I am considering home brewing root beer and maybe ginger beer. I have been discussing this with a cousin. We both have some interest. He posed a question I have been unable to find an answer to.

How much root beer can an individual brew without intervention from government agencies? Is there some magical amount a fella can brew for personal use? What about brewing small amounts for sale to friends/neighbors? If brewed for sale to the public, are there certain regulations to abide by?

Any input on this subject will be greatly appreciated.

I'm sure the regulations vary from state to state, but in Wisconsin we can brew up to 100 gallons of beer (alcoholic) per year for personal consumption. I'm not aware of any limitation for brewing non-alcoholic beverages.

My advice would be to contact a local legistlator. In my experience, the elected official or his/her staff will be happy to help.

My guess is that if it is for free personal consumption, you can make as much root beer as you want. There shouldn't be a limit any more than the number of cakes you bake or steaks you barbeque in a year.

As soon as you try to make it commercial though, that's when you'll need permits or business licenses. If it's just selling a few bottles to friends at work, I don't think the feds are going to be beating down your door any time soon.

Parsa

parsa wrote:

My guess is that if it is for free personal consumption, you can make as much root beer as you want. There shouldn't be a limit any more than the number of cakes you bake or steaks you barbeque in a year. As soon as you try to make it commercial though, that's when you'll need permits or business licenses. If it's just selling a few bottles to friends at work, I don't think the feds are going to be beating down your door any time soon. Parsa

Things also get more complicated when people try to distill their alcohol containing products.
I would be concerned about selling anything containing alcohol. You don't want to mess with the ATF.

If you're interested in selling your root beer I would suggest consulting your state department of agriculture. At least in Minnesota, they provide all the information necessary to legaly manufacture and sell your product, whether its direct to neighbors, or wholesale to a local store. They even go through the trouble of directing you to pertinent FDA regulations. Unfortunately, anything produced in your home, unless you happen to have a certified kitchen, probably won't be allowed on the market. However, I do think there might be ways to get around this if the product is correctly labeled as untested and only sold in small quantities at places like a farmer's market.

fred wrote:

Things also get more complicated when people try to distill their alcohol containing products. I would be concerned about selling anything containing alcohol. You don't want to mess with the ATF.

Mmmm, rootbeer brandy. There must be a concentration of alcohol below which you can legally feed it to the general public, including children, and the government couldn't care less. For example, if mom uses vanilla extract with alcohol in it to bake a cake for her two year old, the ATF isn't going to break down her door.

The OP should determine that level and stay below it.

aruzinsky wrote:

fred wrote: Things also get more complicated when people try to distill their alcohol containing products. I would be concerned about selling anything containing alcohol. You don't want to mess with the ATF. Mmmm, rootbeer brandy. There must be a concentration of alcohol below which you can legally feed it to the general public, including children, and the government couldn't care less. For example, if mom uses vanilla extract with alcohol in it to bake a cake for her two year old, the ATF isn't going to break down her door. The OP should determine that level and stay below it.

high gravity beer yeast can get you up to basically 22% ABV, and in most states an individual can make 100 gal. per year for personal consumption, and up to 200 gal per year if there is more than 1 adult living in the house.

You can feed every bit of that to the of age general public, just can't make em pay.

But like some other folks said, if you manufacture and sell consumable items, you need a kitchen certified for business purposes, which is a lot more than the average household sink and stove, ya know.