Buckeye Reporter

The Buckeye Institute has taken its legal battle to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, challenging a federal ban on home distilling of spirit beverages. Representing John Ream of Licking County, Ohio, The Buckeye Institute argues that this ban exceeds Congressional authority as defined by Article I of the U.S. Constitution and infringes upon the Tenth Amendment.

Andrew M. Grossman, a senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute and a partner at BakerHostetler’s Washington, D.C., office, commented on the case: “The district court’s ruling denies Mr. Ream the ability to vindicate his constitutional rights without risking criminal liability by actually violating the home-distilling ban.” He further noted that "the Sixth Circuit’s own precedent allows Mr. Ream to challenge this unconstitutional law without opening himself up to prosecution.”

John Ream began brewing beer at home nearly a decade ago after receiving a home brewing kit from his wife Kristin before they were married. This hobby evolved into Trek Brewing Company in Newark, Ohio, which has become an integral part of the community since its founding in 2017. Despite this success in brewing, Mr. Ream now seeks to distill small quantities of alcohol for personal use at home but faces potential federal prison time and hefty fines if he proceeds.

Robert Alt, president and CEO of The Buckeye Institute and another lead attorney on the case, criticized the federal ban stating: “According to novelist William Faulkner, there was no such thing as a bad whiskey; some whiskies are just better than others. Unlike whiskey, there is such a thing as a bad law, and the federal government’s ban on home distilling is just that—a bad and unconstitutional law.” He added that “the remedy for this bad law is the U.S. Constitution, which does not grant Congress the power to criminalize distilling in one’s own home for personal consumption.”

Further information about The Buckeye Institute's case can be found on their website.