Selling homebrews

[jstringer1983]

So just out of curiousity, how many of you have ever dreamed about one day selling your beer, even having it turn into a business? I have. I think about brewing all the time. I am an automotive mechanic by trade, but my dreams involve brewing. I know what most of you are thinking-yeah we have all thought about that at some point, dont do it, its not simple like you think, etc., i know. Trust me, i am a realist. Im not naive enough to think you just decide to make beer one day and away you go. However i do believe you should have a dream and some goals in life and this is mine. Are any of you selling your products or brewing in a financially rewarding way and if yes how did you get started?

 

[ktblunden]

Homebrew cannot be sold. Opening a licensed brewery requires a lot of capital and about a hundred miles of red tape to get through.

 

[chawn]

Here's a great thread on a startup from one of HBT's own:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=444132&highlight=Muddy+Creek

 

[sudbuddy]

Homebrew cannot be sold. Opening a licensed brewery requires a lot of capital and about a hundred miles of red tape to get through.

What he said. There's a reason it's called "home"brew

 

[outside92129]

It's illegal. That being said i used to have a neighbor that brewed 40-50gal batches and sold to fraternities and marines nearby. No car, no house, no wife, no job - nothing to lose (except some freedom). I wouldn't want the risk, just not worth it for me.

But do I think about giving the job the heave-ho and starting a nano-brewery? All the time. I also "free worked" at one of the craft breweries here in San Diego and got a taste of doing it "for real". And quickly saw that brewing (and doing anything for work) is work, it's not nearly as fun as homebrewing. And incredibly backbreaking. They gladly started me milling 45-50 bags of grain, i barely could walk after that. Then cleaning the brewkettle, etc. It's hard work. But i still think about it : )

 

[jstringer1983]

Thanks for the responses all i understand the advice based on your locations, but the good news for me is the region in canada i live in just made it legal to sell home made craft beers and wines at local market (farmers markets) with permission by the market owner and a certification obtained by the province. It is easily done as many a homebrewer from here can tell you. This is more what i was thinking, just to get my beers out there and see what the response was. In no way am i thinking commercial, but small micro or brewpub? Yes....

 

[1977Brewer]

That's amazing. Go for it, and good luck.

 

[aprichman]

Thanks for the responses all i understand the advice based on your locations, but the good news for me is the region in canada i live in just made it legal to sell home made craft beers and wines at local market (farmers markets) with permission by the market owner and a certification obtained by the province. It is easily done as many a homebrewer from here can tell you. This is more what i was thinking, just to get my beers out there and see what the response was. In no way am i thinking commercial, but small micro or brewpub? Yes....

That's awesome - wish we had a law like that down here in the States.

 

[IkeKrizzule]

What province is that?

 

[Bosh]

Now that I think of it, I wonder what the Korean laws are about selling homebrew. Might be fun to load up a cooler and sell some at a street market.

 

[jstringer1983]

British columbia is the province. Its a new law thats just passed and its got me interested. Ive got a ways to go still before i would make an attempt, as my 2 main recipes are still under construction, but thats exactly what i wanna try-do a run of nicely labeled bottles with a proven recipe inside and see what the feedback is. You dont know unless you try right?

 

[sandyeggoxj]

In the mean time keep entering those beers into competitions and see what the judges say. It will help you improve those recipes faster than just trial and error. The educated judge should provide you some great feedback.

I am jealous of your laws. They seem so awesome from this perspective!

 

[Takuie]

I think that as soon as you turn a hobby into a job, it would suck. Soon as you attach a paycheck to something it sucks. By trade I am a carpenter. Doing it as a job well let's say I get paid just enough to not quit and for that, I do just enough to not get fired.

I have read many many threads and books on starting/owning/operating a brewery. The one thing I found in common is that working/owning a brewery is just an over glorified janitor position.

I think at one time in our brewing lives, nearly all of us dreamed of going "big time". Don't let me discourage you, there are many that did make it. I'm just not willing to put out that much effort. Read how sam Adams got off the ground. He brewed, bottled and distributed his beer himself. Way too much hard work for me. I'll stick to enjoying my 5 gallon hobby.

 

[jstringer1983]

Its an awesome concept! Actually im jealous of the amount of homebrew clubs and judged competitions those of you in the U.S. have access to, there is literally nothing within a 2 days drive from me as far as a competition. All i have are friends and family to do my judging, which is not the most accurate lol, who doesnt love free craft brewed beers? But i am a perfectionist and i know my beers have a long way to go, so i think being humble and getting out there when the time is right will be a fun and exciting chapter in my hombrewing career

 

[jstringer1983]

And takuie, youre totally correct. Im in the same boat, working as a mechanic is far from my dream, but cleaning equipment and more cleaning equipment is far from glamorous also. I know we have all thought of doing this and there is probably a fantasy element to it, but i figure if i can sell enough beer on the side to pay for my time and ingredients, maybe it could turn in to something bigger down the road. Time will tell. Im shooting for next summer as my goal for being at the local market, under a tent with some nice looking bottles.

 

[SatanPrinceOfDarkness]

It's illegal. That being said i used to have a neighbor that brewed 40-50gal batches and sold to fraternities and marines nearby. No car, no house, no wife, no job - nothing to lose (except some freedom). I wouldn't want the risk, just not worth it for me.

But do I think about giving the job the heave-ho and starting a nano-brewery? All the time. I also "free worked" at one of the craft breweries here in San Diego and got a taste of doing it "for real". And quickly saw that brewing (and doing anything for work) is work, it's not nearly as fun as homebrewing. And incredibly backbreaking. They gladly started me milling 45-50 bags of grain, i barely could walk after that. Then cleaning the brewkettle, etc. It's hard work. But i still think about it : )

I have only volunteered at one place as an adult, and I loved it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have loved it if it was my job though. If you didn't like commercial brewing as a volunteer, I'll take that as serious evidence that it isn't that fun.

 

[bobeer]

Thanks for the responses all i understand the advice based on your locations, but the good news for me is the region in canada i live in just made it legal to sell home made craft beers and wines at local market (farmers markets) with permission by the market owner and a certification obtained by the province. It is easily done as many a homebrewer from here can tell you. This is more what i was thinking, just to get my beers out there and see what the response was. In no way am i thinking commercial, but small micro or brewpub? Yes....

This is awesome. Good luck! I wish I could do that. It would pay for the hobby 10x over. In VA I can't even brew it in a licensed approved facility and then sell it in a small store front. I have a detached garage at my house that would make for a perfect small sized brewery. I asked the state if I could brew there and then have a small store front to sell it out of. They said no. It has to be brewed and either sold at the same address or sold to a distributor- which would require me to bottle everything by hand... Damn the man... always keeping us down.

 

[Yooper]

Its an awesome concept! Actually im jealous of the amount of homebrew clubs and judged competitions those of you in the U.S. have access to, there is literally nothing within a 2 days drive from me as far as a competition. All i have are friends and family to do my judging, which is not the most accurate lol, who doesnt love free craft brewed beers? But i am a perfectionist and i know my beers have a long way to go, so i think being humble and getting out there when the time is right will be a fun and exciting chapter in my hombrewing career

I live 150 miles from a freeway- so I'm pretty sure I"m just as rural as you are (probably more so).

The way to enter competitions is not to drive there- but to send your beer to them. Here is the BJCP competition calendar: http://www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_schedule/competition_schedule.php

There are definitely more competitions in the US, but there are some in Australia, the UK, and Canada as well.

I drove 300 miles each way just to judge a competition (I am a certified BJCP judge). I recommend entering competitions because you get a complete score sheet from them, with tips on how to improve the beer if any off flavors are noted. It's one sure way to get non-biased feedback on your beer.

For me personally, I never once wanted to brew professionally. It's basically industrial cleaning with a lot of hard work thrown in the mix. I have friends who are pros, and they are the hardest working people I know. If you want to go on that path, that is wonderful but keep in mind that it's physically demanding and involves from very long days.

 

[jstringer1983]

I appreciate all the feedback, there are many valid points being made here and believe me, I am taking them all into consideration. Ive heard brewing involves very hard work/long grueling days once you go bigger, this is why i think selling on a small scale at the market will be a good way to get my feet wet and get a good sense of whether or not its the path for me. I think we can all relate as brewers to the dream of seeing someone pay for your beer because they enjoy it so much.Yooper-i wasnt aware that you could send your beers in for judging? I would love to have a certified judge give me feedback on my beer! Its what i need, most people i know are happy as long as its fizzy and cold lol, not so good when youre trying to fine tune a recipe. Ill do some research on this, competitions are another goal of mine. Cheers

 

[BrotherBock]

You can skirt around laws by setting up some taps in your basement, put up a "donation box," and provide beer for "free."

Might one day attract the attention of the authorities, but technically nothing illegal about that.

 

[ImNoExpert]

You can skirt around laws by setting up some taps in your basement, put up a "donation box," and provide beer for "free."

Might one day attract the attention of the authorities, but technically nothing illegal about that.

I'm not sure about the MN liquor laws, but in my state, technically everything would be illegal about that.

 

[Yooper]

I'm not sure about the MN liquor laws, but in my state, technically everything would be illegal about that.

No, it's definitely illegal in MN, too.

 

[brick_haus]

Can you give beer away to friends and let them donate to the cause if they wish? Not in your home, but say for instance a friend wants a keg for a party and he insists on paying for ingredients?

 

[MikeSkril]

Thanks for the responses all i understand the advice based on your locations, but the good news for me is the region in canada i live in just made it legal to sell home made craft beers and wines at local market (farmers markets) with permission by the market owner and a certification obtained by the province. It is easily done as many a homebrewer from here can tell you. This is more what i was thinking, just to get my beers out there and see what the response was. In no way am i thinking commercial, but small micro or brewpub? Yes....

I'm also in Canada but I guess what you say is true only for BC, right?

 

[jstringer1983]

Yeah im not sure about other provinces,but in bc theyve made it legal. Im going to have to look in to it further to get the details, but from all the literature ive read, craft brewers can apply to the market owner for permission and they can obtain their serving it right certification, which allows them the ability to provide free samples to those interested. In my town there is already one pico brewery that is taking full advantage of the new law and has a tent at the market every weekend.

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Yeah im not sure about other provinces,but in bc theyve made it legal. Im going to have to look in to it further to get the details, but from all the literature ive read, craft brewers can apply to the market owner for permission and they can obtain their serving it right certification, which allows them the ability to provide free samples to those interested. In my town there is already one pico brewery that is taking full advantage of the new law and has a tent at the market every weekend.

I just read something that says you must have an on-site store...no homebrew, Ubrew or Uvin is permitted. I read that into you must actually have a real business storefront to participate.

 

[Eh_Modern_Drunkard]

Thanks for the responses all i understand the advice based on your locations, but the good news for me is the region in canada i live in just made it legal to sell home made craft beers and wines at local market (farmers markets) with permission by the market owner and a certification obtained by the province. It is easily done as many a homebrewer from here can tell you. This is more what i was thinking, just to get my beers out there and see what the response was. In no way am i thinking commercial, but small micro or brewpub? Yes....

Sadly, that's not exactly the case. I'm also in BC.
To sell at the farmers markets, you still need the liquor license. In BC to get that, you still need to have a facility (with all it's permits and approvals from the province) leased for a minimum of 12 months. Essentially, you have to be a fully operational and licensed brewery before you can sell it there.
I had also got my hopes up when I had heard that news, sorry.

 

[ImNoExpert]

Can you give beer away to friends and let them donate to the cause if they wish? Not in your home, but say for instance a friend wants a keg for a party and he insists on paying for ingredients?

It depends on your state/provincial laws. But I don't think the local authorities would come knocking on your door unless you were trying to get compensation or open up your service to the general public.

 

[jstringer1983]

Really? Its somewhat confusing in the way its worded, do you have any links to the articles you found this out from by chance? Id like to find out so i can start researching. I know the brewery that sells here already is located on personal property at a place of residence, as mine also is, a seperate building from my home. Since ive owned the home for 4 years wouldnt that cover the location lease of 12 months if i were to decide i wanted to apply for a license?

 

[wardens355]

Can you give beer away to friends and let them donate to the cause if they wish? Not in your home, but say for instance a friend wants a keg for a party and he insists on paying for ingredients?

Give him the keg for free, but charge him for your help planning the party.