brewing for $$

[nikko]

Hi i have a buddy that tried my beer and loves it. He's opening up a bar and has his liquer license. he asked me to brew for him and keg it and sell it as draft. does he need a special license to do this or can i actually brew for him keg it and sell it in glass $3.00 a glass?

thanks.

 

[brewt00l]

What country do you live in?

If it's the US, you can start here: http://www.ttb.gov/ and work your way down to your state level of licenses, permits & red tape.

 

[Revvy]

There was a good discussion of it awhile back.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=53383

Not knowing all the laws, I don't think it's legal...Have him pony up for a microbrewery license and then I believe if you brew on premise it MIGHT be ok....

There's a couple people here who have opened a microbrewery (Naked City Brewery is one that is in process) He'd know more about it than me.

 

[Germey]

This is for California, so take it with a grain of salt if you are elsewhere, you have to get approval by product to sell anything.
My LHBS (Home Brew Mart) is also a brewery (Ballast Point). At the back of the shop, there is a tasting bar where you can get $1 samples of anything Ballast Point is making, or free samples of experimental recipes or sometimes stuff that the brewers or shop employees have made at home. They are not allowed to charge for the off label stuff.
I was also recently chastised for bringing homebrew into Stone. Not that it was a problem to bring it in, but that it was labeled.
One last bit of related Cliff Claven-esque worthlessness. The first couple years of Stone's RIS was just "Imperial Stout". They couldn't get label approval for the "Russian" because it didn't actually come from Russia! They eventually prevailed, Obviously, but it took a lot of work.
Our Government, hard at work protecting us from certain doom!:cross:

 

[A4J]

I'd be interested in Naked City's comments on the whole process, but I think the Fed's deal with the manufacture and taxation of beer, State deals with the sale (you'll need a Type 23 License in CA), and local government deals with zoning and siting. Microbrews in CA can sell samples, but if they want to sell bottles (or glass fulls) of beer on premises, they'd have to have a "bona fide eating establishment" on premises.

 

[NWernBrewer]

State by state - here in WA you have to apply for specific licence for what you are doing. Brewpub, microbrewery... each have different requirements. Also I believe that you need to federally register and have federal inspections and paying for that all up front.

It can be done - if one does a small draft only microbrewery it really isn't too involved if you can get space and equipment, relatively speaking of course - you can actually distribute for yourself here as well.