I know you can't sell your homebrew. I was wondering if you could get paid my another person to home brew for them using your own equipment and your knowledge? I tried looking into it online and on here, but I didn't find anything.
Can you get paid for home brewing beer
- Thread starter dackerm
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Do it, take the money, and just don't tell anyone.
To do so legally in Texas you would have to file for the appropriate brewing licenses ~$3000. I'm sure other states have similar regulations.
On the other hand you could have your friend reimburse you for the cost of the grain, etc. and tack on a handling fee. Then just give him the final product.
On the other hand you could have your friend reimburse you for the cost of the grain, etc. and tack on a handling fee. Then just give him the final product.
fishhead202
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I'm not sure what the difference between 'selling' and 'home brew for them using your own equipment and your knowledge' is.
barnaclebob
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Im sure some LHBS have classes that you have to pay for...
Surely there wouldnt be anything wrong with "ill bring over my stuff and teach you, you buy the ingredients, we split the batch" arrangements.
Are there any limitations on selling wort?
number40fan
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That's the key.
Sell the wort and tell him to add the yeast.
Sell the wort and tell him to add the yeast.
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From what I understand everything is kosher until the yeast is pitched. Basically you could sell them the wort and then they could take the wort home and pitch their own yeast at their own property. It's essentially the same thing as buying LME or DME from a homebrew store, or a brewery giving you wort to ferment off-premise.
MindenMan
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Until the yeast is added, it's not beer. So if he adds the yeast, you are not selling beer, as mentioned above. You sold him wort, and are charging storage and handling fees, simple, right?
harleybug88
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IMO, I think that could legally fall under a "consultation fee". But if it is illegal, I don't think the "FEDS" would be breaking your door down.
I'm not a Lawyer, but I say go for it.
And yeah, just to be on the safe side, let him add the yeast.
I'm not a Lawyer, but I say go for it.
And yeah, just to be on the safe side, let him add the yeast.
mikescooling
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It's a controlled substance, so selling it in any way is a No No. I have a friend who is too old for brewing and he pays for ingredients (because I'm poor) and takes home wort. He pitches the yeast at his home.
Except for the part where they have to buy the license and pay the taxes for selling it to you.
In the end if you want to be sure of the full legality of doing it any these ways I would contact your state's alcohol regulatory agency and inquire to them directly. If you don't really care about the legality of the situation, and instead only want to soothe your conscious a little bit then go ahead and consult an internet message board,
Treat it like craigslist. Don't sell enough of it to need to put it on your taxes.
Also the "no yeast" thing is a good idea.
EDIT: My point is that as long as you do it sparingly and have your friends give you money for "a service", who is really going to call the cops on you?
Also the "no yeast" thing is a good idea.
EDIT: My point is that as long as you do it sparingly and have your friends give you money for "a service", who is really going to call the cops on you?
I highly doubt that taxes are a concern though it's a decent point.
OP: how much does this other person intend to pay you? Technically you cannot sell beer but you can likely get away with selling wort. I don't know that this other person wants to deal with pitching the yeast and such, but that is up to you to decide how to handle it.
I'd say legally, even with all the suggestions above, that's still require something along the lines of a brew on premises license and probably still illegal, although I'd figure that local laws may vary. Splitting the cost of the batch (however you want to do it), and them having him brew with you, and splitting the final product is much less of a gray area.
But at the end of the day, when there's anything that's a legal gray area, rule 1) don't trust a bunch of random people on the internet for advice and 2) don't announce on the internet that you plan on doing something of questionable legality.
But at the end of the day, when there's anything that's a legal gray area, rule 1) don't trust a bunch of random people on the internet for advice and 2) don't announce on the internet that you plan on doing something of questionable legality.
grittanomyces
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Sure, it worked out fine for Al Capone
You would be in less trouble selling wort and have him pitch the yeast on his own property. The only thing that isn't on the level is that you're selling a food product without board of health inspections.
agrazela
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Oddly nobody's asked yet...
Is this "other person" someone you know well, like a friend or relative? Or are we talking about stranger(s)?
And is this some kind of one-time or occasional thing you're talking about, or are you planning to make a living at it?
Agree contractually to mow his lawn for $50 a mow. When you brew, take a pair of scissors and cut a couple blades of grass and collect your money. Then to celebrate your guys' successful business arrangement, gift him 50 bottles of homebrew.
ArkotRamathorn
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All discussion below is not meant to belittle or argue with anyone. I 100% all the way understand the aspect of having to pay taxes for alcohol to the state and federal government if you are selling alcohol, thats completely kosher as far as I am concerned. I also would never do this where I would sell beer to a friend, theres a million excuses I can come up with to brew a batch for a friend and not expect payment in turn (brewed 4 gallons of a Bell's Hopslam Clone for a friends birthday which is NOT AT ALL a cheap beer to brew). EVERYONE likes beer as a birthday gift... except maybe someone in AA (maybe).
This whole discussion really makes the distinctions seem ridiculous. Does the friend legally have to stand there and pitch the yeast into the wort? If I take all my equipment over to a friends house, and they bought the ingredients, and paid me a labor cost per hour for brewing it, and I pitched the yeast into the wort at their house, does that suddenly make it *my* beer I'm *selling* to the person? Mostly rhetorical questions, I don't want anyone to think I am arguing with them.
The lawn mowing brings up, your friend could mow your lawn for you, and you gift him a batch of beer (if you have a gigantic lawn).
This whole discussion really makes the distinctions seem ridiculous. Does the friend legally have to stand there and pitch the yeast into the wort? If I take all my equipment over to a friends house, and they bought the ingredients, and paid me a labor cost per hour for brewing it, and I pitched the yeast into the wort at their house, does that suddenly make it *my* beer I'm *selling* to the person? Mostly rhetorical questions, I don't want anyone to think I am arguing with them.
The lawn mowing brings up, your friend could mow your lawn for you, and you gift him a batch of beer (if you have a gigantic lawn).
We're talking about government tax regulations. Arbitrary rules and technicalities are the name of the game.
The laws about selling beer are pretty rigid. What this question is really about, in my opinion, is that of scale, publicity, frequency and customer base. The government isn't going to come knocking if you are over a buddy's house showing him how to homebrew and you let him keep the results. You can frame that story in a number of ways to make it feel more legal. I do know of someone that knows someone that was brewing large batches, maybe 1BBL at a time and selling off cornies to casual acquaintances. That is obviously 100% illegal. Notice that there's not much distance between the two examples but I believe one is on the radar and the other is not. I think the first step in keeping the grey areas grey is to not even talk about it, especially not here.
All the ideas people come up with for unspoken barters or diverted payment for legal services, etc are cute but the TTB will easily find the real intent in the transactions if the heat was on.
All the ideas people come up with for unspoken barters or diverted payment for legal services, etc are cute but the TTB will easily find the real intent in the transactions if the heat was on.
Jupapabear
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This.... This is great.
It's perfectly legal for you to make money selling things. When you file your taxes it is a very simple process to report your earnings.
But there are laws governing what you can sell; especially food products where the permit would come into play. Wort would probably be categorized as a food product which is why I suggest contacting the state agency that governs alcohol (if they don't deal with wort itself they could probably direct them to the proper agency) if the OP wants to keep everything completely legal.
Of course if the OP and his buddy are smart and don't do the transaction in front of the cops/ATF agents and keep their mouths shut no one is going to break down their doors looking for the "illegal" wort/beer.
I was just wondering honestly. I have no actual plans to do it as of now. I just didn't know if it was legal to charge someone for the ingredients and a labor fee for brewing for them.
I don't have any plans on doing this as of now. I was just wondering what the legality of charging someone for ingredients and labor for me brewing for them. I love brewing but don't always have the money to do it. It seems like if I did that I could brew more and have more money to buy ingredients to brew for myself
While all the answers provided may work in one way or another the fact remains that it is against federal and state laws to sell beer without proper licensing on not only the federal and state level but also local law.
That's the fact.
Sent from the Commune
That's the fact.
Sent from the Commune
You mean like if they don't advertise it on the internet?
Seriously though. This is a common topic, and in general its about skirting rules. I don't like reading any of these threads on this site, as I think we should all be ambassadors to homebrewing and now that it's legal in all 50 states, keep it that way by not being a community of rule-skirters that draws the attention of regulators.
Thinks that's unrealistic? I'll tell you from first hand experience, a single call from a campground security guard to the local ABC office was the catalyst for the cancellation of the SoCal Homebrew Fest this year. There's plenty of pencil pushers just dying to lord their power over someone, anyone, and especially anyone who thinks they can flaunt the power of said pencil pushers.
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