (5 mins)
(1 oz./28 g at 8% alpha acids)
Wyeast 3068 (Weihenstephan Weizen) or WLP300 (Hefeweizen Ale) yeast

Step by Step

Single infusion mash at 153 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes adding hops at times indicated. Cool wort to pitching temperature as quickly as possible, 64–75 °F (18–24 °C). Transfer the wort to a sanitized fermenter and pitch the yeast. Ferment seven to eight days, then bottle or keg.

Extract option:
Replace wheat malt and Pilsner malt with 11 lbs. (5 kg) liquid wheat extract. Steep crushed chocolate malt at 152 °F (67 °C) for 30 minutes. Add liquid extract and boil for 60 minutes. Cool wort to pitching temperature as quickly as possible,
64–75 °F (18–24 °C). Transfer the wort to a sanitized fermenter and pitch the yeast. Ferment seven to eight days, then bottle or keg.

 

Ruthie’s Rye P.A.
by Dennis Smith, Semmes, Alabama

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.062 FG = 1.014
IBU = 51 SRM = 11 ABV = 6.0%

Ingredients

6 lbs. (2.7 kg) light dried malt extract
13 oz. (0.37 kg) rye malt
11 oz. (0.31 kg) crystal malt (45 °L)
6 oz. (0.17 kg) pale ale malt
1.5 oz. (42.5 g) chocolate malt
6.5 AAU Magnum hops (90 mins)
(0.5 oz. /14 g at 13% alpha acids)
9.8 AAU Magnum hops (15 mins)
(0.75 oz. /21 g at 13% alpha acids)
11 AAU Chinook hops (5 mins)
(0.75 oz. /21 g at 14% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Citra® hops (dry hop)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Chinook hops (dry hop)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Fermentis US-05 yeast

Step by Step

Steep crushed grains in 1 gallon (3.8 L) water at 152 °F (67 °C) for 45 minutes. Remove the grains from the wort and rinse with 2 qts. (1.9 L) of hot water. Top off with water to 3 gallons (11 L) and bring to a boil. Boil 90 minutes total, adding 3 lbs. (1.36 kg) of the malt extract at 90 min. and 3 lbs. (1.36 kg) with 15 minutes left in the boil. Add hops at times indicated. Fermentation should take about seven days. Transfer to a secondary fermenter, add the dry hops and let the beer sit for five days. Bottle or keg.

All-grain option:
Replace the dried malt extract with pale ale malt so that there is a grand total of 11.25 lbs. (5.1 kg) pale ale malt in the recipe. Mash at 154 °F (68 °C). Lauter with enough sparge water for a 90-minute boil.

Written by Dawson Raspuzzi