SB 194: 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 distilling of spirits is not authorized the way home winemaking and beer brewing are. This bill would add a new section to the alcoholic beverages code allowing a person to produce distilled spirits at their private residence, but only up to 5 gallons a year if one adult lives there, or 10 gallons a year with two or more adults, capped at 2.5 gallons every 90 days. The spirits could generally only be drunk at the home where they were made. A limited exception lets the producer transport up to 60 ounces at a time to another location, as long as it is sealed, labeled with the producer's name and address, and secured in a locked trunk or glove compartment if carried in a car. Selling or offering the spirits to the public would remain prohibited, and homemade spirits would be exempt from the state's alcohol excise tax. The bill also updates the state's open container law (O.C.G.A. § 40-6-253) so a properly resealed container of homemade spirits does not count as an illegal open container in a vehicle.

• Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 3-4-4) allowing home production of distilled spirits at a private residence, subject to annual and 90 day quantity caps.
• Limits production to 5 gallons a year for a one adult household or 10 gallons a year for households with two or more adults, capped at 2.5 gallons every 90 days.
• Restricts consumption of homemade spirits mainly to the residence where produced, by adults of legal drinking age.
• Allows transporting up to 60 ounces at a time to another location if sealed, labeled with producer name and address, and secured in a locked trunk, glove compartment, or similar area in a vehicle.
• Bans selling or offering homemade distilled spirits to the public 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 container of homemade spirits made under this new law is not treated as an illegal open container.

Georgia adults who want to distill spirits at home, households where multiple adults live together, law enforcement officers who enforce open container rules during traffic stops, and state alcohol tax collectors, since homemade spirits under the limits would be untaxed and not for sale.

People who currently cannot legally distill spirits at home would gain a narrow, legal path to do so, as long as they stay under strict volume caps and only drink or transport it under specific conditions. Drivers carrying properly sealed homemade spirits would also be protected from open container citations.

• Section 1 creates new Code Section 3-4-4, authorizing home production of distilled spirits with annual limits of 5 gallons (one adult) or 10 gallons (two or more adults), and a 90 day cap of 2.5 gallons.
• Section 1 restricts consumption to the home where produced, except for limited transport of up to 60 ounces at a time to another unlicensed location.
• Section 1 requires transported containers to be securely sealed, labeled with the producer's name and residence address, and stored in a locked trunk, locked glove compartment, or area behind the last upright seat if the vehicle has no trunk.
• Section 1 bars sale or public offering of homemade distilled spirits and exempts them from the chapter's excise tax.
• Section 2 revises the definition of 'open alcoholic beverage container' in O.C.G.A. § 40-6-253 to exclude containers resealed under the new Code Section 3-4-4, matching existing exceptions for homemade wine and beer.
• 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-52)Primary sponsor
• John Albers (R, SD-56)

• home distilling
• alcohol law
• open container law
• Georgia liquor regulations