Todd
Well-Known Member
Does anyone have a ballpark what it would cost to be able to legally sell brew? I'm in PA if you know for this state but I'd like to know in general.
ryser2k said:I didn't know the answer but I did a quick Google search which took me to the PLCB website. There's some legalese here but no straight-up dollar amount. I would imagine that it's not an easy thing to do in this state, from what I understand our liquor laws are pretty strict.
http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/plcb/cwp/view.asp?a=1334&Q=546199#sect431
david_42 said:It would probably cost you $3-4,000 in Oregon. Some states, every batch has to be tested for ABV & volume. Others (Oregon included) the State has to approve each label. Unless you have a 4 barrel setup, it would be tough to break even.
trinitone said:The PLCB beat me to it. I was just writing this...
ryser2k is right about these f'd up liquor laws. I did a little research into this before, and it ain't easy. You would probably first need a license to manufacture. That's a filing fee of $700. plus $1425 for a brewery license. Plus the fees for your criminal background check and blue prints of the plant, property and apparatus.
Then there is the retail license. (which you would probably need for off-premises sales) From what I can tell, getting a new one requires an act of congress. Literally. Otherwise, you have to locate an exisiting one to purchase. I'm not sure exactly what retail licenses are going for, but I've seen bar/tavern licenses selling for up to $180k.
trinitone said:No joke. I am fairly new to PA and I am having a hard time adjusting. I mean, having to go to 2 different places to get a six pack AND a case.
Also I thought the direct wine shipping policy was hilarious too. You can't order directly from places like wine.com, but if you find a wine that you can't buy from the PLCB, you can have wine.com ship to your local state store, where they will charge you an additional $4.50 handling fee, Pennsylvania's 18% liquor tax, 6% sales tax (and 1% sales tax in Philadelphia & Allegheny counties).
I was assuming the references to selling a case or more were to ensure that this was truly a wholesale distribution outlet, that you would need a different type of license to sell direct to the public.
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