Selling/hobby

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

TwentyDuce

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Location
Glendora
I know most of us this is a fun hobby with pure excitment along the way and having a really awesome brew you made urself!! I was just curious if any of you brewmasters ;) sell ur product??
 
well i am asking because we all know places like "BJs" that brew and sell there own beer i even know of a single place thats not even a chain restaurant that brews and sells beer sooooo it cant be "illegal" i mean im sure it is by all means.... but how the hell do all these beers get out to the market if its illegal??
 
Wally world & CVS,to name a couple contract out their brews to a brewery with their name on it. We,as home brewers,don't have licenses to sell commercially.
 
It's illegal without the right permits/licenses, etc...

http://www.ttb.gov/

Right on - Its not too hard to do legally - you just need the right permits. Most homebrewers, if they wanted to sell on a limited quantity, could probably easily get a farm permit.

The kicker is that for most state licenses (varies by state) you need a permit from the TTB (Tax & Trade Bureau). The TTB has a requirement that you own the property (check one for most people - renters may be out of luck) and that it is not zoned residential. (Dual purpose commercial/residential I'm sure would be fine)

So you could brew out of your garage, and get a permit to sell legally. But you need the approval of the TTB first, and I think the FDA. So they would inspect your premises! That right there is the limiting factor for 99% of homebrewers, and thus why they don't take those steps, and it would than be illegal for them to sell. I've seen other threads talk about the legality, or lack thereof, of "trading" to friends for donations back into their equipment, etc. Generally all of that is illegal, but falls more into what should be moral guidelines rather then legal ones.
 
It's pretty simple (theoretically): you need the proper permits + licenses.

I think the majority of people on here frown upon selling one's homebrew because it's both illegal and because it puts homebrewing in the front light, especially when a homebrewer gets busted selling it.

Make some, drink some, give some. Leave it at that.

M_C
 
Yeah I distribute my homebrew. To my fridge. And then my stomach. And finally the toilet.

It's a pretty complicated economic chain, but I'm starting to get a hang of it.
 
I just had this convo with the wife last night. We were coming home from my niece's 1st birthday party. My 2 favorite parts of the party were watching the kids open the gifts and GIVING the homebrews out to the adults that wanted to try some.

It had dawned on me, last year at X-mas, that I enjoyed watching the kids experience the "Christmas magic" vs. receiving gifts. Do not get me wrong, getting stuff is cool but I personally like to see the looks on peoples faces from the gifts I give more than what I get.

I explained this to the wife and that is when it "clicked" that the "giving of the home brews" is a facet of the hobby I truly enjoy! I do not want my friends and families money, I want to share happiness with them. To me a hand crafted gift is WAY better than anything that is just bought and wrapped up.

If you want to turn your hobby into a job feel free to legally pursue that dream but IMO the fast way to destroy a hobby is to turn it into a job.

GL
 
What I tell people who have tasted and want to purchase my homebrews is this , I will put a recipe together and tell you how much it will cost, I will brew it and give it to you. So technically you are not selling it to them.
 
Well,they say that if you enjoy what you do,it's not a job anymore. I guess they never tried brewing on a larger scale. That sounds like j-o-b to me...
 
Also, you are in CA, so you would need a commercial building. You can't produce food/drink in a residence in CA and sell it...

Don't tell the ladies that sell tamales in the grocery store parking lots...
 
It's against the law to sell homebrew. If you follow all the Federal, state and local hurdles to obtain the right permits, then you would no longer be a homebrewer, you'd be a professional brewer. But you can't legally sell your homebrew. But ANY medium of exchange for your homebrew is illegal.
 
It's against the law to sell homebrew. If you follow all the Federal, state and local hurdles to obtain the right permits, then you would no longer be a homebrewer, you'd be a professional brewer. But you can't legally sell your homebrew. But ANY medium of exchange for your homebrew is illegal.

But . . . I . . . found this loophole, you see . . .

Just kidding.
 
I have looked into it extensively here in CA. Your biggest potential headache is your local government. The CA ABC and TTB really care mainly about excise taxes being paid and labeling. Your city/county is who you really need to worry about. They can/will tell you where you can set up your operation. That was the big problem I have encountered. My city won't budge on a zoning regulation that states that no part of a garage can be used for a commercial operation. It's frustrating because the use is still happening (brewing beer) but I can't commercially sell it. It actually has been a blessing in disguise. Nanobrewery's don't really make much, if any, money selling beer unless you have a tap room. The margins are just too thin selling kegs. What I have done instead is make up cool t-shirts with the brewery logo that I sell. In CA homebrewers can also pour at beer festivals. So I get to get my beer out to the general public and they buy t-shirts. The sale of t-shirts covers the cost of beer and I make a small profit.
 
I never sell my homebrew. But I LOVE to share it with guests. A couple of cyclists from Germany, were in our town a few days ago so we invited them over to hear about their trip across Canada. When my wife mentioned that I make beer their eyes widened and they wanted to see 'Swan Lane Brewery'. All kinds of questions... then of course, they wanted to try it, saying that generally at home all they see is Pilsner. When they tasted my Hobgoblin clone they were thrilled, impressed and excited that it was so good. That was quite a moment for the head brewer, I must admit! I love to share the results of my hobby!!!

We invited them to stay that night and they sampled quite a bit more of the Hobgoblin as well as the Prairie Wheat (kit).

B
 
Yeah I distribute my homebrew. To my fridge. And then my stomach. And finally the toilet.

It's a pretty complicated economic chain, but I'm starting to get a hang of it.

The trick is balancing the supply vs demand so you don't either drive the price up or make is so cheap you drink like a fish. :drunk:
 
If you want to turn your hobby into a job feel free to legally pursue that dream but IMO the fast way to destroy a hobby is to turn it into a job.

If more people thought this through, they'd just copy and paste the above quote.

Every single step required to turn homebrewing into a business is a headache.
 
Back
Top