SB194: SB194 Alcoholic Beverages and Motor Vehicles and Traffic; production of distilled spirits by a person in his or her private residence; authorize

Under current Georgia law, home distillation of spirits is not authorized the way home beer and wine making is. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's alcoholic beverage code (O.C.G.A. Title 3) allowing a person to produce distilled spirits in their private residence, capped at 5 gallons per year for a one-adult household or 10 gallons per year for a household with two or more adults, with no more than 2.5 gallons made in any 90-day period. The spirits generally must be consumed at the residence where made, but the bill allows the producer to transport up to 60 ounces at a time to another, unlicensed location, as long as the containers are sealed, labeled with the producer's name and address, and secured in a locked trunk, glove compartment, or similar area of a vehicle. The spirits cannot be sold or offered to the public and are exempt from the state's alcohol excise tax. The bill also updates Georgia's open-container law (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-253) so a properly sealed home-distilled container does not count as an open container in a vehicle.

• Creates a new Georgia Code section (O.C.G.A. § 3-4-4) allowing home production of distilled spirits, something not previously authorized in state law.
• Limits home distillation to 5 gallons a year for one adult in a residence or 10 gallons a year for two or more adults, with a 2.5 gallon cap per 90 days.
• Restricts consumption of home-distilled spirits to the residence where made, except when transported under specific rules.
• Allows transport of up to 60 ounces at a time to an unlicensed location if sealed, labeled with the producer's name and address, and secured in a locked vehicle compartment.
• Bans any sale or public offering of home-distilled spirits and exempts them from the state's alcohol excise tax.
• Amends the open-container law (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-253) so a properly sealed home-distilled container is not treated as an open container in a vehicle.

Georgia residents who want to distill spirits at home, households with one or more adults of legal drinking age, drivers transporting home-distilled spirits, and law enforcement officers who enforce the state's open-container and alcohol tax laws.

People who currently cannot legally distill liquor at home would gain a lawful, limited way to do so, similar to home beer and wine brewing. Drivers would also get clarity that a sealed, labeled container of home-made spirits does not violate the open-container law during transport.

• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 3-4-4, authorizing home production of distilled spirits subject to household size based annual volume caps and a 90-day production limit.
• Section 1 requires that home-distilled spirits generally be consumed only at the residence where produced, unless transported under the bill's rules.
• Section 1 permits transporting up to 60 ounces at a time to an unlicensed location if sealed, labeled with the producer's name and residence address, and secured in a locked compartment of a vehicle.
• Section 1 prohibits sale or public offering of home-distilled spirits and exempts them from the state's alcohol excise tax.
• Section 2 revises the definition of 'open alcoholic beverage container' in O.C.G.A. § 40-6-253 to exclude properly sealed or resealed containers under the new home-production rules.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
2. 2025-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2025-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
4. 2025-02-19Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-02-18Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-056)

• alcohol law
• home distilling
• open container law
• liquor regulation