Selling beer in New Jersey

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nostalgia

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Thinking of going pro in NJ? Maybe starting a nice Nanobrewery? Here is a useful link to the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control website.

I just got off the phone with a nice young lady over there and thought I'd share my findings. Remember this is all state-specific, so there are still Federal things to do.

In order to manufacture my own beer and distribute it to a retail establishment (iow put beer in kegs and sell to a bar) I would need a type 11 Limited Brewery License, at $1,250, renewed annually.

That lets me brew up to 50,000 barrels of beer a year. No, they don't have anything more reasonable for small brewers.

She mentioned the beer would be manufactured at a commercial location. I asked if it was permissible to brew the beer in a separate building on my property. She specifically said it may not be manufactured in any area that is zoned residential. So I'd have to buy or rent commercial property.

-Joe
 
well they might have the 3-tier system too, i believe in washington and colorado the politicans are not corrupt and those laws do not apply in those states
 
yeah nj has the 3-tier system also. so alcohol producers(tier 1) have to sell to a licensed wholesaler(tier 2), who then sell to the vendors(tier 3, bars, stores,etc.). the alcohol producer cant sell directly to the vendor
 
yeah nj has the 3-tier system also. so alcohol producers(tier 1) have to sell to a licensed wholesaler(tier 2), who then sell to the vendors(tier 3, bars, stores,etc.). the alcohol producer cant sell directly to the vendor
The only way around that as far as I can see is to open a brewpub. The license is the same price, but I think you need to have a restaurant on premises to sell the beer retail.

-Joe
 
NJ only has 3 major wholesalers for wine and liquor. i worked for one them. they didnt deal with any beer. but even brewpubs would have to get their liquor and wine from the wholesaler.

i believe, but im not postive, even wholesalers like costco and BJs, have to buy from 1 of the 3 major wholesalers and resell to consumers. they cant buy directorly from absolut or any of the other suppliers
 
That is just state regulations. Don't forget local and federal. There's a lot of federal crap to go through.
 
Yea I've looked into it too. It's not so much the license fee but the fact that you can't brew it in a residential area. Now there was a guy in Ca. who got his local zoning board to hook him up and ok a glorified shed as a place to brew but he was a lawyer or something.
 
Well, I believe you can petition the town to get a variance. But from looking into what it takes to do that when I was building a deck, it might be easier to buy a warehouse :)

-Joe
 
I claim no knowledge of the topic except what I read in the papers and on-line. There are brewpubs in NJ which sell their own brew. From an article last week:

Welcome to Brew Jersey
According to the Garden State Craft Brewer's Guild, New Jersey is home to 15 brewpubs and microbreweries. Brewpubs fall under the "restaurant" umbrella because the venues produce batches of craft brews on site. They also sell it on site "to stay" — or packaged "to go" in bottles, kegs or "growlers." Microbreweries also produce small batches of beer on site, but are distributed for sale to wholesalers and retailers.

From the Garden State Craft Brewer's Guild website:
Microbreweries produce small batches of beer for sale to wholesalers and retailers both inside and outside New Jersey. That means you can purchase New Jersey micro brewed beer from the shelves of liquor stores and in pubs around the country. Call the brewery for a list of retailers who carry your favorite micro brewed beers.

Brewpubs are restaurants that produce small batches of craft brewed on site and may sell their own beer by the glass for consumption on premise. They may also seel their beer for carry out in bottles, jugs known as "growlers" and in kegs. Brewpub beer is not available outside the restaurant.

The Guild lists eleven microbreweries or brewpubs as members, not a large number for a state with almost 9 million people, but better than nothing.
 
hey joe, did she tell you that you can NOT self distribute in NJ? i was under the impression that you can, this is why. from the brewers association website-

New Jersey
License to self-distribute: Yes
Title 33;1-10
Limited brewery license. 1b. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages in a quantity to be expressed in said license, dependent upon the following fees and not in excess of 300,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per year and to sell and distribute this product to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse.

heres a link. http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/self-distribution-laws

if there is a catch to this and the brewers association is wrong, i'm very pissed :(

in your first post you said, "in order to sell to bars". i assumed that she said that we in jersey can sell directly to retailers (bars, restaurants & liqour stores).
 
hey joe, did she tell you that you can NOT self distribute in NJ? i was under the impression that you can, this is why. from the brewers association website-

New Jersey
License to self-distribute: Yes
Title 33;1-10
Limited brewery license. 1b. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages in a quantity to be expressed in said license, dependent upon the following fees and not in excess of 300,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per year and to sell and distribute this product to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse.

heres a link. http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/self-distribution-laws

if there is a catch to this and the brewers association is wrong, i'm very pissed :(

in your first post you said, "in order to sell to bars". i assumed that she said that we in jersey can sell directly to retailers (bars, restaurants & liqour stores).

Self Distribution just means when you have your brewery and all your licensing (local, state, federal) and inspections done, that you can self distribute rather than having to find and pay a distributor that will distribute your beer. You cannot sell your beer as a homebrewer, or just get the state license and be set. There is a lot to go through. Self distributing just makes it easier and cheaper than having to go through a distributor once you get everything up and running.
 
Self Distribution just means when you have your brewery and all your licensing (local, state, federal) and inspections done, that you can self distribute rather than having to find and pay a distributor that will distribute your beer. You cannot sell your beer as a homebrewer, or just get the state license and be set. There is a lot to go through. Self distributing just makes it easier and cheaper than having to go through a distributor once you get everything up and running.

i know what it means, and i know that there are many federal, state and local issues to deal with... earlier in this thread some one said that NJ is 3 tier meaning that you can not sell directly to a retailer, you have to go through a distributor. the information that i found/posted says differently, (not saying mine is correct) and i was clarifying with joe (OP) if the woman he spoke with from the TTB said otherwise. i'm not talking about selling home brew.
 
i know what it means, and i know that there are many federal, state and local issues to deal with... earlier in this thread some one said that NJ is 3 tier meaning that you can not sell directly to a retailer, you have to go through a distributor. the information that i found/posted says differently, (not saying mine is correct) and i was clarifying with joe (OP) if the woman he spoke with from the TTB said otherwise. i'm not talking about selling home brew.

Ah, sorry then. I read that wrong. We can't self distribute here, damn 3 tier system. I hear it's like $30 a keg.
 
You can self-distribute, you just can't brew the beer on residential property. Any beer that you intend to sell must be brewed on commercial property.

Unless I misunderstood what she was telling me, but you'll have to call to find that out.

-Joe
 
You can self-distribute, you just can't brew the beer on residential property. Any beer that you intend to sell must be brewed on commercial property.

Unless I misunderstood what she was telling me, but you'll have to call to find that out.

-Joe


ok, thanks for clearing that up. i still want to call for some other obvious questions, but also i would just like to hear the explanation why a winery can be on a residential.
 
Dude! Your post just single hadedly answered one of my questions. What does it cost to start a brewery in NJ? Short of the commercial property of course.:ban:
 
Wow, I was under the assumption you could not self-distribute here. That makes it a lot easier and a lot more profitable at least on the nano-scale, at some point distribution becomes expensive without professionals I assume.

I've read a thread here about a guy who got his garage zoned properly to brew commercially in. He wasn't in NJ I don't think but if you own some property and can get the zoning board on your side it might be doable. The licenses are not out of this world $ wise.
 
You can self-distribute, you just can't brew the beer on residential property. Any beer that you intend to sell must be brewed on commercial property.

Unless I misunderstood what she was telling me, but you'll have to call to find that out.

-Joe

I have about 8.5 acres zoned farm, I wonder if I could brew on my property? I bet it is easy to get it changed from farm to commercial, just change the use.
 
The price is high in Ohio 3906 dollars per year to hold the license to make beer beer for resale in Ohio. Yowsers!
 
I have about 8.5 acres zoned farm, I wonder if I could brew on my property? I bet it is easy to get it changed from farm to commercial, just change the use.

depending on the local definition on 'farm' in your town's zoning it commercial is sometimes allowed, though not normally. you would have to get a use variance from your town, or get the town to change the zoning for your parcel (much harder).
From what the OP said, that you can't be zoned 'residential' which probably means you have to be in commercial zone, so just getting a use variance on lot zoned for farm or residential will not be enough.

If anyone has any other questions regarding zoning/planning and permitting for things along these lines in NJ, just ask, I'm a civil engineer and that's what I do.
 
If anyone has any other questions regarding zoning/planning and permitting for things along these lines in NJ, just ask, I'm a civil engineer and that's what I do.

What is your bribery rate, I want my rented apartment basement zoned commercial :p
 
NJ only has 3 major wholesalers for wine and liquor. i worked for one them. they didnt deal with any beer. but even brewpubs would have to get their liquor and wine from the wholesaler.

i believe, but im not positive, even wholesalers like costco and BJs, have to buy from 1 of the 3 major wholesalers and resell to consumers. they cant buy directly from absolut or any of the other suppliers

For a large company like Absolut it would be insanity to deal with every single bar / store in the world. So instead they deal solely with the wholesalers. It makes everything easier and they probably make the same amount of money if they had sold direct to the bar/store.

For someone that owns a micro or nano brewery who really isnt putting out a large amount of beer a year it is wise to sell direct to the local bars/stores. Once you are big enough you would eventually move onto selling to a wholesale company I would imagine. But there is no need in the beginning.
 
depending on the local definition on 'farm' in your town's zoning it commercial is sometimes allowed, though not normally. you would have to get a use variance from your town, or get the town to change the zoning for your parcel (much harder).
From what the OP said, that you can't be zoned 'residential' which probably means you have to be in commercial zone, so just getting a use variance on lot zoned for farm or residential will not be enough.

If anyone has any other questions regarding zoning/planning and permitting for things along these lines in NJ, just ask, I'm a civil engineer and that's what I do.

Also it may be easy to change your land to be commercial but hard to re-zone back to residential. Are you entirely sure you would want to be stuck with acres of commercially zoned land if your brewery fails? (or you leave it)
 
From what the OP said, that you can't be zoned 'residential' which probably means you have to be in commercial zone, so just getting a use variance on lot zoned for farm or residential will not be enough.
Well, she said "commercial property" if I remember correctly, not commercial zone. So getting a use variance might be enough.

Aren't they a pretty big pain to get, too?

-Joe
 
some properties - along a main st. for instance - can be mixed zoning. i think if you're in a mixed residential/commercial area you may possibly be able to brew at your residence. i'm probably wrong, though...

the gov't wants economic stability, but they make impossible to succeed as a small brewer. what gives? they need to make it possible for things to be and stay LOCAL!! i'm all about community:mug:
 
depending on the local definition on 'farm' in your town's zoning it commercial is sometimes allowed, though not normally. you would have to get a use variance from your town, or get the town to change the zoning for your parcel (much harder).
From what the OP said, that you can't be zoned 'residential' which probably means you have to be in commercial zone, so just getting a use variance on lot zoned for farm or residential will not be enough.

If anyone has any other questions regarding zoning/planning and permitting for things along these lines in NJ, just ask, I'm a civil engineer and that's what I do.

Maybe I am getting farm assessment confused with commercial zoned. Some of the farmland that I see up for sale says commercial. I guess something I could easily find out but I am not planning on opening a brewery at least any time soon.
 
Well, she said "commercial property" if I remember correctly, not commercial zone. So getting a use variance might be enough.

Aren't they a pretty big pain to get, too?

-Joe

Yeah, maybe she meant the building you brew in can not be a residential home. I have heard of that before where people who bake cakes in their home and then decide to sell to the public can no longer do it in their kitchen.
 
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