Colorado Licensing - Other Booze

[rbeaird87]

Hi,

I am in the late planning stages for a brewpub in Colorado Springs and would love a little clarification on licensing rules in CO. We would prefer to license as manufacturer/wholesaler because we plan to move to distribution in the future, however, we would really like to serve wine from the taproom. Is this possible, or would I need a brewpub license? I really would prefer not to have to deal with the 15% rule, if possible.

If its NOT possible, and I do need a brewpub license, what options are there, if any, regarding distribution?

Obviously, I will speak to a lawyer before making any final decisions, but I'd like to be armed with as much knowledge as possible, even if it is secondhand.

Thanks,
Robert

[brewmatt333]

It's been awhile since I looked at Colorado licensing, but from what I remember you can't serve any outside alcohol at a taproom with a manufacturers/wholesalers license. Brewpub licenses do allow a full bar.

A brewpub license is nice because it contains a wholesalers/manufacturers license in it. So you can do whatever distribution you want through it.

But it's been a while so I would consult a lawyer about it.

[rbeaird87]

Matt, thanks for the response. Good to know that distribution is allowed with the brewpub license. I'm sure there is some sort of fairly low BBL limit, but that isn't a huge concern.

[PPBC]

In order to serve wine (or distilled spirits) in CO, you must have a brewpub license. You are allowed to distribute up to 60,000 bbls/yr. 15% of on premise sales must be from food, but that is easy to accomplish. Shoot me a pm if you need more info.

Cheers
Chris