Keg Collar Label Approval!

TTB Approved!

We got approval from the TTB, it took us a couple of tries, but thankfully the online COLAs submittal process makes it much quicker than snail mail. This was our third attempt for approval of our original label; we had left out a couple of things:

1. Alc. x% by Vol. (we forgot the "By Volume")
2. Added "-Style" behind Kölsch and Vienna, otherwise it is misleading--we are not from Cologne or Vienna. We don't want to mislead anyone...

It was interesting working with the TTB because the text content wasn't the only issue. The size of the text proved to be a challenge. Regulations said that the text in the Gov't Warning (on the left side of the label) and in the Beer Name section had to be 3 and 2mm high respectively.

However to measure the text, the TTB doesn't print out your art - they literally get out a ruler or calipers and measure the art on their screen. Yes, they measure the height of the characters on the monitor. If I say it again, will you believe me? Our graphics team was pulling out their hair when I found this out, but the solution was simple. No, I did not tell them to adjust the resolution of their monitor. We did have Patton slightly enlarge the whole label so it actually just appeared larger. Voila. Same label, larger, approved.

Now to be sure, the text on our label is 3.2mm and 2.7mm, well above standard, but only after pumping up the size of the file did approval come - once it appeared larger than 3mm on their monitors. It's a crazy world out there at the TTB, but we live in it...

In other news, we got our stickers from Sticker Robot and they look pretty dang awesome too.

Not For Sale.

We will not be selling in these bottles, they are for your viewing pleasures only (unless you are a bar or restaurant in which case I'll be bringing these by for sampling in the near future!) However, if you want a sticker - come on by!

TTB Labels.

Very Van Gogh.

Now that we are fully approved by the state and feds to brew and sell beer it is a matter of getting label approval, which as it turns out is a bit of a process as well.  
There are a lot of rules and stipulations to having a label. I guess it makes sense though, I can't tell people that drinking our beer will make you a better person (even though it does.) You also have to put certain legal things on there like "Brewed and Bottled/Packed by: ...." or "GOVERNMENT WARNING:"  
Here is pretty much everything you could possibly want to know about labeling malt beverages.

Presenting - B.A.M. Vol. 3

Chapter 1: Mandatory Label Information
Brand Name = Most obvious aspect of label and not misleading.


Chapter 2: Type Size and Legibility
Must be legible and appropriate for the size of container .

Minimum 2 mm for containers larger than ½ pint 

Minimum 1 mm for containers of ½ pint or less 

Chapter 3: Health Warning Statement
Required font size and spacing:

Over 3 liters (101 fl. oz.)                                                                  3 mm 

Over 237 ml (8 fl. oz.) to 3 liters (101 fl. oz.)                               2 mm 

237 ml or less                                                                                    1 mm 

Density:

Minimum Type                                      Maximum Characters 

Size Requirement                                  Per Inch 

1 mm                                                              40 

2 mm                                                              25 

3 mm                                                              12 

Chapter 4: Class and Type Designation
Rules about how you label the class and/or type of beverage


Chapter 5: Net Contents
For some reason you cannot label stuff as ounces, they have to be in pints, quarts and gallons. (over 12 oz at least.)


There is also the super E-Z label guide here. 

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa... BOE, TTB, DEH.

Glad to say we are finally getting our TTB paperwork out the door. We had to wait for our Seller's Permit to get approved, which ended up being a ridiculously tedious process thanks to some incorrect advice given by the Board of Equalization, they told us we could send the paperwork to the Sacramento Office along with our excise tax paperwork, but it turned out that the Seller's Permit is a local thing. So, that had to be transfered to the San Diego branch, which the Sacramento branch told us they did. The next day we got a "Notice to Appear" from the San Diego branch telling us they had not received our Seller's Permit paperwork. We gave them a call and explained the situation, BUT they said we would probably end up having to resubmit the paper anyways. That did not make too much sense to us, so we called the Sacramento branch confirming that our paperwork had in fact been sent to the SD branch. So the waiting game began...

We called them a couple of times, but they never seemed to get the paperwork in the mail, until one day it mysteriously appeared on a desk a few cubicles over. Huzzah! Unfortunately due to a clerical error from several years ago, the Social Security number associated with our account was incorrectly typed. So they had to send us back the paper work and we had to provide proof that our SSN was the one we provided. A couple of tax statements later we were in business. Sent it back in the mail and waited again...

We called them a couple of times, but they never seemed to get the paperwork in the mail, until one day we received our Seller's Permit in the mail. Huzzah! With our Seller's Permit finally in hand I was able to mail off both our Department of Environmental Health planning application and the application for our TTB account!

With these in the works it is really only a matter of time before we are selling some artisanal ales around here.

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.)

Fictitious Business Name

I was just working on some TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) paper work and realized I never looked into whether our Fictitious Business Name made it through the old bureaucratic machine or not. Turns out that it did and we are ready to start doing business as Hess Brewing Company. *electric guitar shread* SWEET ASS SWEET!

It's pretty cool being able to see our business name up on the old internet machine. Just one step closer to actually being in business.

Today we also finished installing some copper piping, if you are ever installing copper pipes check out GatorBite or SharkBite, they are weld-less copper pipe fittings that make your life so much easier.

One thing I never realized was that concrete is one tough SOB. I'm pretty sure that our warehouse will survive the nuclear Armageddon. We went through four drill bits just putting in fourteen holes into the concrete walls.


p.s. get stoked for the the new season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia! September 17th!