This is a response from the Ohio Department of Commerce concerning Ohio Brewpub Laws, it dates to 2013:
You inquiry has been forwarded to my attention for a response to your questions. The following is a brief explanation of the licensing required for an Ohio brewery.
The regulatory and permit information involved for the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the State of Ohio will require involvement with The Department of Commerce, Division of Liquor Control (Division) and the US Treasury Department, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Both the Division (
www.com.ohio.gov/liqr) and TTB (
www.ttb.gov) web sites are a great source of information and will answer many of your initial questions. The websites may also generate new questions as you sift through the sites. As more questions develop, please feel free to contact myself (Gary Jones) either by email or telephone at 614-644-2433. A good contact at TTB for questions about applications or processing is the National Revenue Center at phone number 877/882-3277. Investigation or inspection questions should be directed to the Northeast Field Office located in Philadelphia, PA. Stephen Albrecht is the District Director of the Northeast Field Office and the office number is (202) 453-3144.
To address more specifically your initial questions, the State of Ohio is a control state with a three tier system of licensing: manufacturers (top tier), distributors (middle tier) and retail permits (bottom tier). A class permits are issued to manufacturers, B class permits are issued to distributors; and, C, D and F class permits are issued to retailers. The Ohio Tied House law (ORC 4301.24) prohibits/restricts ownership in more than one tier of the system. This prohibition also extends to ownership outside the state of Ohio. As the manufacturer of beer in Ohio, you will require an A-1 permit.
On the Divisions web site please refer to Applications and Forms and then select Beer and Wine Section.
In the State of Ohio there is no distinction between a nano-brewery, micro-brewery and a full brewery; therefore, an A1 Permit for the manufacture of beer, ale, stout and other malt liquor have the same requirements and costs without consideration of production quantity.
The application processes for the State of Ohio and the TTB may run simultaneously; however, the TTB Permit (Brewers Notice is issued to a brewery) will have to be issued and a copy submitted to the State of Ohio as a requirement for issuance of the State Permits.
Please note: Two important factors when applying for a permit at both the federal and state levels:
1) Determine the business type: Individual (Sole Proprietor), Partnership, Corporation, LLC
2) Determine the address
If either the business type or address changes, it will affect the processing of the applications and may even require that you begin the licensing process from the beginning.
Regarding physical requirements of the manufacturing facility, the following general guidelines apply to an A1 - Brewery:
(An Inspection by the State of Ohio will determine if the facility, Permit Premises, is in compliance). Please note: that a basement of a residential home typically does not meet the States requirements.
(A) The building must be of sound construction, clean and well ventilated. The bottling and fermentation areas must be constructed of materials that can be easily cleaned.
(B) Equipment must consist of items necessary to manufacture malt based beverages. The equipment may include any or all of the following:
1. Mash tun
2. Filter
3. Brew kettle
4. Fermentation tanks
5. Holding/storage tanks
6. Bottling/canning machines
7. Bottle blower air/water
8. Proper storage for bottles, cans, and caps (subject area must be clean and dust free).
9. Bottles, kegs, or other containers
10. Washer for reusable containers, i.e. kegs and bottles
11. Forklifts and other container handling equipment necessary to a manufacturing operation.
(C) The manufacturing facility constituting the permit premises and equipment used in the manufacturing process must have a capacity to manufacture and to store product in tanks, kegs, or other approved containers.
(D) Storage: The applicant must have proper storage areas. The area must be clean and dry. It must be ascertained if the applicant will have both regular and bonded storage areas and, if so, the areas must be disclosed to the Compliance Officer during the licensing inspection and the areas must be indicated on the premises sketch.
You will also want to discuss your facility with TTB, as they too, have minimum requirements that may differ from the State of Ohio.
HB 243 was recently signed into law and became effective on March 22, 2012. The law change now allows an A-1 permit holder to have consumption on their premises of the beer they manufacture. Therefore, the business will require two restrooms, and a sink or commercial dishwasher for any re-usable glassware or containers.
The A-1-A permit would be required to sell any other beer, wine, mixed beverages or spirituous liquor. The A-1-A (not the A-1) specifically requires food service and a Food Service License by statute. The requirement for a Food Service License on an A-1 would be a decision of the local health department.
Once you have completed the application process and your permits have been issued, you may begin to produce product. Please note that no production of alcoholic products may begin prior to the issuance of the permits.
Once your permit has been issued and product has been produced, you must obtain federal label approval (COLA) and register each product with the State of Ohio, Division of Liquor Control (Division) before the product can be sold or be in the marketplace. You will also find the information related to product registration in the Beer and Wine Section of the Divisions web site.
After you have had an opportunity to review this information and the web sites, I would suggest your next contact be to TTB. I hope you find this email has addressed your initial questions and, as I mentioned in the beginning, more questions may develop as you continue this process. Please feel free to contact the Division with any additional questions you may have.
-Gary Jones