Websites on Federal and State requirements?

Or Washington State???
:-* Suzy Q, Brewmistress

Hi guys. The best place to start is to check out your state's ABC site. They generally will have wine and beer regs there. A meadery is generally going to be classified as a winery or brewery (depending on the state). I don't know of a state that has 'meadery' as a classification.

The next place to check out is the BATF (batf.gov) for the federal regs.

You can also find some info in the Gotmead 'Going Commercial' section.

Vicky - in Athens, TN this week

In MI, the state licenses are controlled by the Liquor Control Commission and the Department of Agriculture. You have to get a winery license from the LCC, and a food processor license from the DoA. The food processor license is annoying, as you have to build a facility to their specifications. Check to see if your state is the same before you even consider a meadery. That right there can be cost prohibitive.

The BATF no longer handles licensing of alcohol producers, that is now handled by the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau). http://www.ttb.gov/ Everything you want is buried in that website.

Short version:
You pay $500 annually in a "special tax" just for operating your winery, whether you are making sales or not. You are not allowed to start producing your first batch until you've got their license and have started paying this tax. You pay an excise tax on each bottle you produce. If you get your licenses, pay your taxes, and keep good records, they leave you alone.

Another thing that is extremely important: find out what distribution channels are open to you as a small winery. In MI, a small winery license allows you to sell direct to consumers, distributors, or liquor stores. Great. If I were to be classified as a brewery, I would only be allowed to sell to distributors. This is usually the kiss of death - the distributor controls the marketing and sales of your product. They don't care about you or your product, it won't sell, and you'll go under. FIND OUT if you can do your own sales and marketing.