Selling homebrew?

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sudsmonkey

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Can anyone tell me what the legal requirements are to be able to sell homebrew or to get set up as a commercial microbrewery? I'm a long way from this point, but I just wanted to know.



Thanks,


That damn Sudsmonkey
 
sudsmonkey said:
Can anyone tell me what the legal requirements are to be able to sell homebrew or to get set up as a commercial microbrewery? I'm a long way from this point, but I just wanted to know.

I don't know the rules of every state, but from what I've gathered, many states allow you to brew beer at home, but it is not legal to sell it. To sell alcoholic beverages requires a permit from the state - otherwise they are missing out on their share of revenue from taxing the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some states apparently make it illegal to just give it away as well. :(

You can brew it home and drink it home, but you can't sell or give it away. That's the general rule I live by to stay out of hot water.
 
What state are you in, sudsmonkey? AFAIK, the selling of homebrew is illegal in the US. The laws regarding how much one can brew, and those regading giving homebrew away differs by state.

I don't know of a place to look up your state's laws online, but I bet you could get in touch with a club in your area, and they could set you straight. Most likely the peeps at a nearby HBS should have this info, as well.
 
Sam75 said:
What state are you in, sudsmonkey? AFAIK, the selling of homebrew is illegal in the US. The laws regarding how much one can brew, and those regading giving homebrew away differs by state.

I don't know of a place to look up your state's laws online, but I bet you could get in touch with a club in your area, and they could set you straight. Most likely the peeps at a nearby HBS should have this info, as well.

You could also look up the rules of the state Alcohol and Beverage Commission (ABC) or its equivalent. They probably have a website, and they are going to be the group that controls this sort of thing.
 
The state is actually the least of your concerns. You do not want to get crossways to ATF. If you sell homebrew you are no different than a moonshiner in their eyes, with all the attributes that come with that distinction.
 
First off, some terminology. You will not be selling homebrew under any circumstances. Getting set up in your area to sell alcoholic beverages will automatically put you into a whole different classfication - and homebrew will not be in the title.

If you are in an area with a brewery, go check them out and make some inquiries. Next, call your city or county clerk, i.e. the place that collects money, and simply ask them what is required. Make sure you know what you're really asking - getting classified as a brewery is probably different than getting set up as a brew pub. However, either one will require contact with multiple agencies between federal, state and local. Alcohol laws are goofy almost everywhere and every bureaucrat wants a piece of the pie. Be patient and let us know what you find out.

Prosit,
 
Yeah, state and federal laws are a little whacky. There's a brewpub here called Buckner Brewing Company. The brewmaster says that state and federal requirements aren't that stringent, until you start bottling, kegging and selling your beer in other stores. Then you move to a whole different level.

Talk about goofy alcohol laws... The brewer at the local brewpub says that in the state of Missouri, it is illegal to commercially brew "fruit" beers using real fruit. All Missouri breweries must use fruit extracts if they are to brew, say, a raspberry wheat beer. Seems a bit odd to me. It's probably a throwback to some law that Anheuser-Busch lobbyed for long ago. Who knows?
 
tnlandsailor said:
First off, some terminology. You will not be selling homebrew under any circumstances. Getting set up in your area to sell alcoholic beverages will automatically put you into a whole different classfication - and homebrew will not be in the title.

If you are in an area with a brewery, go check them out and make some inquiries. Next, call your city or county clerk, i.e. the place that collects money, and simply ask them what is required. Make sure you know what you're really asking - getting classified as a brewery is probably different than getting set up as a brew pub. However, either one will require contact with multiple agencies between federal, state and local. Alcohol laws are goofy almost everywhere and every bureaucrat wants a piece of the pie. Be patient and let us know what you find out.

Prosit,

It can sometimes be difficult to get a license from the ABC in your jurisdiction. In the several states I have lived in over the years, every municipality had a limited number of permits that could be issued for the sale of alcoholic beverages. Many cities had waiting lists of places that wanted a license, and they couldn't get one until someplace else in that jurisdiction either closed up shop or had their license revoked for some reason.
 
Here's just some of what is required to open a brewery:

* A Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco and Firearms federal brewing license (issued after a wait of about two months), which includes a background check and a detailed application requesting a variety of documentation, including where the money comes from.
* A $1,000 BATF bond.
* Precise record keeping including amounts of grain and other ingredients purchased and proof materials purchased equal amount of product produced in a given period.
* Twice monthly tax payments to the BATF of $7 a barrel, and proper documentation to indicate payments represent an accurate reflection of production.
* State certification including a brewery license, manufacturing license and wholesaler's beer license.
* A visit from an agent of the BATF when the brewery is up and ready to start running-but before it starts running. The agent inspects equipment and documentation and explains ongoing paperwork to be filled.
 
I once knew of a guy in a small town where I used to live here in the U.K. where the law is very strict, and he got around it by selling the locals a jar of his home made pickles, and giving a bottle of his home brew with it "for free".
I remember that even some of the local police officers were customers !
Mike.
Lincoln, UK.
 
Once more , Mike . What the Hell would we do without the British? First, piss ups , and now , a sure fire way of getting rid of pickles while selling homebrew. There's a reason that the sun never sets on Her Majesty's Empire.



Good to hear from you,

S. Monkey
 
ah, me too!. I aslo heard it was against the law to give away homebrew.
Whats up with that . Damn, what are we fighting for?
 
he got around it by selling the locals a jar of his home made pickles,

Mike, If I'm correct I think even thats been banned now. The sun as certainly set on the British Empire. :p

Roger
 
desertBrew said:
Thats an interesting site. So any KY brewers here? :eek:

A class A misdemeanor? That puts it on the same level as posessing a used bong (of the non-beer variety).

Glad my state (Illinois) allows me to make it for myself, my family and my guests.
 
Talk about goofy alcohol laws... The brewer at the local brewpub says that in the state of Missouri, it is illegal to commercially brew "fruit" beers using real fruit. All Missouri breweries must use fruit extracts if they are to brew, say, a raspberry wheat beer. Seems a bit odd to me. It's probably a throwback to some law that Anheuser-Busch lobbyed for long ago. Who knows?

Yeah, OLD AZZ thread but this explains a lot! I can't find anything 'concrete' on the subject either, except for this post. I have been convinced for a while now that I can brew a better 'fruit' beer than any of the local breweries. I also don't like extracts. They make my beers 'twangy'... ;)

If this is still valid then how do I go about finding out why? Seems such a stupid law...
 
Thanks for starting this thread, I'm actually curious about the same thing. I'm still a newbie, but our eventual goals are to sell the beer we brew. I guess I still have a lot of research ahead of me.
 
I believe the Federal Jimmy Carter law in 1978 allows 100/gallon per person and UP to 200/gallons is at least two adults live in the home. Each State can regulate that more but not less.

You can give away your Homebrew and share it with Friends and Family Better not get paid for it; the Man will come knocking on your door......
 
Wow, I think I'm the sole HBT survivor of this original thread. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing yet. I remember many of the names though :)
 
Grandpa, tell us stories about the old days at HBT . . .

;)

Well, there once was this guy here who told us the legend of making beer from grain and fresh hops and not just a powdery mix with rabbit pellets. More enamoring was doing 15g batches! :cool: He told stories around the virtual campfire and we bowed in his general direction. Can't remember his damn name now. His avatar was some green glass and was from Oregon. Who knows, maybe he was just a stoned hippie drinking out of a 40 :D

True story though. Probably 50 of us back then :mug:
 
Great info!! As you can see the short answer is definetly NO!! The long answer....:p
 

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