Blending in the US

I may be wrong (it's happened once or twice), but I thought that's what Vanberg & DeWulf was doing with their Lambickx. It wouldn't be American lambics they're using, but the blending is still done in New York as far as I know.

 

I know of a beer that's will be lambic blended coming out in the near future, so it's legal. I assume the transportation logistics and limited supply (Does Boon, Cantillon, Girardin, etc really have excess capacity?)

 

DFH Burton Baton is a blend of 2 beers.

Bells Black Note is a blend of Expedition Stout and Double Cream Stout.

Those 2 are off the top of my head.

 

I'm no expert, but it appears to be perfectly legal. I have never had this
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/58840
But it does indicate that it is rotating

 

This probably doesn't help much, but I could have swore Hill Farmstead said something about blending lambic, but that could have just been me remembering MasterSki's review of Saison Lambic Pinot Noir.

I do remember a thread back before the crash that stated belgiuminabox stopped shipping lambic in a box to US addresses, but they may have changed that? I don't really know if a state-side brewery can go about getting lambic straight from Belgium through personal connections though.

In conclusion, I do not know.

EDIT: Is Hill Farmstead the only brewery to use dregs from another brewery or are there others?

 

These are both blended by their respective brewers. I think OP is taking about blending using other brewery's products.

 

I believe the question is asking if beers from different breweries could be blended within the law of the United States. Breweries already do a fair amount of blending their own beers (Firestone Walker, Bruery, etc, etc)

 

A brewery blending their own beer(s) before packaging and before the excise tax paid, etc., is obviously legal. As is "blending" on the retail level (the making of black & tans, etc).

In between, it would probably depend a lot on how the TTB views it. There are rules about brewers selling other brewers "beer concentrate" and unfermented wort - perhaps a brewery could convince the Feds that the finished beer is really an "ingredient" to be blended with another beer at another brewery. Brewers have legally shipped beer in bulk to be packaged at another brewery (Matt shipped their beer to Genesee after their canned line was destroyed, and Harpoon ships beer from Vermont to be canned at Matt) - don't know how that is arranged as far as excises taxes go.

Generally, a brewer has to pay excise tax on any beer that leaves the brewery - if that beer was then blended with another beer at another site, it would then in theory have to pay excise tax again when it leaves the "blending" brewery.

 

Right. I think we are all lost on this one, but we will continue to post anyway.

Cheers!

 

Oh! Collage! Duh.

Were all of the original beers brewed at either Deschutes or Hair of the Dog? This could be the answer...

 

This is an excellent question.

We have stupid alcohol laws here in the states. I know there are a few people over in Belgium (Uli and others) who buy wort at lambic breweries age it and blend into Gueuze. Basically they are home Gueuze blenders. The stuff I have tried has been real real good. I spent 2 weeks tickin beers in Europe and THE best beer I tried on the entire trip was a home blended S. Kriek that I was given a pour at the Borfets beers fest. (It wasn't Uli BTW). Amazing stuff. I am not sure if this would fly over here. Someone buying wort at a brewery and aging it and bottling on there own. I doubt it. Someone stateside would find some issue with that.

There are some blended beers that are legally sold here stateside though I am pretty sure they are blended over there. I know Cueve De Ranke and Kriek De Ranke are ales blended with Girardin (I believe).

BTW the De La Senne lambic blended stuff I have tried has been awesome. Too bad they are the only people Cantillon will share there beer with

 

OK, I see that now. After some thinking, how about this one. Not only 2 breweries, but one from the USA and one from Belgium.
http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=fc099739-4419-4714-86db-5aafc83e56e0

 

How about this one?
http://www.ommegang.com/#!beer_three

 

Ok. Looks like hopfenunmaltz found two nice examples.

 

Birra Del Borgo makes Duchessic, which is blended with Cantillon lambic... it is blended overseas of course: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14046/53841

 

More like finally remembered those in the back of my mind. It seems like there is another I can't bring to the front.

 

So you're sure this beer is bottled in New York? The bottle says "Product of Belgium" and I thought USA was relatively strict about lies like that.

 

It wouldn't be a lie, since "Product of Belgium" and "Bottled in NY" aren't mutually exclusive.

TTB regulations don't even require the name of the brewer/bottler on imports - only the importer: