Question regarding Growlers

[infectedbrew]

I have friends, family, and followers who are wanting to purchase my beer, but of course as a home brewer I cannot "legally" sell my product.

What are the laws, restrictions or whatever when it comes to selling custom growlers, and then filling them as a thank you for the purchase of the growlers.

I'm looking to get some custom growlers created with a logo and everything. So if I sell these growlers as a limited edition run of growlers, and as a thank you for the purchase I will fill them with a sample of whatever beer I have on tap. I will not have them pre-filled and sold full. I will sell them the growler, they take possession and then they leave, but as a friend or family member, if they ask to have it filled with any of my beers I would do so.

Is this at all illegal, or am I all good?

 

[johngaltsmotor]

At least in Ohio you're not allowed to give away alcohol. (But that doesn't stop the beer reps from having the Bud or Miller girls walk around handing out beer.)

Granted, if they give you money for freshly innoculated wort and don't retrieve it for 3-5 weeks and you happen to rack and carbonate it for them...they aren't technically buying alcohol, just yeasty hoppy malty water.

(disclaimer: I have no legal training and will not appear if summoned to court as a witness or co-defendant...)

 

[SnakeRidge]

I'm no lawyer, but from reading these threads as they pop up again and again, there is no way to respect the spirit of the law and receive compensation for your beer without a license. You cannot accept goods or services for beer. You cannot give away beer. No trading, no free givaways. You can't charge people for a cup and then give them beer for free.

There are plenty of ways to play cute with the Letter of the law, but if you've got ATF up in your business, you've got bigger fish to fry.

 

[Yooper]

It's still illegal.

It's illegal to sell cups, and then give away beer also. (Another way that people try to justify selling homebrew).

In some states, even giving homebrew away is illegal, and in some states you can't take "home"brew out of your own home where it was brewed even for personal use.

Alcohol is pretty tightly regulated, and much of that is due to the tax laws. In some states, it's fairly easy to get a farm brewery license, and in some states it's almost impossible to open a nanobrewery. Laws vary from state to state, but no where is selling homebrew (or empty containers to be filled for free) legal.

 

[infectedbrew]

Well in Florida home brewers are allowed to give away their homebrew as I've participated in many beer fest's with homebrew pavilions and all I'm doing is giving away free beer there.

 

[Yooper]

Well in Florida home brewers are allowed to give away their homebrew as I've participated in many beer fest's with homebrew pavilions and all I'm doing is giving away free beer there.

But "free beer" is one thing, making it conditional (buying a growler) makes it a sale.

It's good in Florida that there are no limits on giving away beer. In Michigan, we used to be limited to a 6 pack but now are allowed to give away up to 20 gallons.

You can do what you want, but our forum will never condone doing something that is not legal.

 

[bondra76]

I fill up growlers for friends and family all the time.

If you're doing it in public and marketing it (or marketing it on the internet) that's one thing. If you're filling up a growler for the dude down the street that's another.

They're all probably illegal if you want to get all technical and into lawyer jargon. If you want to market beer and take money for it (and this is going to be like a career thing or means of making money for yourself), you need a license. If you're giving it to buddies and they're not CIA or FBI (or you're not out on the curb of your driveway with a lemon shandy stand), you're probably ok.

 

[flars]

Give it to them for just because they are family. Maybe you will get a Christmas present of something you really need.

If they drink your home brew on the way home, or get stopped for some other reason, your're screwed.

 

[hunter_le five]

I always love these threads.

If money is being exchanged for homebrew, no matter how roundabout you try to make the process, it is still a constructive sale and still illegal. The ABC and TTB aren't that stupid, and will see right through it.

 

[noggins]

My response: What's a good way to lose friends, family and followers? Make them illegally pay for your homebrew. What's a great way to make friends, family, and loyal followers? Give them lots of free homebrew. Do that for a while and see how little you care about a few bucks. If you're so strapped for cash that you can't afford to brew and give some(most) away, maybe you should worry about that before trying to profit from your hobby.

Your (likely) response: But they've already told me they're happy to give me money, and brewing good beer is expensive! I'm not trying to do anything illegal or wrong, I just wanna help them out without eating too much into my own supply!

My response: Teach them how to home brew. Invite them over for your next session and watch their mind explode. Even if they're not interested in investing in the hobby, you can at least get some free help in exchange for your delicious brew.

P.S. Feel free to send a custom growler full of your delicious brew my way for tons more free advice.

 

[Fedora]

Who would wanna buy infectedbrew anyway?

 

[lump42]

If you look at the AHA website: http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrewing-rights/statutes/Florida/, Homebrew "may be removed from the home for personal or family use, including use at organized affairs, exhibitions, or competitions, such as home brew contests, tastings, or judging. Beer used for this purpose shall not be sold or offered for sale."

According to that, it would be illegal to give beer away for free to friends and possibly extended family, depending how they defined a family (household, biological, legally). Beer festivals are not considered giving away beer as they are apart of a special provisioned event.


If you are serious about wanting to know the legality of it contact Florida's ABC. They will be the only definitive place to find out legality of beer.

Bureau of Licensing and Records Division of Alcohol, Beverages and Tobacco
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/abt/
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1021
Phone: 904.488.8288
Fax: 904.488.9264

 

[infectedbrew]

Never mind..don't feel like being flamed today...as you were.

 

[hunter_le five]

Who would wanna buy infectedbrew anyway?

I love sours!

 

[Fedora]

Oh, I's just kidding.

As for what you're proposing, you might get away with it, but it's not in the spirit of homebrewing. In my opinion. Homebrew is for sharing, not selling.

If you wanna sell beer, open a brewery. And I can tell you from experience that brewing beer to sell is not nearly as much fun as brewing beer to share.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Never mind..don't feel like being flamed today...as you were.

Please understand: this question has been asked here. Over. And over. And over. And over again.

And the answer is always the same: no matter how you slice it, you're selling homebrew, which is illegal. All the legal "work-arounds" you suggest have come up in threads here too. And it's still illegal.

And as many times as the question gets asked, the answer is the same. It's illegal.

People are short with you because they've seen this thread play out 100 times. That's not your fault, and is not fair to take it out on you. Sorry.

But it's still illegal.

Now, what you do with that info is up to you. Are you worried your family and friends would turn you in? Do you think there's much likelihood of getting caught? Is the risk worth it? None of us can answer that for you.

But the question you asked was whether it's legal. And the answer is no.

 

[Natdavis777]

I give away homebrew all the time. I even trade with some docs at work. No issues (except the docs walking around a hospital with a six pack).

On the other hand, if someone wants some of my beer, or a certain recipe, they simply buy the ingredients... They pay for the grain, water, yeast, and hops, and I will brew it for them. No money for labor. Not illegal in my state. They just get a bunch of beer for a fraction of the price, via keg or bottles.

 

[noggins]

On the other hand, if someone wants some of my beer, or a certain recipe, they simply buy the ingredients... They pay for the grain, water, yeast, and hops, and I will brew it for them. No money for labor. Not illegal in my state. They just get a bunch of beer for a fraction of the price, via keg or bottles.

:rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin:
:rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin:
:rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin::rockin:

 

[Firewalker11]

I give away homebrew all the time. I even trade with some docs at work. No issues (except the docs walking around a hospital with a six pack).

On the other hand, if someone wants some of my beer, or a certain recipe, they simply buy the ingredients... They pay for the grain, water, yeast, and hops, and I will brew it for them. No money for labor. Not illegal in my state. They just get a bunch of beer for a fraction of the price, via keg or bottles.

I have to deal with the TTB and state all of the time at the Vineyard I work at and this is always a point of contention and one that they like to come down hard on.

In agreement with the attached quote, "If they make it they can take it" according to the TTB inspector I was interviewed by when I wanted to start brewing classes at the vineyard. It's all about possession and ownership, they bring the grain, make it and transport it, its all good.

The sticky part comes when you provide the finished product and trade for it. That is called "being in commerce" and they will NOT debate it with you.

Don't sell it, EVER! Not to your dad or cousin, it's illegal in all 50 states, period.

That is all, carry on... :rockin:

 

[hifidelity]

Part of the joy of homebrewing for me is giving it away and getting feedback.

 

[oujens]

One thing to consider is the resources available to the agency regulating the sale of alcohol. It would not be wise to get crossed with them. Chances are as a homebrewer you wouldn't be worth the hassle, but never say never.

 

[oujens]

Part of the joy of homebrewing for me is giving it away and getting feedback.

I second this. It's like making awesome BBQ. I'm not looking for profit, just enjoyment and input on what I might be able to do to make the next batch better. If you want help absorbing the cost, there are probably better ways to go about it than leaving a trail of "sold goods."

 

[Brew_G]

I have friends, family, and followers who are wanting to purchase my beer, but of course as a home brewer I cannot "legally" sell my product.

What are the laws, restrictions or whatever when it comes to selling custom growlers, and then filling them as a thank you for the purchase of the growlers.

I'm looking to get some custom growlers created with a logo and everything. So if I sell these growlers as a limited edition run of growlers, and as a thank you for the purchase I will fill them with a sample of whatever beer I have on tap. I will not have them pre-filled and sold full. I will sell them the growler, they take possession and then they leave, but as a friend or family member, if they ask to have it filled with any of my beers I would do so.

Is this at all illegal, or am I all good?

Others have already touched on the legality of your plan. I think I see what you're getting at. It seems that you want to buy growlers in bulk that people can use for whatever reason, but you'd want to recoup your costs so you'd need to charge these folks for them. It just gets tricky when you start talking about homebrew and money changing hands.

As an alternative, perhaps you could provide the logo to your friends and family so they can buy the growlers on their own. You could then fill the growlers when requested and you have the beer available.

I don't know whether that would be legal (I assume it would be), but it's worth looking into.

 

[flars]

In some states it isn't legal for home brew to leave the brewers house in the possession of some one else.

You need to check the laws of your state.

 

[ericbw]

I fill up growlers for friends and family all the time.

If you're doing it in public and marketing it (or marketing it on the internet) that's one thing. If you're filling up a growler for the dude down the street that's another.

They're all probably illegal if you want to get all technical and into lawyer jargon. If you want to market beer and take money for it (and this is going to be like a career thing or means of making money for yourself), you need a license. If you're giving it to buddies and they're not CIA or FBI (or you're not out on the curb of your driveway with a lemon shandy stand), you're probably ok.

Can we hear more about the possibility of a lemon shandy stand? When, where, etc.? I'll be there.

 

[Yesfan]

...The Lord giveth, and the ATF taketh away...............

 

[hunter_le five]

Can we hear more about the possibility of a lemon shandy stand? When, where, etc.? I'll be there.

"There's always money in the lemon-shandy stand." *wink*

 

[bondra76]

Can we hear more about the possibility of a lemon shandy stand? When, where, etc.? I'll be there.

 

[Natdavis777]

You could also sell oranges on the corner like Terry...

 

[brick_haus]

California. Can't leave your property unless it's with you(brewer) and for your, your family, or your friends consumption. You can only legally brew 100ons/year. And it can be donated to a not for profit org. for use in a "qualified" event. ALL PARAPHRASED