Liquor agents bust campus Homebrew Fest, confiscate 13 kegs

Undercover officers from the Athens office of the Ohio Investigative Unit shut down festivities at Ohio University's Homebrew Festival at OU's McCracken Field Saturday, confiscating 13 kegs of homemade beer at an event whose organizers hoped to change negative stereotypes about student drinking in Athens.

The undercover officers told student organizers that the permit they obtained to hold the event did not cover the distribution of unregulated homebrew, said Bret Baker, a chemical engineering senior and president of OU's Brew Crew that organized the event along with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Assistant agent in charge Sam Love deferred all questions to the OIC's public information officer, who could not be reached over the weekend. The NEWS sent emails to that publicist, along with spokespeople for the OIC's parent agency, the Ohio Department of Public Safety, on Sunday morning, but hadn't heard back as of this posting. (The story will be updated when and if we hear from them.)

"You can't do what you're doing on this liquor permit," an unidentified undercover officer told Eric Hedin, owner of Athens DIY who was demonstrating how to brew beer. The officers shut down the beer-making demonstration Hedin was putting on as well, dumping out the beer he was brewing.

"This took a lot of time and collaboration with a lot of people, and we thought we took all of the right precautions," said Brian Fravel, a chemical engineering senior and vice president of the Brew Crew. "We've been planning this for four months."

The students funded the event with $2,600 from OU's Student Activities Commission, and an OU police officer was on the scene monitoring the festival.

"We have no comment because this is under the Department of Alcohol's (OIC's) control," OUPD officer Mike Swearingen said.

The Brew Crew applied for and received an F-Permit from the state, which allows a not-for-profit association to purchase beer and sell it for a period of five days. The OU Brew Crew was selling homebrew for $1 for a six-ounce sample, which the undercover officers said is illegal.

Char Kopchick, OU's assistant dean for campus involvement, attended the event to make sure everything was running smoothly. Student organizers misunderstood what the F-Permit covered, she said, adding that the event will be a learning experience for students.

"When you look at the overall planning of the event, the students did try to plan a low-risk, safe event," Kopchick said. "We will work with students and give them any support they need in rectifying this situation. Students' parents were here. They were trying to do the right thing but we all have to be in compliance with the law."

Students attending the festival expressed disbelief that the undercover officers had taken all of the beer that they had come to enjoy.

"I don't know why the cops let it be put on if they knew it was illegal," complained OU senior mechanical engineering major Drew Debrock. "They obviously had to get permission to do this if it's on university property."

Other students questioned why the Ohio Investigative Unit officers bothered to bust the event when more severe drug problems exist in the region.

"I figured they'd have bigger problems than to bust this, with all the drugs in the area like coke and meth," said OU geography senior Matt Burson. "It's not like anyone was under 21. I was carded to get in, carded to get a wrist band, and carded to buy beer."

Attendees had to present a valid ID to get into the festival and buy beer.

The 13 kegs officers took contained at least 50 beers each, Baker said. Members of the Brew Crew put hundreds of work hours into making the 10 types of beer they offered at the festival. The beers took at least three weeks to ferment each, Baker said.

Each keg cost $30. Baker and Fravel said officers told them that they won't get their kegs back for at least six months.

Brew Crew members were offering Long Trail Pale Ale, O'tay Oatmeal Stout, Spooky Spice Spiced Beer, Not So Blue Moon, Hoppy Hefeweizen, Bavarian Bliss Hefeweizen, Rotten Apple Hard Cider, Double Chocolate Stout, Halloween Ale and Porter in the Wind, as well as mass-market brand Pabst Blue Ribbon. Officers confiscated everything except the Pabst, which officers said is legal under the F Permit.

After the confiscation, the Homebrew Festival continued as the Brew Crew sold the Pabst beer. The festival also included a DJ, live music and cornhole games.