Would you consider this illegal?

[guitarist_713]

A while back I gave a couple of bottles of Irish Red Ale that I made from an all grain kit from NB. Today he asked me if I could make some more- he said he would pay me to brew a five gallon batch for him. I told him I'd do it for $1 a beer. 48 Irish Reds for $48. After paying for S&H it cost me $32.50 to brew this beer so I'm not making a huge profit. Has anyone else ever home brewed on commission ?

 

[Golddiggie]

By the letter of the law, that's illegal. You could have him pay for the kit/ingredients and such, but not the beer. Its also, technically, considered beer as soon as you pitch the yeast.

 

[dbsmith]

By the letter of the law, that's illegal. You could have him pay for the kit/ingredients and such, but not the beer. Its also, technically, considered beer as soon as you pitch the yeast.

So can you sell the wort, and have him pitch the yeast? Then he can pay you for your bottling services?

 

[lumpher]

yep, it's illegal. making profit in any way selling alcohol is not allowed if you don't have a license. as far as "selling wort", and have them pitch the yeast, i wouldn't, but that's just me being careful

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/selling-wort-217667/

 

[Golddiggie]

So can you sell the wort, and have him pitch the yeast? Then he can pay you for your bottling services?

I believe so. At that point, he's fermenting it (have him do it at his place so it doesn't count against your yearly max). As for bottling, just get him to buy the bottles and show him how to do it. I wouldn't charge for the bottling, since that could also get you into trouble.

To be 100% certain, consult a lawyer first.

 

[helibrewer]

Who is this person? A friend? Just have him reimburse for the ingredients...an individual can gift up $10,000 per year without tax consequences, just keep the transactions seperate

 

[JLem]

So can you sell the wort, and have him pitch the yeast? Then he can pay you for your bottling services?

Technically, I think you are correct, though I don't know if you need a license to sell food products (which wort is).

And while you're at it, why not charge him for keeping his fermenting wort at your house. And for the time you spend checking on I and keeping it safe?

 

[Yooper]

Selling homebrew, bartering homebrew, etc is illegal in all cases.

In some states, homebrewing itself is still illegal. In some states, you can brew, but you can't remove "home"brew out of your home!

Let's not get into this debate. No matter how you try to shade it, selling homebrew (or even being reimbursed for ingredients) is always illegal.