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Shipping beer from the brewery to consumer?

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  • Shipping beer from the brewery to consumer?

    There were a few posts earlier lightly touching on this topic, but i was wondering if there is any body in CA taking internet beer orders and then shipping them directly to the the consumer? I understand the cost of shipping might out weigh (and eat the beer profit up) the cost of the beer, but i was curious to see if anyone has had good expereinces with this.
    What additional licenses do i need to ship in CA(we currently hold a type 75 for the brewery and type 23 for the pub) and out of CA?

    Thanks....
    Nicholas Campbell

  • #2
    Shipping Beer to Consumers

    I don't have any answers for you on what is required in California, but I thought I'd mention that you'll need to look at the laws in every state in which you plan to ship to, because there are different requirements in each state that may, or may not allow you to ship beer directly.

    My state, Indiana, does not allow you to ship beer to a consumer from out of state, for example. A lot of states don't like having beer shipped direct because it has the potential to circumvent thier collection of taxes and so they either regulate it and require you to file with the receiving state or they don't allow you to do it at all.

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    • #3
      There are a great number of issues to look at with this proposition.

      1. To my knowledge you can't LEGALLY ship beer via DHL, UPS, etc.. Unless they are "yeast samples for lab analysis". A lot of homebrew clubs do this trick.
      2. What states would legally allow you to ship directly into the state. "self distro"
      3. You would not be able to "self distribute" for instance in states like Chicago, Maryland, New York just to name a few, so you'll have to do it through a Distributor and at that you can only hold a contract with one Distro company.

      Here's another example, If I'm set up as a Micro in Pennsylvania and want to sell my packaged beer in Maryland I have to do the following.

      1. Fill out a background check for the state
      2. Fill out General Permit for shipment into that state

      3. Hold a minimum surety bond for the state taxes

      4. Pay an additional 9 cents per gallon shipped into that state
      5. File non-resident dealer tax returns

      6. File non-resident dealer monthly report of shipment


      That's the legal way to sell your beer in the state of Maryland for instance. So you have to do that amount of work for every state. So internet beer orders don't exist as far as I'm concerned. Basically you would approach it as a brewery trying to sell into a new market. Which is why even for a 15bbl packaging micro it is a serious consideration. As of now only the wine industry is doing it and they have hefty paperwork as well I'm sure.
      Last edited by South County; 10-22-2008, 10:42 AM.

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      • #4
        Ok....we learn new stuff every day. Along with what I posted previously, which still holds some merit, I do stand to be corrected on what the law apparently states.

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