Selling home brew

[alawlor66430]

Could you legally sell a few bottles of your better brews on a stall at the local market, just enough to pay for the next brew, or would you need a license for that, or would you be covered under the markets own license for trading??

 

[kev]

Is this a joke?

Can the mods delete this please?

K

 

[carl_saint]

Short answer NO! Not sure exactly what you would need to go through but it's not worth it for a few bottles!

 

[alawlor66430]

Just wandered wasn't planning to get the pasting table out didn't know if it was even legal

 

[oldbloke]

You can't sell it. Check out the threads about people going commercial to see the hoops you have to go through.
Technically, you can't even give it away.
"Domestic consumption" only.

 

[oldbloke]

Is this a joke?

Can the mods delete this please?

K

It's not an uncommon question, won't hurt to have a big NO near the top of the forum for a while.

 

[alawlor66430]

When we went on holiday when I was younger we used to go to this wee market thing that sold home made jams and breads and wine and cheese all sorts of things so it's maybe not that offensive a question but I apologise if I I offend, like I say it was just something I wandered about, but that's a resounding NO lol so I'll leave it at that lol

 

[SloeBrewer]

Is this a joke?

Can the mods delete this please?

K

Not everyone is fully au fait with the law. A simple explanation as to why this isn't allowed is far better than just deleting a post, leaving the OP in the dark as to why their post disappeared.

Answer: not it's not possible because you need to be licensed to sell alcohol, no matter if you brew it yourself or you are reselling it. It is legal to make homebrew, because you are making small quantities for your own consumption. You are not even allowed to give it to anyone other than immediate family.

 

[kev]

Apologies for being so up front but to me it's the same as asking - "can I drive my car without paying road tax if I'm only going 2 miles?"

K

 

[alawlor66430]

Stupid me kev

 

[calumscott]

You can't sell it. Check out the threads about people going commercial to see the hoops you have to go through.
Technically, you can't even give it away.
"Domestic consumption" only.

Sorry, domestic *use*. You can give it away in the same way that you can with duty paid beer. The difference is in the selling. To sell beer where the duty has been paid you need a licence. To sell your own beer you need to be a real brewery and pay duty on everything you brew and be licenced to sell alcohol.

Read the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act, it's fascinating, a really good intro into the UKs legislature.

Cider though, you can sell quite a lot of... There's a statutory instrument somewhere that says you can sell a fair whack. Can't remember what it's called though. Look it up before taking my word for it though, IANAL.

 

[alawlor66430]

My dad used to by cider from some farm when he used to go to some festival in his youth, he said it still apple cores and bits in it but it was just the ticket lol

 

[Leeds Chimp]

Is this a joke?

Can the mods delete this please?

K

bit harsh fella

I was half thinking the same as I know you can sell cider upto 70 hectolitres (1,540 UK gallons) but was pretty sure beer and wine are a different kettle of fish ...
Is it true that you cant even give the wine away to a family friend?? did not know that :nono:

 

[Gayle]

It's not unusual to see stalls at festivals and the like selling homebrew, but then they're unlikely to be doing it legally.

Really, you can sell cider...? I'm off to check that out!

You'd probably need a food hygiene certificate, can't sell a bun at a bake stall without one these days.

 

[oldbloke]

I was half thinking the same as I know you can sell cider upto 70 hectolitres (1,540 UK gallons) but was pretty sure beer and wine are a different kettle of fish ...
Is it true that you cant even give the wine away to a family friend?? did not know that :nono:

I imagine the food hygiene peeps would be interested in the setup if cider was sold, even though licensing etc isn't required

Re giving stuff away, "domestic use" sounds bit of a hazy area. Is there anything specific in the legislation, or any case law?

 

[asd]

As far as cider goes, if you are making less than 70 hectolitres (7,000 litres) you have to make contact with HMRC - you don't register, but you "claim exemption" via some paperwork.... You'd also have to do the food safety, environmental health hoops as well.

General cider rules

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

Alcohol rules

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPort ... t#P23_1692


Simon.

 

[wezil]

Hi yes the statutory instrument allows you to sell a certain amount of cider duty and licensce free, the form youv'e got to fill in is availble on line. However anyone fancy collecting let alone washing/sterilising enough bottles to hold 14000pints (1750gal)!!!! Imagine the size of the sink you'd need! :rofl:

 

[alawlor66430]

Lol what allot of work, does anyone know exactly why they're fine with cider

 

[kev]

Prince of Wales protecting farmers.

K

 

[PD]

oh you big cynic kev.