Sheriff’s officials say they have busted an illegal winery that operated on a municipal sewer plant in a small town north of Alabama.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it received an anonymous tip Thursday about an alcohol operation on a Rainsville city municipal building. Investigators discovered what is described as a large illegal winery inside the Rainsville wastewater treatment plant.
Photos posted by researchers show glass containers, buckets, a fermentation rack and other equipment often used by people who make wine at home.
DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office through AP
The agency says officers confiscated a large amount of illegal alcohol and arrests were expected. The town of about 5,100 people is located 100 miles northeast of Birmingham.
“I want to thank the mayor for his collaboration and his willingness to allow law enforcement to do our job and close something like that,” Sheriff Nick Welden said in a statement. “This is certainly one of the largest operations we have seen in our county and possibly in our state.”
It is legal to make a limited amount of wine at home in Alabama, but it is illegal to have more than 15 gallons of homemade wine or beer at a time. Police photos show several fermentation vessels filled with what appears to be more than 100 gallons of white and red liquid.