My fiancé & I went in to get some info & price ideas on home brewing some beer. Our eye was drawn to the copper worm (used in spirit distillation) & asked what it was used for to see what the worker would say. We were kind of flabbergasted that the necessaries for distilling moonshine were being sold there. We figured it was one of those things that stores can slide by and sell so long as they don't really say what the intended use is (like how people will sell brass knuckles as a 'paperweight'...yeah right!) The worker (I did not get his name- older man, grayish white beard in a plaid shirt) told us it was perfectly fine to distill spirits such as moonshine in our home. Clearly this threw up a red flag in our minds, but they were selling all the necessary goods to do so... so maybe it's legal in WA?! We weren't sure since we are new here & came home immediately to do some searching.
The Ace worker assured us several times that it was just fine for us to make it in our house, even after my fiancé said several times he was almost positive it was illegal. He said multiple times it was completely fine in Washington and to 'not get caught & don't try to sell it' and when we asked about the legality he assured us it was fine because "cops shop here." The Washington State Legislature CLEARLY states that it is ILLEGAL to operate a still or be in possession of the mash in which to distill.
According to the Washington State Legislature:
"RCW 66.44.140
Unlawful sale, transportation of spirituous liquor without stamp or seal -- Unlawful operation, possession of still or mash.
Every person who shall sell or offer for sale, or transport in any manner, any spirituous liquor, without government stamp or seal attached thereto, or who shall operate without a license, any still or other device for the production of spirituous liquor, or shall have in his or her possession or under his or her control any mash capable of being distilled into spirituous liquor except as provided in RCW 66.12.130, shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall upon his or her first conviction be fined not less than five hundred dollars and confined in the county jail not less than six months, and upon second and subsequent conviction shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars and confined in the county jail not less than one year."
[Reference: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=66.44.140 ]
So thanks Ace worker guy for giving terrible advice and recommending to 20 somethings to go ahead and distill in our home. Glad we knew enough not to listen...
Note: the worker was not one of the hometown homebrewers read more