selling homebrew/license questions

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zoomzilla

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After hearing the Brew Strong interview with Ken Anthony of Device Brewing I no longer have any interest in something so involved as starting a nanobrewery, yet I and my homebrew club members are interested in selling our brew in some fashion.
Is it possible to get some kind of license to sell strictly at events or do we have to have a full commercial brewers license no matter what?
I was thinking of a kind of "beer catering" business where we would tend bar at weddings and other events and feature our beer. I don't mind not making any money, it would just be nice to break even so we can drink for free:)
Is it legal to host a party and charge a cover charge for the party, then give the beer away for free.
Ultimately I'd be happy being nothing more than a weekend warrior making cash on the side while still getting to brew with my buddies on a large homebrew scale. If selling homebrew in any fashion requires a lease space with certain specs etc it's probably something we'd never get into, but I was hoping there were some folks out there who have heard of some innovative ways of selling homebrew as a side project instead of trying to make it a full time career. Thanks for any input.
 
Weezy said:
No. Not in any shape or form can you manufacture and sell beer without all requisite local, county, state and federal permits and licenses as a brewery. Period.
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This.

While the laws regarding the manufacture and sale of alcohol vary by state and municipality, the one thing they all have in common is that selling alcohol without a license is a big no-no.
 
I know I can't sell without a license, I guess I forgot to mention that we are willing to get a licence of some type, but what licenses are available. The only one I know of requires you to have a leased space which must be inspected and have floor drains, sinks, etc. I'm asking if there are any other limited use licenses available that would allow us to sell in a very limited capacity. I doubt it but I just want to know for sure. thanks.
 
Sell someone a beer and they get in a wreck on the way home and kill somebody, you better have a good lawyer on retainer. Liability insurance will probably be expensive.
 
You need a federal Brewer's Notice from the TTB division of the ATF. Plus whatever state/local licenses those jurisdictions require.

Laws make no distraction between nanobreweries and macrobreweries, besides the number of daily/weekly/quarterly reports and excise tax per barrel.

You can not produce beer for any profit including "giving" it away at a party with a "cover" charge.

In some states you can't even remove it from your home.
 
It is called home brew for a reason. It is meant to be consumed at home.

There is no way to sell it without becoming a liscensed brewery. any efforts to get around it by doing things like selling cups and giving the beer for free will not work.

Just enjoy the hobby and let the pros do what they do.
 
zoomzilla said:
After hearing the Brew Strong interview with Ken Anthony of Device Brewing I no longer have any interest in something so involved as starting a nanobrewery, yet I and my homebrew club members are interested in selling our brew in some fashion.

Is it possible to get some kind of license to sell strictly at events or do we have to have a full commercial brewers license no matter what?

I was thinking of a kind of "beer catering" business where we would tend bar at weddings and other events and feature our beer. I don't mind not making any money, it would just be nice to break even so we can drink for free:)

Is it legal to host a party and charge a cover charge for the party, then give the beer away for free.

Ultimately I'd be happy being nothing more than a weekend warrior making cash on the side while still getting to brew with my buddies on a large homebrew scale. If selling homebrew in any fashion requires a lease space with certain specs etc it's probably something we'd never get into, but I was hoping there were some folks out there who have heard of some innovative ways of selling homebrew as a side project instead of trying to make it a full time career. Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...


Bottom line NO!
Unless you go through all the licensing steps required of even a nanobrewery and then there are probably local zoning issues, etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Not possible...at least in Indiana. However something like what you describe ( a homebrew club selling beer) is closer to becoming a reality in California!! A bill (AB 2609) currently working it's way through the CA legislature will allow homebrew clubs/associations that are legal non-profits (501c) to sell beer 2x a year at events/festivals. Some of the stipulations are that there has to be an educational portion of the event and that it is for "members only". Of course anyone who buys a ticket becomes a member....that is how the NHC and the California Homebrewers Assoc. festival work as well. There are also a few other smaller details in the proposed law so that it doesn't become a free for all ( i.e. no "day of" ticket sales). So IF you could get a law like that passed in IN you could start a legal non profit homebrew club and host beer events. Any money raised of course would have to go back to the non-profit but that could be ingredients, equipment, board member stipends, etc.
 
jbaysurfer said:
When did this site become the defacto site for homebrewers to ask other homebrewers how to get around licensing laws.

Let me google that for you:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=indiana+brewer+license
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Haha I wasn't trying to get around licensing laws, just looking to see if there are varying degrees of licensing. Clearly there is not. I will just enjoy the hobby and leave the rest to the pros.
 
If you want to share your hobby, look for a brew club in your area. That club may also attend a few local festivals where they pour to the public.
 
Weezy said:
If you want to share your hobby, look for a brew club in your area. That club may also attend a few local festivals where they pour to the public.
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This would be cool. Me and a few buddies just started a homebrew club. What would it take to serve beer at a festival?
 
At this point you need to do some leg work. Find festival organizers. Talk to pro brewers for events they attend and then track those people down.
 
Teromous said:
Maybe it's time for a mod to create a sticky about this. I'm not even being facetious. It does get asked quite often.
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That's a fantastic idea.

zoomzilla said:
Haha I wasn't trying to get around licensing laws, just looking to see if there are varying degrees of licensing. Clearly there is not. I will just enjoy the hobby and leave the rest to the pros.
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Sorry if it seems like everyone is raining on your idea, but this question does seem to come up A LOT, and often it's people literally asking how to skirt the law. We are very protective of our hobby (and maintaining it's legal status), so we tend to get defensive when people ask these sort of questions.

I truly wish there was some sort of pico-brewer/homebrewer type license with relaxed standards (or at least lesser fees), but unfortunately the law is not skewed in our favor on this issue.

Just be content to share your homebrew with friends. If you want to make money in this hobby, you have to go pro, at which point it will no longer be a hobby, and require significant capital investment. There's just no way around that as the laws are currently written.
 
zoomzilla said:
Haha I wasn't trying to get around licensing laws, just looking to see if there are varying degrees of licensing. Clearly there is not. I will just enjoy the hobby and leave the rest to the pros.
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No worries. It just ends up there so frequently. Probably wasn't fair of me to assume you were going that way with it. Hunter_La5 pretty much hit the nail on the head.
 
I even get nervous when someone says "I'd love to buy the recipe for you to make beer for out tennis mixer" because that's getting awful danged close to brewing for a fee.
 
balrog said:
I even get nervous when someone says "I'd love to buy the recipe for you to make beer for out tennis mixer" because that's getting awful danged close to brewing for a fee.
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Don't really see that at all. It is really no different than buying a bunch of meat for your friend so he can smoke it for your tennis mixer. I am doing this for a buddy's wedding. He buys all the ingredients and I make the beer.
Really don't think we need to overthink this......just use some common sense.
 
Phunhog said:
Don't really see that at all. It is really no different than buying a bunch of meat for your friend so he can smoke it for your tennis mixer. I am doing this for a buddy's wedding. He buys all the ingredients and I make the beer.
Really don't think we need to overthink this......just use some common sense.
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You would think but apparently alcohol is quite a different animal. Hell, the US fought its first war against some people intent on distilling at home - the Whiskey Rebellion. Alcohol is regulated differently than other products.
 
North Dakota just shot down a bill to be able to sell beer and wine at a farmers market, at least there was consideration. I have also heard that you can sell beer and wine off a farmstead in certain areas of the country but has stipulations; I have no sound evidence for this though. Keep bothering the local reps and maybe a farmers market could work if the state is not scared of the feds cracking down.
 
OleBrewing said:
North Dakota just shot down a bill to be able to sell beer and wine at a farmers market, at least there was consideration. I have also heard that you can sell beer and wine off a farmstead in certain areas of the country but has stipulations; I have no sound evidence for this though. Keep bothering the local reps and maybe a farmers market could work if the state is not scared of the feds cracking down.
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This is a property use situation under loco and state law, and doesn't change the federal licensing requirements.
 
OleBrewing said:
North Dakota just shot down a bill to be able to sell beer and wine at a farmers market, at least there was consideration. I have also heard that you can sell beer and wine off a farmstead in certain areas of the country but has stipulations; I have no sound evidence for this though. Keep bothering the local reps and maybe a farmers market could work if the state is not scared of the feds cracking down.
Click to expand...

In Virginia you can do that with wine if you grow at least 51% of the fruit on your property and buy a $190 license locally through ABC, but you still have to file for a federal permit through the TTB. I never looked into the cost of the federal permit.
 
The proposed CA state law that will allow non profit homebrew clubs to sell beer 2x a year is actually in direct conflict with the federal law. The CA ABC even mentioned that regardless of state law it might be illegal on a federal level. However I bet that happens all the time .....a state law conflicts with a federal law yet no one really cares since neither one is actively enforced.
 

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