Columbus, OH – On Tuesday, The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of John Ream of Licking County, Ohio, asking the court to overturn the federal government’s ban on the home distilling of spirit beverages, arguing that this ban exceeds Congressional authority under Article I of the U.S. Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment.

Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

“Mr. Ream wants to engage in a hobby that is as American as apple pie, and certainly a lot older—home distilling,” said Andrew M. Grossman, a senior legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute and a partner in BakerHostetler’s Washington, D.C., office, who is a lead attorney on the case. “But if Mr. Ream undertakes this hobby, he would be subject to a felony conviction, $10,000 in fines, and five years in prison. Now that calls for a stiff drink.”

Before they were married, John Ream’s wife Kristin gave him a home brewing kit as a gift. After experimenting with brewing at home for nearly 10 years, Mr. Ream turned his hobby into his own American Dream. The Reams opened Trek Brewing Company in Newark, Ohio. Since 2017, this family-owned business has grown into a community-gathering place that, through the Trek Community Fund, actively supports local organizations that make the area a better place to live. Now, Mr. Ream would like to try distilling small quantities of alcohol in his own home for his own personal consumption. However, the federal government threatens Mr. Ream with years in federal prison and thousands of dollars in fines if he were to pursue that activity.

“There is an old Irish proverb, ‘What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for,’ said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, who is also a lead attorney on the case. “Fortunately, for Mr. Ream and other would-be home distillers, there is a simple cure for the ban on home distilling that exceeds congressional authority. It is our beloved U.S. Constitution, which grants to Congress only limited and enumerated powers.”

Read more about The Buckeye Institute’s case and stay up-to-date on its progress at: https://www.BuckeyeInstitute.org/ReamvUSTreasury.

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