TTB Brewery Approval!

We have officially been approved by the Tax and Trade Bureau (except for actually getting the piece of paper that says so - that's supposed to be here this week). After plenty of shenanigans involving the Board of Equalization, our Seller's Permit and a mistyped Social Security number, we were able to get the TTB paperwork out the door. One week later they cashed our $1,000 Collateral Bond. After that we did not hear a peep from them for a month and a half so I decided to call them. No one was in the office so I just left our IRS employer identification number and the date I sent in our paperwork. Two days later we received an email from the TTB informing us that we had to make a few minor changes to our paper, many of which they could make with our consent, but a couple that we would need to redo ourselves.

The biggest "goof" necessitated us updating the diagram of our brewery since I had labeled the "Brewing Premise" as "Wholesale Food Manufacturing" , something I had seen on other breweries' diagrams that I had found. We also had to show proof that we had registered our trade name with the county (via a newspaper ad) and we had a lease on our building ok with having a brewery there.

So my advice after sending in your TTB paperwork: Call them. I'd say call a few days after they cash your bond. I do not think it was a coincidence that they emailed me two days after I called them. I also imagine that had I waited one more month they would have not emailed me until after I called them.

After getting all of paperwork in order we were ready for the big interview. This was probably the easiest part of the entire process, it took about 35 minutes and went over a bunch of rules and regulations.

If you're interested, here are all the questions:

Verify that I am a brewery not a brewpub.

Prior business experience: related and otherwise.

When I intend on beginning operations.

Equipment: Own it, purchasing it, or taking over existing brewery.

Prior TTB Authorization, if any.

If I owned stock/ownership in any other TTB authorized operation before or now

Are there any other parties that will partake in the profits?

Have the owners ever been convicted of a felony?

Have the owners ever been convicted of a misdemeanor related to alcohol?

Have the owners lived outside the US in the past 10 years?

How much money has been spent on the business since/towards going pro (since changing from homebrewing - money spend as a homebrewer does not count as investment money)

Are there any loans involved to finance?

Any problem with filing tax returns and paying taxes as they are due?

Verification of the brewery's address.

Are there were any other facilities or locations that would store non-taxed beer?

If I was aware that the TTB could come into the space at any time during business hours.

Describe the space and its appropriateness to being a brewery (floor construction, ceiling height, etc...)

Describe the brewing equipment

Where I planned to keep taxed and untaxed beers. We decided (by them telling us) that once beer left the primary fermenter it was to be taxed, ie. once it left the Brewing Premises side of the space (see diagram above)

That we need to lock our fermenters (they are houses in temperature controlled GDMs and the doors need to be lockable)

Where did I pitch the yeast?

If I'd be charging a fee for tours, parking or tasting.

If I shared the space with any other business, e.g. docks, etc

If the building was over 50 years old or on the National Historic Register

If I planned to sell interstate

If I planned to engage into an alternating proprietorship (letting other brewers use the facility) or if I planned on engaging in alternate premises (using the space to make wine, e.g.)

If I was aware that my taxation rate was $7/bbl up to 60,000 bbls

Where would I be keeping the records and would I have a reliable recordkeeping system and would they be available for audit [ref: ttb.gov, section 27CFR, section 25, subsection U]

Brewer's Bond expires every 4 years.

If I met the local and state zoning requirements: Commercial or Residential

If I had contacted the local fire department to ensure compliance with their regulations

If I was aware that I had to register with the FDA [ref: www.fda.gov,]

That I can pay taxes and file forms online at pay.gov

That for labels I could go online [ref: http://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/], that the first time I would print the forms and send in, afterwards, all online and could track its progress online as well

I could sign up for automatic email updates from the TTB on the industry at www.ttb.gov

Lots of exciting information, I know, but it's pretty straight forward. So if you are ever planning on opening a brewery/brewpub I would recommend going in this order:

1. LLC or Articles of Incorporation

2. Business License

3. IRS Employer ID Number

4. Seller's Permit

5. Planning / Zoning Approval

6. Tax & Trade Bureau

7. Food and Drug Administration

8. Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control

9. Dept. of Environmental Health

Any other order and you'll be waiting for paperwork to get through the system like we have. Anyways, you live and you learn.

The Complete Guide to Opening a Nanobrewery.

Here is a little list of things you need to accomplish if you feel like you wanna open up a nanobrewery of your own. I guess it is relevant for a full scale brewery too. I actually made this list for JC of Trillium Brewing, who will probably be going down the smaller scale road like us.

 Brewery Licenses/Permits/Etc:

Local /County Government:

Planing Department: this is where you gotta go to make sure you can actually open up a brewery at your desired location. If not you'll have to appeal to the government and get Conditional Use Permit.

Department of Environmental Health: If you are going to have a tasting room you'll have to deal with your local DEH. Make sure you get someone that knows what they are talking about.

State Board of Equalization: You need to have a seller's permit which is a local/county run deal.

Business License: A license to actually do business in your city.

Building Permit: If you are doing any serious construction this will be needed. Sometimes even for smaller jobs too.

State Government: 

Department of Health: if you are opening up a wholesale food processing facility, which is the category a microbrewery falls into, they will need to approve you facility.

Alcoholic Beverage Control Board: This is the basic license application. We have a type-23 microbrewery license. We have all the same rights as a type-01 license holder except the fee is considerably less.

Paperwork you'll have to file: Personal Affidavit, Additional Affidavits, Personnel Questionnaire, Corporate Questionnaire (if you are an LLC/ Corp), Diagram of Brewing Facility, Zoning Paperwork, Consideration Point (i.e. schools, churches, etc.), Residence (i.e. if you are close to non-commercial buildings), Signature Sheet (for LLC/Corp), and Tied-House Restriction Paperwork. All in all about 22 pages of paperwork.

Excise Tax Division of BOE: An excise tax permit is required as well. They require a bond as collateral.

LLC or Corporate Articles of Incorporation: Done through a lawyer and usually a yearly fee associated with this as well ($800-1000 per year)

Federal Government:

IRS Employee ID Number: This is just to keep track of your business taxes. Easy to obtain, just a few pages of paperwork. I think it can be done through their website.

Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau: They require a collateral bond for taxes and you need to pay taxes on every barrel of beer you produce and sell. Minimum of $1,000 bond is needed as collateral.

Paperwork you'll have to file: Brewer's Notice, Brewer's Bond, Personnel Questionnaire, Power of Attorney (for LLC/Corp.), Pay.Gov User Agreement, Environmental Information, Quarterly Excise Tax Payment Procedures Checklist, Supplimental Water Quality Information, Signing Authority (for LLC/Corp.), Legal Description of the Brewery, Description of Security, and a Diagram of the Facility.

 I hope this is insightful for anyone looking to get in the brewing game.

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Welp, we pretty much got all of our TTB paperwork in line. They ask us about everything from our environmental impact, water quality and sources, trash disposal methods, how we intend to protect our delicious beers from beer thieves and all sorts of stuff you wouldn't think that the Tax & Trade Bureau would care about. Well, I guess in the event someone comes and steals our beer we wouldn't have to pay taxes on it... and that would be a huge bummer for the IRS. This was probably my favorite piece of paperwork that we are submitting to them. I love Google Maps.

After this all we have left to deal with is the Department of Environmental Health. DEH!!! I am really hoping that dealing with them is easier than trying to navigate their website which consists of hundreds of broken links. Although, their Facebook page is pretty fun and informative. Watch out for West Nile Virus Mosquitos and Hantavirus Mice! Hantavirus AKA the "English Sweate" is something you probably do not want. Unless you are a certain Korean dictator looking for a good weaponizable virus. Then you might really like the stuff.

If you ever want to apply with the TTB you can find all the paperwork here or click on the items below:

1. The Brewer's Notice - this tells the TTB you intend to become a brewery. You need to attach a diagram of the premise, a description of the security, a legal description of the brewery, and all your corporate by-laws and articles of incorporation, and your SS-4 Employer ID number.

2. Brewer's Collateral Bond - a bond for $1,000 for the first 4,000 barrels of beer you produce. If you produce more than that you will need to obtain a strengthening bond.

3. Personnel Questionnaire - includes everything you've ever done ever, as well as how much you plan on spending to open the brewery.

4. Water Quality Considerations - you need to tell them if you are going to be poisoning any rivers near by.

5. Environmental Information - you need to let them know how much polution you plan on generating, hopefully zero.

6. Signing Authority - only in the even you are a corporation or LLC.

7. Pay.gov User Agreement - whereby you agree to use their website to pay taxes on the beer ($7.00 per barrel, which is really what all this paperwork comes down to in the end.)