Legal Name with Contract Brewing and TTB

[Salt]

Hopefully within the next year I will be bringing my beer to the market. Instead of making a huge investment in a brick and mortar brewery, I decided to test the waters so to speak and go the contract brewing route with the intent of down the road establishing an actual brewery. My question is in regards the to title "Beer Company" as opposed to "Brewing Company".

Like I said down the road I will be brewing in house. I know in terms of requirements with the TTB if your beer is contract brewed you have to use the title "Beer Company" as opposed to "Brewing Company" due to a lawsuit (I do agree). I just don't like the sound of "Beer Company".

I know its kind of late in the game, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Is there anything that can be done as far as getting "Brewing Company" in the name of my company? I understand there is less work involved with contract brewing and TTB because you are technically really just a wholesaler. I am willing to do more work and apply for a full on brewery, though I wouldn't have a brewery floor plan, waste water accountability, ect. Would that be possible? Just thinking out loud. A name change down the road isn't really plausible.

I have heard of other contract beers/companies that contract out and still have the title "Brewing Company" and it has been discussed here before but no one seemed to know how. The only thing I can think of would be that they are grandfathered in pre-lawsuit or produce a certain amount of beer in house.

Any help would be appreciated as I have to Incorporate relatively soon. Thank you gentlemen.

[burcher]

you just need a dba or 'doing business as'. to fulfill the requirements of contract brewing your company name is XXX beer company. When you start to brew on your own you get a dba (fill out the forms) and change the name. Kinda like how sam adams is a dba of boston brewing company. The way i understand it, that would work.

[Salt]

Cool man, thanks alot.

[MatthewS]

Burcher seems right... but Sam Adams is Boston Beer Company NOT Boston Brewing Company.

[burcher]

oh yeah, word

[jesskidden]

Can someone site the exact details of the lawsuit (or a link) that resulted in contract brewers no longer being able to use "___ Brewing Company" in their name? It was obviously not the case in the first few decades of the "craft beer era", since many early contractee companies used the term (Pete's, Old Manhattan [New Amsterdam]), etc.

And, of course, while the Boston Beer Company is the prime example of the opposite, they obviously "borrowed" the name from the defunct "Boston Beer Company" which once held the "America's Oldest Brewery" title for the first couple of decades after Repeal. It's wasn't until the mid-1950's that Yuengling defaulted into the title, when the original BBC folded in 1956. I've never read anything that suggest Koch HAD to use "Beer Company" in the beginning.

Does the current BBC really "do business as" "Samuel Adams"? I know they've re-named their two "macro-built" breweries (Schoenling in OH and Schaefer in PA) themselves after their main brand- mostly because neither is in Boston , but that's not really "dba" (it's kinda the reverse).

[barleyjac]

At Terrapin Beer Company we started as a contract and had to change from our original Terrapin Brewing Company due to this law. However we now have a brewery and are still Terrapin Beer Company.

Honestly we have learned that it does not really matter one way or the other to 99.9% of the people out there. No matter what your name you will find some people will call you "X Beer Company", some will say "X Brewing Company" and some will even use "X brewery". It should not matter as long as they know "X".

Cheers,
John Cochran
Terrapin Beer Brewing Brewery

[bcofresi]

Find a contract brewery that will sign a contract with you as an "Alternating Proprietorship" brewery. Then you will be a "real " brewery and can use x Brewing Company as your name. I think that 30 minutes on the TTB website referencing "Alternating Proprietorship" will make it all very clear.

Brian Cofresi
Brewmaster,
River City Brewing Co.
Sacramento, CA

"Brewing without a helmet since 1994"

[anda]

The reason for the "brewing" co versus "beer" co is that, unless you qualify as a brewery with the TTB, you are not one. A wholesaler or retailer, having beer made for it by another brewery cannot call itself a brewery. You can, however, still qualify as a "brewery" with the TTB, and have your beer contract brewed. You need to lay out a business plan for them, and provide them with your contract. As someone mentioned, the other option is to do an alternating proprietorship - split the use of the brewery with another brewery. Here's a link to the TTB's regulations on this: http://www.ttb.gov/beer/alternating_prop.shtml

Good luck!

http://legalbrewing.com/

[barleyjac]

I have found that most breweries doing contracts for you may not be willing to do an "AP" at first. It is a lot of extra paperwork on their part and they will likely want to be sure your business will be around for the long haul before they enter such an agreement. If you do find someone who will work with you on this, congrats.

[porter]

Let me get this straight

So, does the company name as it was incorporated have to be "X Beer Company" in order to start as a wholesaler having beer contract brewed?

Or can the dba of the "brewing company" be "beer company" to satisfy the TTB? I can't seem to find any details on the TTB site...

[frigatebay]

Im pretty sure you can have the brewery file a dba as abc brewing company and you can be abc beer company, then the label can say brewed by abc brewing company for abc beer company