Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at
5:57 pm

It is interesting to note that homebrewing was not legal in the US until 1978. After prohibition was repealed in 1933, somehow someone (some sources claim says it due to a stenographer’s error) forgot to add homebrewing to the permitted activities.
In 1978 though, homebrewing was permitted to a certain extent – for personal use, 100 gallons per adult per household per year, up to a maximum of 200 gallons per household per year. This is quite a lot, considering most hobbyists buy homebrew supplies that provide for brewing batches of 5 gallons at a time.
This is federal legislation, but it since states have the power to regulate the production of intoxicating liquors, some states still have homebrewing forbidden (Alabama) or have very limiting legislation, which is very unfortunate for some aspiring enthusiasts.
Around the World
Around the world, homebrewing in Japan is illegal, for example.
Some more info from Wikipdia:
UK
In the United Kingdom one may produce an unlimited quantity of fermented beverages. They are not however permitted to distill liquor or sell their products.
Australia
In Australia individuals may manufacture their own alcohol provided that they do not employ the use of a still. Stills owned by Australians must be no bigger than 5 litres in size and may not be used to distill alcohol (they are intended to be used for distilling water and other products such as essential oils).
New Zealand
New Zealand lifted the ban on home distilling in 1996, and it is now legal to distill spirits for your own consumption. It is still illegal to supply or sell any alcoholic beverage without the appropriate license.
South Africa
In South Africa individuals may produce an unlimited quantity of fermented beverages at home. They are not permitted to distill, sell these beverages or give them to staff.
Canada
Making beer for home consumption is legal in most provinces. Liquor laws are regulated provincially, while the federal government has laws about taxation and importation of beer, wine and other liquors.
Germany
Making beer at home for personal consumption is legal in Germany. 200 liter of beer per household and year can be produced without taxation, but notification of the local customs office (Hauptzollamt) is necessary. Larger amounts of beer have to be taxed according to law.
So, to those who live where homebrewing is legal, consider yourself lucky and enjoy your hobby! For those who live where homebrewing is not allowed, I truly hope that someday this would be changed. There’s nothing better that sipping your own beer after a hard day of hard work.