Barrel of laughs

[Derby Dabbler]

A chap I know is running a beer festival (about 12 ales) in a couple of weeks and has very nicely allowed me to put out my beer among the commercial offerings. Only one problem. How the hell am I going to package all 72 pints of it!

Ideally I'd like to put it in a firkn or a pin to match up with the rest of the beers. The only problem is I don't have a firkin or a pin, or a cask washer.

I have given some thought to a polypin and this will probably be the final outcome but I wondered if anyone had any bright ideas (no pun intended).

The beer is going to be for evaluation purposes and non commercial by the way.

Its been conditioning in a pair of corny kegs and is bang on target to be perfect by the date.

Help and advice gratefully accepted!

[orlando]

How about decanting into the polypin "No-Chill" type cubes? I think you can get them with cardboard outers.

[Derby Dabbler]

Thanks Orlando,

That is my default fall back position. I'd like if possible however to blend in a bit better with the big boys. I was wondering about going and grovelling to one of the local micros and asking to rent a barrel for a couple of days.

[orlando]

Why not. But ask them to steam clean or whatever their sanitation regime is. I understand these types of cask are quite difficult to clean because of such small apertures and domestically it is too difficult to achieve their standard.

[Martin G]

You've looked into HMRC?

[Derby Dabbler]

Yes. I'm literally giving it away. Its 100% for evaluation purposes.

[Crispy Hedgehog]

Even if you aren't selling the beer, only for evaluation, you'll still have to be registered as a Micro-Brewer and still be liable to HMRC Alcohol Duty. The only way we as "Home Brewers" do not have to be registered and pay duty is that "we" are brewing beer for our own consumption. You're not as you are

giving it away. Its 100% for evaluation purposes

. Martin G is quite right.....

[Derby Dabbler]

I called them and asked them directly. I am repeating the answer that HMRC gave me. As long as it was non commercial no duty was payable. You don't pay tax on beer you give away to your family, friends, the bloke at work who says home brewed beer is rank.

You pay tax on beer that is, at any point in the chain between FV and someones mouth paid for.

Where life is more complicated is if you want to be commercial and still give beer away.

[Derby Dabbler]

I've now speed read the 112 page document and I agree that the document doesn't say what the person on the phone said, although I did discuss some volumes on the phone so maybe that was part of the reason.

I think the safest thing to do would be to go through the process of registering with a home production output of about 1.9 hectolitres and a beer festival output of 1 hectolitre.

Producing returns for 1/2 pint 3 nights a week and 1 pint 2 nights per week, along with lab analysis of each of the 12 different brews I produce each year would be boring and the paperwork would cost the revenue more than the tax obtained.

What is interesting is that actually you shouldn't be giving beer away at all, as that is not domestic consumption, so in the terms of the document, CBA meets and competitions would all be breaking the law!

[Crispy Hedgehog]

the formula for HMRC Alchohol Duty for standard/General strength Beer (above 2.8% abv upto 7%abv (approx) is £19.51 per hecolitre per cent of alcohol in the beer. so an average 4.5%abv beer is approx 51p in Duty per pint. the amount brewed is irrelevant

[Derby Dabbler]

There's another poster on the site that registered with HMRC (stating predicted volume as required) and they wrote back to say let us know when you exceed x Hectolitres as we cannot be bothered to collect the tax for that low a volume. So yes, volume has (anecdotally) got something to do with it. Not to mention small brewery 50% discount of course.

On my stated output they'll make between £40-120 in return for analysing and administering 12 returns and an inspection.