Paying for homebrew at event

I live I Wisconsin. I am looking at holding an event that you have to pay to get into but only serves homebrew. Now, I have been informed it is illegal to charge for homebrew making the event illegal. Is there a way around this. Can I charge for the glass and the homebrew is free? There must be a way since homebrew clubs serve at paying events.

The way around this is charging for a glass, paying admission for the venue, or doing something like a chili cook-off at the same event. Legally speaking though, any attendee can ask to be let in for free to only partake in the "free" homebrew and they can bring their own tasting vessel. This never happens mostly because people are unaware of the laws. I speak from experience with events in PA. The laws may be different in your state...

wrkaiser01 said:

I live I Wisconsin. I am looking at holding an event that you have to pay to get into but only serves homebrew. Now, I have been informed it is illegal to charge for homebrew making the event illegal. Is there a way around this. Can I charge for the glass and the homebrew is free? There must be a way since homebrew clubs serve at paying events.

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http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/statutes/wisconsin
See (3m)(a) (3) (a) 1
Doesn't look like you can get around it. Other events have been for charity.

A charity event or a members only event is really the only way.

I serve homebrew, as do other club members, at "ticketed" events several times a year. The key is that they, in most cases, are private, "invite only" events. One example is the Southern California Homebrewers Festival as well as the NHC.

I just found out that a local beer festival near me was not going to be allowed to serve homebrew. The weird part is that ABC was totally okay with it since it was part of a competition and met the letter of the law. The county environmental health shut homebrewers out since they didn't have a health permit....never heard of that before.

Phunhog said:

I just found out that a local beer festival near me was not going to be allowed to serve homebrew. The weird part is that ABC was totally okay with it since it was part of a competition and met the letter of the law. The county environmental health shut homebrewers out since they didn't have a health permit....never heard of that before.

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Where was the festival to be held?

Southern California...

OP was planning an event in Wisconsin. Does anyone have any ideas how the event can happen with the statutes in Wisconsin as they are?

Beerfests I go to have a token system. Pay for tokens that are then exchanged for beer. Technically, you are only buying a token, not alcohol.

Host a "homebrewed beer judging competition" with a fee for judging. Then give everyone sheets and they can vote on a best of show or something like that. If it's private and a beer judging comp your more likely to get away with it. I'm in CA and people were doing this for a bit but the ABC caught on and shut it down here... just don't start doing it weekly and you will prolly be fine. Is this going to be like a public event in a public area?

motleybrew said:

...Pay for tokens that are then exchanged for beer. Technically, you are only buying a token, not alcohol.

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What a crazy world we live in!
Time to start cleaning some tubes.

motleybrew said:

Beerfests I go to have a token system. Pay for tokens that are then exchanged for beer. Technically, you are only buying a token, not alcohol.

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Are you talking specifically about homebrew or commercial beerfests? Generally, the whole "barter" thing where money is exchanged for something that is then exchanged for alcohol still counts as selling.

Kohler has a ticked public homebrew event that I attended this past spring. The law does look like you can't charge for it, and they even cancelled it for a couple years due to legislation, not sure what was different this year.

motleybrew said:

Beerfests I go to have a token system. Pay for tokens that are then exchanged for beer. Technically, you are only buying a token, not alcohol.

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I don't see how the token isn't currency in this situation, unless the beer is free and those are voluntary donations or something.

In the end a simple email or phone call to the Department of Revenue asking the question might get the OP the answers he desires. Although not exactly the same situation, a group I am involved with is planning a brewfest (breweries and homebrew comp) in NW Wisconsin where all the proceeds will benefit a local nonprofit so I am very interested in seeing how this all plays out for my own education in this process. I know at the very least the OP is probably gonna have to apply with his local municipality for a temporary Class B beverage license if charging for the event.

flars said:

OP was planning an event in Wisconsin. Does anyone have any ideas how the event can happen with the statutes in Wisconsin as they are?

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There was supposed to be a huge homebrew event in Milwaukee last fall, at the Lakefront Brewery.

It was cancelled, due to the laws in the Wisconsin being very strict on homebrew and where it can be served, and the "no charge" thing. It has not been rescheduled.

They just passed a law last year that allowed homebrew competitions to be legal.

A portion of the law on this:

125.06  License and permit exceptions. No license or permit is required under this chapter for:
(3) The making of homemade wine or fermented malt beverages.
(a) The making of homemade wine or fermented malt beverages, and the possession, transportation, or storage of homemade wine or fermented malt beverages, by any person if all of the following apply:
1. The person who makes the wine or fermented malt beverages receives no compensation.
2. The wine or fermented malt beverages are not sold or offered for sale.
3. The total quantity of wine or fermented malt beverages made, in a calendar year, by the person and any other person living in the same household does not exceed 100 gallons if the household has only one person of legal drinking age or 200 gallons if the household has 2 or more persons of legal drinking age.
(b) A person who makes, possesses, transports, or stores homemade wine or fermented malt beverages in compliance with the limitations specified in par. (a) is not a brewer or a manufacturer of wine for purposes of this chapter.
(c) Homemade wine or fermented malt beverages made in compliance with the limitations specified in par. (a) may be consumed by the person who made it and his or her family, neighbors, and friends at any private residence or other private location where the possession and consumption of alcohol is permissible under this chapter, local ordinances, and other applicable law.
more:
(3m) The use of homemade wine or fermented malt beverages for competitions or exhibitions or similar purposes.
(a) The use of homemade wine or fermented malt beverages made in compliance with the limitations specified in sub. (3) (a) for purposes of exhibition, demonstration, judging, tasting, or sampling or as part of a contest or competition, if the exhibition, demonstration, judging, tasting, sampling, contest, or competition is held at a private residence or on a licensed premises. Homemade wine or fermented malt beverages used for purposes described in this paragraph, including the submission or consumption of such wine or fermented malt beverages, are not considered sold or offered for sale under sub. (3) (a) 2. and any prize awarded at a contest or competition or as a result of an exhibition, demonstration, judging, tasting, or sampling is not considered compensation under sub. (3) (a) 1., but no fee may be charged for consumption of the homemade wine or fermented malt beverages at the exhibition, demonstration, judging, tasting, sampling, contest, or competition.


There is a lot more in the law- it's very specific!

Wow that's great...I think CA is not nearly that specific and thus there is a lot of variability in how the law is interpreted by the ABC....some offices are stricter than others.

Phunhog said:

Wow that's great...I think CA is not nearly that specific and thus there is a lot of variability in how the law is interpreted by the ABC....some offices are stricter than others.

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Yes, and that is a SMALL part of the law that I excerpted there!

It's very specific. In Wisconsin, no one can swing the "buy a glass", "barter", "bid" or anything else as a defense to get around the law. It's very specific that this would be illegal.

I guess the NHC could never be held in WI since it would require buying a ticket to consume homebrew.

How about donations at the door or throughout the event?

There are organized paid admission festivals where homebrew is served, typically by the area homebrew club. The homebrew is not the main attraction and it is more of an off to the side thing. The ability to get into a fest to give beer away is pretty fair. The ability to hold a homebrew fest for profit is non-exsistant.

Zamial said:

There are organized paid admission festivals where homebrew is served, typically by the area homebrew club. The homebrew is not the main attraction and it is more of an off to the side thing. The ability to get into a fest to give beer away is pretty fair. The ability to hold a homebrew fest for profit is non-exsistant.

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This is how it's done here as well. You pay for a taster glass for all of the commercial beers. The homebrew club serves their own beer that you can taste using the same taster glass. The club does a brewing demonstration, passes out pretzels, etc. I don't know if the club walks away with any of the money though...I'm pretty sure they just volunteer.