Micorbrew Pubs and Selling Beer

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NEPABREWER

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Does anyone here sell their output? I remember a member or two talking about
opening a brew pub / restaurant, so I was wondering what is involved. Is it a simple
liquor license or is there some type of endorsement for winery / brewery that this could
fall under - especially if >%50 of business is food sales.

I hope to own - operate a brewing co. / grill - gastro-pub someday and was doing some daydreaming. lol

Cheers:mug:
 
NEPABREWER said:
Does anyone here sell their output? Is it a simple
liquor license

Cheers:mug:

i think the Brew Pasteur could tell ya all about that...each state im sure is different, some states a liquer license cost like 50 grand...
 
Not HB, but Beer brewed on premises at the pub. Liquor Lic in Pa range from $12k-50k depending upon location, county etc.
 
A brewery license is around $500 in Oregon, but the distribution restrictions are crazy-making.
 
Depends on the state. I know in PA (place of crazy liquor laws) a liquor license is insane. 40k plus
 
It depends on the State, but it involves a special licence "$", and a bonded space "$$", and equipment "$$$". There is also liability insurance "$$$$$$" A local spot is currently getting sued because some drunk idiot had a drink there and proceeded to kill three people in a crash. The bar is being sued for serving him. Big issue and a major concern for anyone who is anywhere in the chain. Next thing you know they will be sueing this board for providing the information with which I can make beer to drink and get drunk and crash my car... :mad:

Some States have licenses that allow you to sell directly to the public, others require a middleman/distributor. Some allow you to sell other people's products, other don't. You also have to consider and consult your particular city's zoning laws as well as the Fed's (BATF) regulations. Sometimes you can get a license for your home and produce product to sell to other retail locations. Liquor laws are some of the worst PITA laws out there. My montra to all those considering going pro is simply, "Why ruin a good hobby?"
 
Brewpastor said:
Next thing you know they will be sueing this board for providing the information with which I can make beer to drink and get drunk and crash my car... :mad:
My wife was going to sue the board for "Alienation of Affection", but I think I made it up to her this weekend. For a little while.
 
There used to be a brew pub by me. It was a huge bar with 4 - 5 giant tanks (about 5ft diameter and about 18ft tall) called the 'Colorado Brew Pub'. I think it may have been a franchise or chain. They went out of business after a few years, but every business that goes in that location goes out of business within a year or two.

There was another 'brew pub' that was just a small bar and the owner made the beer. It was a little dive bar by the airport. I don't know if it was all legit with the state or not.
 
Brewpastor said:
It depends on the State, but it involves a special licence "$", and a bonded space "$$", and equipment "$$$". There is also liability insurance "$$$$$$" A local spot is currently getting sued because some drunk idiot had a drink there and proceeded to kill three people in a crash. The bar is being sued for serving him. Big issue and a major concern for anyone who is anywhere in the chain. Next thing you know they will be sueing this board for providing the information with which I can make beer to drink and get drunk and crash my car... :mad:
Both myself and SWMBO have and she still is managing a bar. Any bar can be sued for over serving. We live in America, you know the place where noone wants to make money for themselves. And its never your fault here, so you can always blame someone else for you being a ******* and get rich off it.

As for going pro, a little town down the road from us called Bisbee, AZ where there is this guy who is now selling his beer in bars and liquor stores. Personally I think it tastes like crap and I can eventually do much better. But he first had a distributor bring them around to everyone. I'd like to find him and pick his brain on the subject if i ever get the chance.
 
I think that it is true, why ruin a good hobby. It's a far cry from brewing at home or with friends to having a brewpub. Even the cool brewery that i go to has changed in the last couple years, the crowd changes, the demand grows, the quality wanes from time to time. To find out your states requirements search your state department of licensing and regulation.
 
JimmyBeam said:
Both myself and SWMBO have and she still is managing a bar. Any bar can be sued for over serving. We live in America, you know the place where noone wants to make money for themselves. And its never your fault here, so you can always blame someone else for you being a ******* and get rich off it.

Well, yea, you can always sue someone, but that doesn't mean you will win. Here in AR, we have explicitly rejected dram shop liability (when you get drunk in a bar and do something stupid) so when the attorney filed the case against my brewpub (which I will hopefully have in about 8 years) I'd file a Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Rule 11 sanctions and attorney's fees. I'd probably file a bar complaint, too, and see how he liked all that crap.
 
I have a friend who owns a microbrewery - he was originally a homebrewer and thought it would be a fun job. A couple things he found:

1. You really need to also serve food.
2. When you own the place, you are ALWAYS there. It's almost impossible to take a day off.
3. When you do it for a living, it's not fun anymore.

I think the thing he misses most about "just" homebrewing is the ability to make whatever he wants. In a brewpub you have to make what sells, not what you think is good. When you brew all day at work you don't feel like brewing at night when you get home.

That being said, he has a really good pub, and does a great job. I wish there were more places like his.

***Shameless plug alert***
If you're ever in Kearney, NE make sure you stop in and check his place out:
http://www.pubcrawler.com/Template/ReviewWC.cfm/flat/BrewerID=103902

I also know these guys a block away. Great beer here too:
http://www.thunderheadbrewing.com/



:ban:
 
If the laws havent changed in AZ, getting a license to sell in a pub (real food not just burgers) is not that expensive, or hard. If you want to serve more than Beer and Wine it is big $$ since those ones are limited by the state. When a bar there sells the licsense will cost you more than the building and stuff inside.

Old HS buddy of mine's Grandfather had a bar/restaurant the Bar stayed open after the food stopped and when he died brett got 80% of the inheritance from the liquor license I been told in Nebraska Beer wine license is relatively cheap and easy to get for restaurants, not an issue for packaged sales (any), but a ***** for a bar and hard liquor.

Then there is the business licsense, taxes, health permits...
 
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