Legality Question - Releasing a small batch to a bar

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by tbm882, Jun 26, 2012.

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  1. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    If a licensed brewer/brewery wanted to feature a very small batch of beer (lets say 3-5 kegs) at a single bar, would this be legally difficult? Could anyone point me in the direction of where i could read more on the legalities of such a release? Could this also prove to be costly as compared to their typical larger scale batches?

    Background - I recently won a homebrew competition that advertized a grand prize of having the sponsor brew your beer and feature it at the bar/restaurant for a month. They have now backed out of this claiming that there was no "legal way" to make it happen. I wanted to look into this a bit more to see what my options would be, but am having trouble finding information.

    Any feedback or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
     
    #1 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
  2. Jason

    Jason Founder (0) Aug 23, 1996 Massachusetts

    If the beer is being brewed at a licensed brewery by them and they can legally distribute it on their own or through a distributor then there should not be a problem. Is this brewery in a different state from the bar you want it to be served at that perhaps they are not licensed in?
     
    #2 Jason, Jun 26, 2012
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  3. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I think the rules are going to be different in each state, so I'd start with your state liquor board/commission's website. Payment of taxes is going to be one factor, but bringing in a middleman (distributor) is also a complicating issue.
     
    #3 PapaGoose03, Jun 26, 2012
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  4. lvoutlawjlh

    lvoutlawjlh Initiate (0) Mar 15, 2012 Nebraska

    One of our local breweries holds these types of contests where the winner gets to choose what to brew and where. I didn't realize this was an issue of legality. Interesting.
     
    #4 lvoutlawjlh, Jun 26, 2012
  5. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    Thank you for the response. This is a large Massachusetts brewery and the beer was to be featured at a Massachusetts bar/restaurant. The brewery has yet to correspond with me in any way, I am only in contact with the venue (bar/restaurant).

    So in your opinion this seems less likely a legality issue and more of a cost issue? Maybe not worth the production of a very small batch?
     
    #5 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
  6. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    Where are you and what is the brewery?
     
    #6 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
  7. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    My guess at the moment is that the cost of the distributor is the limiting factor.
     
    #7 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
  8. lvoutlawjlh

    lvoutlawjlh Initiate (0) Mar 15, 2012 Nebraska

    #8 lvoutlawjlh, Jun 26, 2012
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  9. Hanzo

    Hanzo Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2012 Virginia

    So basically the brewery is just using your recipe and then brewing the beer, kegging it and sending it to a local bar/restaurant?

    Yeah, I doubt there is anything illegal about that, but it is probably costly to do legally, they don't want to pay it so they are giving you some bogus excuse.
     
    #9 Hanzo, Jun 26, 2012
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  10. slangtruth

    slangtruth Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2012 Kentucky

    I'm confused - who sponsored this contest, the brewery or the venue? If it's the brewery (who you said you hadn't heard from) you should just be talking to them. If it's the venue it looks like it's not gonna happen at their place no matter what you do.
     
    #10 slangtruth, Jun 26, 2012
  11. VncentLIFE

    VncentLIFE Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2011 North Carolina

    I wanna say Aviator Brewery in Fuquay-Varina, NC did a single hop beer for a single bar in Carrboro, NC (Milltown). It was rather easy to do for them. It was the only keg ever made.
     
    #11 VncentLIFE, Jun 26, 2012
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  12. benbking

    benbking Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2009 Rhode Island

    the bar/restaurant sponsored the contest and advertised a grand prize of having your beer on tap there. And they used the name of a pretty big brewery in the contest.
     
    #12 benbking, Jun 26, 2012
  13. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    It was sponsored by Sam Adams held at Jacob Wirth. I've repeatedly requested the contacts for Sam Adams with no result. I would email the basic email or twitter for Sam Adams but i don't know if that would get the appropriate response.

    The BA link for the competition
    http://beeradvocate.com/events/info/52273
     
    #13 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
  14. LambicKing

    LambicKing Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Germany

    Sorry to hear they may be reneging on their offer. Hopefully it works out...

    Congrats on your win! What style did you brew?
     
    #14 LambicKing, Jun 26, 2012
  15. carteravebrew

    carteravebrew Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2010 Colorado

    When hiphopj5 won a homebrew contest and we got to brew at New Belgium, they told us to let them know what local bars in our area we wanted the beer to be served at. We told them Fresh Craft in Denver, and they said it shouldn't be a problem. When the beer was released, we followed up to see when it would be on tap. They said it was too much of a hassle and too expensive to go through the channels of distribution to create a label for it and set it up as a distributed product. Understandable, but would have been nice to know up front before we went and told everyone they'll be able to try the beer we brewed at a local restaurant.

    Was still very cool to go to New Belgium's taproom and see the beer on tap with its own (albeit generic) tap handle.
     
    #15 carteravebrew, Jun 26, 2012
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  16. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    Thanks! It's a big let down on what could have been an awesome opportunity.

    It was a Jalapeno Cream Ale.
     
    #16 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
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  17. tbm882

    tbm882 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2007 New York

    Congrats on the win with New Belgium, what did you enter?

    I was think of asking them if they would display it in their taste room, or feature it at the local extreme beer fest, to skirt any cost issues.

    Agreed the worst part about this was that i told all my family and friends before i found out they weren't going to do it.
     
    #17 tbm882, Jun 26, 2012
  18. slangtruth

    slangtruth Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2012 Kentucky

    Sam can and probably will brew your batch, it's literally a drop in the bucket for them. It's just good public relations. They can't make JW take it if they don't want it, but it will probably be on tap somewhere for you to bring your buddies to try it. I suspect no one at JW knows anything about the legalities anyway. If I were you I'd call the BBC "Investor Relations" number 617.368.5074 and ask for Jim Koch's email. Don't screw around with the underlings. His office will get it done.
     
    #18 slangtruth, Jun 26, 2012
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  19. LambicKing

    LambicKing Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Germany

    This^^^ 1000%.
     
    #19 LambicKing, Jun 26, 2012
  20. carteravebrew

    carteravebrew Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2010 Colorado

    It was an oatmeal stout, and it was called Home Plate Stout; hiphopj5 originally brewed it for his neighbor, who is an umpire for high school and college baseball. It was served at 2011 Great American Beer Fest and competed in the Pro-Am competition there (didn't medal, but got lots of compliments on it).

    Either way, it was an amazing experience!
     
    #20 carteravebrew, Jun 26, 2012
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