Minimal action to sell your beer

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Fluffhorton, Feb 19, 2015.

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  1. Fluffhorton

    Fluffhorton Initiate (0) Oct 11, 2012 New York

    What would a guy like me have to do to brew a beer, keg a beer, and have that beer served at a bar across the street?

    Im sure it's a long and not terribly easy process. I've just always wondered what sort of licenses/certificates etc you would need to sell small amounts of beer to a local bar
     
  2. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I have no idea, but sure there are alot of fees, permits, red tape to make it not worth your while in tiny quantity.

    How about brewing your own beer, starting a local "beer club" where friends, friends of friends, and local beer nerds come to your residence on invite, and trade you some of their quality beers to sit in your pseudo pub, have a few pints of your homebrew on occasion? Beat the system, plus you get comradery and possibly some good beers in return if you are making good product that people enjoy.
     
    lic217 likes this.
  3. barflybastard

    barflybastard Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2012 Pennsylvania

    A lot. And it'll vary by state. At least you're not in PA--though there will be a few states with more challenges.
     
  4. ShaneP

    ShaneP Zealot (504) Jan 26, 2013 Indiana
    Trader

    It depends on the state the brewery will be operating, but you have to both be licensed federally by the TTB (http://www.ttb.gov/) and then also by your state and then depending on the city/town you live in you may also be dealing with a local set of ordinances.

    It is usually a several month to more than a year long process or more depending on the size of the brewery and type of brewery (nano, brewpub, production brewery are all very different). The TTB has an online graphic that shows the average days to process applications based on type. That is process the application once it is turned in and that would be on top of all the work to fill it out and have everything in order. In December 2014 the average process time for a brewery application was 124 days.

    http://www.ttb.gov/nrc/average-days.shtml

    In our experience it was about 18 months from "let's do this" to brewing batch #1.
     
    jivex5k likes this.
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