Selling your brews!

[oz11]

..but don't forget the sliding scale of duty for small brewers:

Reduced rates for small brewers
Small brewers who produced no more than 60,000 hectolitres of beer in the previous calendar year may be entitled to a reduced rate of Beer Duty under the Small Breweries' Relief scheme. This applies on a sliding scale, starting at a reduction of 50 per cent for production of 5,000 hectolitres or less and decreasing for larger production volumes.

[BozBru]

I'm sorry, but the replies are way too long for me to read once the tap has been opened. But having said that, I would urge you to make contact with Hoggleys Brewery in the Northants area. The chap in charge is a solid bloke and he will always give advice. (Ifound this out as a lorry driver making a delivery, and his beers are fantastic) You can always gleen advice from people who are in the know. I could stand (well maybe nearly lying flat so far) and tell you that the the going rate for a brewery is £9.20 per hectolitre if said brewery has an annual brewing capacity of up to 60,000 hectolitres. Bloody hell, thats a lot. 1 hectolitre is a thousand litres. That's a lot of headaches. Boom. Not so much you might think for a bloke in his garage, but he would still be in the first category.

Do your sums. One thing the customs people (sorry, twats) will do is audit any easy opportunity, and unfortunately, that includes brewers.

I'm not trying to put a downer on things, but having a pub saying they'll take your beers does not mean much. The sales are the things to be looking for. Make sure you have at least (as an occasional brewer) 4 pubs on tap, (as a dedicated brewer) 12 pubs on tap and (as a serious contender) at least 24 pubs on tap.

I may be pissed as I type, but the gist is what I've had to go through for funding. It's an absolute ball breaker. Brewing for fun is rewarding, brewing for profit is a compete ball ache.

[crookedeyeboy]

"1 hectolitre is a thousand litres"

Incorrect, its 100 lts

[coatesg]

..but don't forget the sliding scale of duty for small brewers:

And the low end relief doesn't reduce small brewery duty - only ones over the lower limit. And HSBD is the same for everyone regardless of size.

[Crispy Hedgehog]

You will also need to look at HMRC Notice 226 (two threads in different areas going on about similar topic). Here's the link to the HMRC Notice.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... e=document

[Blackaddler]

Essential reading, if you're thinking about selling your beer... "The Microbrewers' Handbook" by Ted Bruning.

WHSmith or Amazon are probably the cheapest.

[alix101]

I'm going to buy that book...I've enjoyed this link but it a appears nobody has a definitive answer.

[coatesg]

Answer to what?

[alecwallace]

Hi

First post....

I too have been dreaming of selling my beer. My plan is to keep brewing for myself so i can nail my recipes and process and i have a few comps i want to enter to test my beer, however i have one eye on the future. I have seen a few brewers in sheds and garages selling commercially so it is possible. http://five-towns-brewery.blogspot.co.u ... ry_02.html seems to be one.

My plan is to produce 5-600 bottles a month. I would like to distribute to regional specialist beer shops. My USP is my size, and that essentially i am a homebrewer (who is selling legally). How amazing would it be to be competing with the "proper" micros. Id like to have a core range of fiveish beers, maybe IPA / Pale, Wheat, Golden / Blonde Ale, Stout, a brown beer such as a Dubbel / Scotch or English bitter. The plan would to be to release one a month and rotate through so say Jan - Dry Stout, Feb - Dubbel, Mar - Golden Ale, Apr - IPA. Then if i release a stout again for June i would either release a variation on the last by adjusting the recipe with perhaps more of a coffee or chocolate note or alter the yeast or release a milk stout for example. The IPA would vary by malt base or hop choice. I hope that rather than people seeing the same beer from the brewery their interest would be there for trying the latest happening. Its risky as there is no consistant recipe however if im adjusting one aspect i hope to minimise this.

I want to keep overheads to a minimum in terms of equipment invested in and by brewing from my garage. Im keen on this http://www.beermakingmachine.co.uk/.

Anyway...sorry ive waffled on for my first post but this is the first time ive written down my thoughts!

[coatesg]

I want to keep overheads to a minimum in terms of equipment invested in and by brewing from my garage. Im keen on this http://www.beermakingmachine.co.uk/.

£1650+VAT + delivery? Ouch!

[alecwallace]

[quote="coatesg"][quote]I want to keep overheads to a minimum in terms of equipment invested in and by brewing from my garage. Im keen on this http://www.beermakingmachine.co.uk/.[/quote]

£1650+VAT + delivery? Ouch![/quote]

It seems good £ per litre compared to http://www.pbcbreweryinstallations.com/1bbl.html ?

[alix101]

Answer to what?

The original post...

[gregorach]

I want to keep overheads to a minimum in terms of equipment invested in and by brewing from my garage. Im keen on this http://www.beermakingmachine.co.uk/.

£1650+VAT + delivery? Ouch!

Sorry, how much? Per firkin? Shine on you crazy diamond... Yeah, I'd be [censored]' keen on that!

[alecwallace]

I want to keep overheads to a minimum in terms of equipment invested in and by brewing from my garage. Im keen on this http://www.beermakingmachine.co.uk/.

£1650+VAT + delivery? Ouch!

Sorry, how much? Per firkin? Shine on you crazy diamond... Yeah, I'd be [censored]' keen on that!

So what is the best value brewery to produce 100 litres of beer without making multiple batches?

[boingy]

Is that one in Newcastle the same chap that was on here? Username was carpet something.