"So, you going to sell that?"

[munche]

Since I started homebrewing not that long ago, I'll mention it to friends and coworkers and stuff, and something like 80% of the time people ask "Are you going to sell it?"

This isn't people trying my beer and saying I should sell it, just hearing of the notion of making beer and immediately assuming it's to be for sale. Does anyone else get this a lot?

If I mention baking some awesome cookies people don't immediately assume I'm going to start going door to door. Why with beer?

 

[HexKrak]

Because they have no idea how much paperwork is involved in legally selling beer.

 

[thezepster]

Ya I get that quite a bit too. I think its just a way for people to ask if they can try it without asking if they can try it for free.

 

[Homercidal]

I hear it too. "When are you going to open a brewpub??"

I actually had my financial consultant start discussing plans to convert an old grain elevator into an upscale brewpub. Actually not a bad idea, but with so many important things to get just right, it sounds like a LOT of work. (and money!)

His example was a well-known restaurant in a very small town. People would go to that town just to eat there. I think is could be done here, but of course there is umpteen things to get done before conversion could start.

What were we talking about again?? Oh yeah... Yeah, jsut about everyone I mention it so asks if I am going to sell it. I just say, "No, but I can give away samples for free without getting into trouble!"

 

[munche]

I just wonder why we get asked that more than people who make other things.
"I'm growing avocados in my backyard"
"Oh, you going to go sell them at the farmer's market?"

I don't imagine that's the first thing out of most people's mouths!

 

[jgln]

So are you gonna? You know, sell it?


Actually I get that about a lot of things. I grow vegetables and bring them to work; people say I should sell them. I bring eggs to work; people say I should sell them. I make hot sauce; people say I should sell it. My fiancee does concrete sculptures; people say she should sell them.

I think with the wave of micro breweries now people are interested in it, not knowing of course it is not all that simple.

 

[jfr1111]

For the same reason your drunk uncles start calling you with questions about their DUI the minute you enter law school: they see you have a specific skillset (ie. brewing good beer) and want you to offer it to them at a lower cost than what they would pay usually.

Or maybe they just assume everybody who homebrews just needs a little nudge to start bootlegging.

 

[MattCA]

People are just greedy and always think about money. How much stupid stuff do you see people selling on craigslist and ebay? Nobody wants to give anything away for free.

 

[rico567]

My view is that people confuse a pastime with a business. I would never start brewing commercially, not because I feel incapable, but because I enjoy brewing far too much to do it for a living.

Of course, it's true that the man on the street has no idea of the Byzantine complex of laws and regulations involved with making and selling alcoholic beverages commercially.

As for doing it, after reading a variety of threads on this and other forums, I would say that the entry level investment for commercial brewing -very, very entry- is about $250K.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I think it's meant to be more of a compliment that trying to figure out how to scam you.

 

[Pappers_]

Its because beer and marketing are linked in some people's minds. Yes, you can buy cookies at the store, but the advertising hasn't conditioned your brain the way beer advertising has (at least for many people). Its a product, not a foodstuff to them.

 

[munche]

Its because beer and marketing are linked in some people's minds. Yes, you can buy cookies at the store, but the advertising hasn't conditioned your brain the way beer advertising has (at least for many people). Its a product, not a foodstuff to them.

This actually makes a lot of sense. Beer isn't a drink that is created, it's a thing on the shelf at the store.

Well, thread closed :rockin:

 

[rico567]

This actually makes a lot of sense. Beer isn't a drink that is created, it's a thing on the shelf at the store.

Well, thread closed :rockin:

And so is cereal, soup.....name something. Bacon grows on trees, y'know. Most people in this country would starve to death if you gave them ingredients and a stove.

 

[TokyoRoad]

Nobody wants to give anything away for free.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/zip/

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Nobody asks me if I am going to sell my beer. They just tell me I should.

 

[scrambledegg81]

Bacon grows on trees, y'know.

They sell those trees at Home Depot, by the way.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I am always amazed how driven people are by personal profit. You innocently give away something you made as a hobby and you're proud to share with friends, and they almost inevitably bring up the business talk.

NO, YOU CAN HAVE IT FOR FREE. REALLY! I don't even expect anything in return. That concept just blows most people's mind.

 

[arturo7]

Sell it?

Most people ask if I actually drink it!

 

[TowsonTiger22]

I think the question I get the most is "Is that legal?"

I do agree with a lot of the earlier sentiments that paying for beer that only comes from a store or bar is ingrained into our society.

I also agree with the fact that if you can't nuke it in a package, 70 percent of America wouldn't be able to eat.

 

[agroff383]

Nobody asks me if I am going to sell my beer. They just tell me I should.

Agreed, then they hypothesize on how it really couldnt be that complicated since I do it in the driveway, it will just be on a bigger scale. LOL have another one!

 

[agroff383]

For the same reason your drunk uncles start calling you with questions about their DUI the minute you enter law school: they see you have a specific skillset (ie. brewing good beer) and want you to offer it to them at a lower cost than what they would pay usually.

Or maybe they just assume everybody who homebrews just needs a little nudge to start bootlegging.

Yea tell me about it. I am an auto tech and some people just come out and ask stuff right away, people I havent seen in months, the first words out of their mouth relates to cars, haha hey how are YOU doing?

 

[munche]

I think the question I get the most is "Is that legal?"

I only got this one from my mom. I mentioned buying some brewing stuff and she said "oh, you aren't getting into anything illegal are you?"

 

[BryanJ]

I get this a lot and it's pretty anoying. I just agree with them and move on with the conversation. There's no reasoning with idiots.

 

[malkore]

I think most people assume making beer is some horribly complex and grueling process, and thus the only reason you're making it is to make money off of it.

 

[ksbrain]

I think it's that people are always looking for a way to make money off what they love to do, you know, "follow your passion". So they think that if you have a hobby that produces something that is actually useful or desirable or marketable, that the goal is to sell it.

If it were as easy as going down to the farmer's market to sell my beer, I'd be there every week selling my stuff. If I could brew beer every day and make enough profit to match my living expenses, I'd do it in a second. I could spend eight hours a day in front of my computer in my cubicle at work, or I could spend it making beer... it's an easy choice. Even if brewing came to be a chore, and like a job, at least it's a job where I get to drink while I do it, and it's really not a very hard job. Sure I wouldn't get as much internet time at "work", but I could deal with that.

 

[Jcmccoy]

I get that a lot from people. "You should start selling that stuff"... I'm like to who?

 

[Reno_Raines]

Yea tell me about it. I am an auto tech and some people just come out and ask stuff right away, people I havent seen in months, the first words out of their mouth relates to cars, haha hey how are YOU doing?

I am a car guy too. People you don't even know, I mean you know their name but are not really friends with them, are always trying to get you to do something for them. For example, they say hey could you build an engine for my old car/truck I'll pay you what ever it takes. And then I suggest that they let the machinist put it together for an extra 500 and be done with it (that's what the machinist wants anyway) and they completely ignore my suggestion. So I am supposed to believe that they won't pay $500 dollars to a guy that does this everyday and has a vested interest in the build but they are going to pay me "what ever it takes". And they never stop, they ask you every time they see you.