what permits are required for Beer fest in NYS??

[drink crafty]

I need a little guidance for attending my first brew fest. The NYS liquor authority web site stinks and after being on hold for over half an hour I was told I needed a marketing permit to attend a local beer festival. In addition, the marketing permit asks for a transportation permit. Does anyone know what is actually required to attend a beer festival in New York State? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!
Mike Darling
Crafty Ales and Lagers
Phelps, NY

[kugeman]

Mike,
The short answer is no. No one knows what you really need. They passed a bunch of new licensing stuff in the legislature in the last year. Most of it is very beneficial to the brewing industry in NY, but some stuff has caused a lot of confusion. We didn't used to need any special permits to pour beer at a beer festival as long as the festival itself is had the proper permits. But this year some festivals have started asking for the marketing permits. You can call the SLA 10 times and you're going to get 10 different answers.

My advice, if the festival says you need a marketing permit then you should get one. It's pretty easy. You're right about the "transportation permit" part of the application but to be honest I kind of ignored that part when I filled out the permit for my last festival and I got my permit approved.