Anyone moved to full-time brewing?

Yakima 728
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Well, I suppose for the time being, I'll just have to brew it with people. I don't want to hurt my chances of getting a license in the future because of some stupid law.
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
Okay, the legality of selling beer without a license is not under question here. I'm not denying that. I'm just thinking it's a bit rediculous that I can't require my friends to pay me at least what I payed to make it. I realize the law is law...but it's dumb. It's not like I'm selling crack, so bringing up controlled substances is a bit over the top. And it's not that I'm even trying to MAKE money off of this. It's not a business in any way.

I'm not opposed to letting my friends come over to my house and have a few beers, but it got a little nuts after awhile. They would be over every weekend, and I would go through a keg in one night. I wasn't charging at first, so it was starting to cost me a lot of money. I decided that I couldn't keep supporting my own hobby if I didn't get some compensation. That's all I'm doing. I'm not selling to the whole town.

So... another question since what I'm doing seems to be so wrong in peoples eyes... What if my friends bought the ingredients for the beer and I brewed it for them? Is that illegal? Because the way people make it seem is that I would still be breaking the law. And...if that's the case, then none of my friends will ever get beer for their birthdays or parties because I'm having to pay for everything myself. It makes no sense.
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Alcohol is a controlled substance.

No one on here has said that it was wrong. They have just pointed out that its illegal and you are posting about it on a public forum. Keep it on the DL.
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
So... another question since what I'm doing seems to be so wrong in peoples eyes...
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You are definitely taking all of this the wrong way, and it seems personally as well. So far, I haven't heard anyone question the morality or 'wrongness' of what you are doing. What we are telling you is that what you are doing is illegal.

As for the scenario you brought up, tunoffun is right about the federal law. You would have to check your state laws for that one. I can tell you it is currently illegal in Oregon.
 
What if I provide the beer and they bring steaks?

Also, at least in my area, this is about as illegal as going 5mph over the limit so I'm only in this discussion cause I'm bored at work.

I hope I'm not coming across as a jerk.
 
Oh, and FWIW, buying a keg from a distributor and charging for cups at the door is also illegal.

It is VERY hard to recoup party costs legally. You usually need to hire a dispensing service to come and dispense your drinks for you (of course, not plausible in your house for a small group of friends).

I'd say either you get used to the fact of being poor, stop giving your stuff away, or come up with a system that is so disconnected that you couldn't possibly be caught.

Or...just stop posting about it on public forums.
 
beerisgood said:
What if I provide the beer and they bring steaks?

Also, at least in my area, this is about as illegal as going 5mph over the limit so I'm only in this discussion cause I'm bored at work.

I hope I'm not coming across as a jerk.
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You'd be hard pressed to find someone who would prosecute this, but the legal argument against you would be this is a form of bartering for a controlled substance.

And yes, comparing it to 5mph over the speed limit is a good analogy if that were a crime and not a violation.
 
Remember this is supposed to be a hobby and fun. I find as much satisfaction in friends and family enjoying my beer and giving a large bit of it away as drinking it all myself. If your friends are a bunch of power drinkers or your throwing a large party every weekend then either stop having people over or just enjoy the fun and maybe next time make it a brewing party where they pay for ingredients which is perfectly legal. Oh and at $20 for a $2 shirt and a 6 pack, you're making some coin. :)
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
Okay, the legality of selling beer without a license is not under question here. I'm not denying that. I'm just thinking it's a bit rediculous that I can't require my friends to pay me at least what I payed to make it. I realize the law is law...but it's dumb. It's not like I'm selling crack, so bringing up controlled substances is a bit over the top. And it's not that I'm even trying to MAKE money off of this. It's not a business in any way.

I'm not opposed to letting my friends come over to my house and have a few beers, but it got a little nuts after awhile. They would be over every weekend, and I would go through a keg in one night. I wasn't charging at first, so it was starting to cost me a lot of money. I decided that I couldn't keep supporting my own hobby if I didn't get some compensation. That's all I'm doing. I'm not selling to the whole town.

So... another question since what I'm doing seems to be so wrong in peoples eyes... What if my friends bought the ingredients for the beer and I brewed it for them? Is that illegal? Because the way people make it seem is that I would still be breaking the law. And...if that's the case, then none of my friends will ever get beer for their birthdays or parties because I'm having to pay for everything myself. It makes no sense.
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In your original post you didnt come across as just someone who wanted their friends to help finance a hobby they all enjoy. it looked like you were trying to sell beer to people to make money off of it by selling them t-shirts, and giving them a free 12 pack alongside.

"In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual"

By selling t-shirts with a free beer with it, you are defrauding the government out of the money that they would be getting from the beer sold; that they are entitled to. Its obvious that the buyer isnt really paying for the t-shirt in the end. you said yourself they only cost a few bucks to make. If it somehow made it to trial, I dont think you could convince them that the real product was actually the t-shirt. But it most likely wouldnt go that far. Its a pretty minor operation, and your not likely to get caught, but it is in fact illegal, and you should probably realize that if you chose to continue doing it. But whatever floats your boat anyway
 
Pivot said:
In your original post you didnt come across as just someone who wanted their friends to help finance a hobby they all enjoy. it looked like you were trying to sell beer to people to make money off of it by selling them t-shirts, and giving them a free 12 pack alongside.

"In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual"

By selling t-shirts with a free beer with it, you are defrauding the government out of the money that they would be getting from the beer sold; that they are entitled to. Its obvious that the buyer isnt really paying for the t-shirt in the end. you said yourself they only cost a few bucks to make. If it somehow made it to trial, I dont think you could convince them that the real product was actually the t-shirt. But it most likely wouldnt go that far. Its a pretty minor operation, and your not likely to get caught, but it is in fact illegal, and you should probably realize that if you chose to continue doing it. But whatever floats your boat anyway
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See above post... I already said I'm not doing this anymore. Yes, I was making a little money. I figured for the time I put into it, I deserved it. I guess not.
 
weirdboy said:
On the tax issue, you would have to pay taxes on the t-shirt sales regardless of any beer if you were going to be on the up-and-up.

There have already been cases where people tried to use your "loophole" and lost in court. e.g. throwing a homebrew party and charging for cups. You may think it's a clever loophole, but it's not clever, and it's not a loophole. Most likely you will never be charged with anything, but you could be, and if you were, you'd probably lose.
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I can't figure out why you use run-on sentences like that.
 
Did I mention that I like beer? I think its good! Think I'll brew some more this weekend. I just floated a keg.
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
See above post... I already said I'm not doing this anymore. Yes, I was making a little money. I figured for the time I put into it, I deserved it. I guess not.
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The actual charge you would be brought up on is essentially "intent". 1. Something that is intended; an aim or purpose.

Basically the argument would be that your intention was to profit from the beer sold under the ruse of a t-shirt transaction. Similar to the fact that you'd be breaking the law for supplying a hooker with a cheeseburger and she rewarded you with sexual favors. You didn't actually pay her for sex...right? Well the law sees it differently.

If you sold every shirt with beer it would be tough to prove that your intention wasn't to circumvent the law.

I'm not trying to kick a dead horse or anything. I just didn't see a specific addressing of what exactly was illegal about what you did or didn't do.
 
jfr1111 said:
The thread, let it die :D

Also, join date of Feb 2009 but first post October 2010 :ban:
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Why should I be banned for making my first post? I felt I had something to contribute so I made a comment. Didn't spam, didn't advertise, didn't insult anyone...I generally lurk, as a member of many forums I post when I have something to post. My lack of activity shouldn't constitute an intention to troll or bait. Don't think I broke any rules. I registered a long time ago and decided to return once the hobby back around again.

I didn't realize that this open thread wasn't for further discussion.

Am I welcome to continue contributing to your forum?
 
BishopRyan said:
Similar to the fact that you'd be breaking the law for supplying a hooker with a cheeseburger and she rewarded you with sexual favors. You didn't actually pay her for sex...right? Well the law sees it differently.
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I think that could be labeled dating a hooker. BTW what city do you live in that hookers go for cheeseburger prices?
 
Frankfurtvr4 said:
I think that could be labeled dating a hooker. BTW what city do you live in that hookers go for cheeseburger prices?
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I don't know about cheeseburgers but south Texas has been known to negotiate favorably for ham sandwiches and Sunkists.
 

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