Starting Out in MA

[Westerfest]

I have been home brewing for a few years and recently began all grain brewing. I was looking aroun for some equipment upgrades and found the Brew Magic RIMS system from SABCO Industries. (1)Has anyone any experience with this system?

My goal would be to purchase it, spend some time developing recipes, and eventually market my product. (2) Has anyone ever ran a very small brewery ( 1 BBL or less) out of their home in MA?

I have been reading the MA laws, and feel I fall under the Farmer-brewery license. (3) Does anyone have any real-world experiences obtaining this license?

Lastly, I am new to the world of surety bonds. MA requires a $3000 surety bond, and the ATF requires, at minimum, a $1000 surety bond. (4)What are the real world costs of these bonds, and what is needed to secure one? (5) Can one bond be used for MA license and the ATF?

I am a Law Student, and presently money isnt very abundant. If I spend $4000 on a home brewing set-up, I would like to have the ability to market my product in the future without upgrading to a large scale microbrewery.

Thanks for your help
Tim

[Capt. Bob]

Step 1. Go to your county/city zoning department and see if it is possible
to brew out of your home. I'm guessing not...but you never know. Paying rent on a space, insurance, utilities, etc. will require quite a few 1bbl batches to cover.

Other than that...go for it...
You will get a slew of replies to your post saying you need
$300k to $400k of capital to make it work. Don't listen.
This entire industry was built by guys with some hair-brained scheme to brew and sell beer out of thier basement. It's worked before, it will work again. I'm counting on that myself!

All hail us dreamers!

Bob Sylvester
Saint Somewhere Brewing Co.
Tarpon Springs Fl

[mlabbe]

Hi Tim,

I worked at (and owned, for a couple of years) a Farmer Brewer permit brewery in MA. I've been through the entire permitting process, and have dealt with the Bonds that you asked about as well. I even have a SABCO system for prototype brewing. I would be happy to talk with you about all of the details. Check your PMs for all of my contact info.

Give me a shout if you'd like to chat!

Cheers,
Mike

[Westerfest]

I am having trouble finding zoning regs in my area. I live in a very small town and there is nothing online. I am presently overseas so I will have to wait a little while before I can contact someone. I did find some info for a town right outside of my own, where a friend of mine lives, and the zoning reg stated that a residential dwelling can only be used for buisnesses which are not harmful/bothersome to your neighbors or the general public. I dont see how brewing on such a small scale could be a hinderance to anyone, but who knows. So maybe if I can't do it in my town, I will have to hit my buddy up for some space!

I would also like to explain, before I get barraged with replies, that I am not getting into this to make money (not at this point). I know I will be lucky to break even distibuting on such a small scale, but I do want to develop some sort of product reputation before I jump into the world of microbrewing. I cant imagine the risk involved in dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into a microbrewery which creates a product that no one has ever heard of. That's just me.

Anyways, Mike, I will definately shoot you a message.

Thanks
Tim

[bennybrew]

(5) Can one bond be used for MA license and the ATF?


I had heard that the ATF will not give out home occupation license.