ABLE agents seize Tulsa restaurant's beer equipment

Why? They didn't have a proper license...the restaurant is the moron here.

 

Ridiculous? Why? The way I read this, they were brewing beer and selling it with an alcohol content that required a license. They did not have the license therefore cheating the system (and other breweries that have paid for the license and didn't try to skirt the system.)

But maybe I read it wrong.

 

Why ridiculous? Perhaps the law is ridiculous... enforcement or said law is what should be done. They were breaking the law.

 

They didn't have the license to brew beer over 3.2 ABW. Yeah, they were in the wrong... but the overreaction is what's ridiculous. This wasn't a harsh fine levied, it was confiscation of their property as though it were the tools for the creation of some nefarious concoction like crystal meth.

It wouldn't be ridiculous for ABLE to levy a fine, and then suspend the liquor license (or whatever OK has similar) for the restaurant until after they get the required paperwork taken care of and paid for. That way, the state gets some money, one agent can go in and handle the delivery of the fine and notice of shutdown (thus saving the cost of hauling away/storing all that brewing equipment... although they'll probably sell it at auction). Instead, what they did is tantamount to coming in and waving their dicks around so everyone can see that they still have them. That's ridiculous.

 

Why is this ridiculous? If you don't have a drivers license you shouldn't drive, ergo, no alcohol license and you shouldnt produce and sell alcohol.

There are consequences.

 

has anyone pointed out that this is/is not ridiculous?

 

Why is that an over reaction? There are clear laws and punishments for breaking those laws in the state statutes. Call the legislators if you have the problem with it.

 

Which ones? Specific examples please.

 

I explained why it's an overreaction in my post.

I don't live in Oklahoma, and I'm not calling any OK state legislators either, so forget about that ever happening.

Also, for everyone harping on the "there are clear laws and punishments" refrain, please remember that there were clear laws against making/selling alcohol during prohibition. There are also examples of clear laws against interracial marriage (shit, there have been clear laws against interfaith marriages), owning slaves, helping slaves escape and laws against sodomy. Yeah, there are lots of clear laws with lots of clear punishments - that doesn't mean they aren't absolutely ridiculous... which is all I said, and all the OP said.

 

Anything under 3.2% is not considered an alcoholic beverage and there is no license required? There has to be other stipulations, no?

They should have brewed the hell out of some session beers to afford the proper license.

 

Here's a link with video. The equipment they're pulling out isn't exactly from a large operation...

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_...wery-for-making-strong-beer-without-a-license

 

Makes me wonder how much it would have cost them to have the appropriate license?

Risk/reward probably wasn't worth it... They have some weak ass customers though.

 

Only in farking Oklahoma would your customers rat you out for making your beer too strong.

That said, if you're going to get a cheap license, you better make sure you stick to it. TX has similar license parameters for distro (beer license & ale license) with a threshold of 4% ABW, iirc. It's basically double the price for the license to go above that ($7000 total every 2 years, correct me if I'm wrong).

 

They should become the world leader in Berliner Wiesse!

 

Different times bub.

 

Just a depressing reminder of how far we need to go in this state. I've yet to taste any "Brew Pub" beer in this state that tasted better than my first homebrew attempt ( it was not so good ). Sadly, I don't see those laws changing soon.