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Craft Brewery

As a rough guide, it will take about 1-2 weeks to
learn what information the TTB needs, gather the
materials, and fill out the forms. As of January
2022, the average processing time for a new appli-
cation at the TTB was 34 days.

For those that do have their attorneys prepare the
application, a rough estimation would be two to
five hours of attorney time. The more complete the
information provided to the attorney the first time,
the lower the cost.
Craft Beverage Attorneys
File for State Manufacturing License
Trademarks
As with the TTB application, the application for Operating Agreements
a manufacturing license from the state, and any
necessary local licenses or permits, are something Licenses & Permits
that can be done by the brewery owners to save COLA & Formula Approvals
legal fees. Though it varies state-to-state, the Leases
online resources tend not to be as complete or user Distribution Agreements
friendly as those of the TTB and the response to
telephone inquiries can be… inconsistent. However,
with a bit of patience the forms are not terribly www.KaiderLaw.com
onerous. Being on good terms with other brewer-
ies in the area can be valuable, too, as they may be (240) 308-8032
willing to help with any questions about the local
forms.

Distributor Agreement enced attorney onto the team at the beginning of
the process of starting a brewery can save time and
Most breweries start with taproom sales and some money by preventing costly mistakes.
keg sales to nearby bars and restaurants, especially
if they can self-distribute, but growth eventual- Brian Kaider is a principal of KaiderLaw, a law
ly leads to the need for a distributor. Breweries firm with extensive experience in the craft beverage
should never sign a distribution agreement without industry. He has represented clients from the small-
it being reviewed by an attorney. State laws on the est of start-up breweries to Fortune 500 corpora-
subject are heavily slanted in favor of distributors tions in the navigation of regulatory requirements,
and the contracts can be nearly impossible to ter- drafting and negotiating contracts, prosecuting
minate even if the distributor is failing to meet its trademark and patent applications, and complex
obligations. A knowledgeable attorney can help to commercial litigation.
level the playing field as much as possible, particu-
larly though negotiation of what constitutes “good
cause” for termination and how to calculate the fair
market value of the distribution rights. The legal
fees will depend on the circumstances, but this is
one area where breweries should not try to cut
costs.

Conclusion

Successful entrepreneurs do not try to do every-
thing alone. They surround themselves with experts
to help navigate difficult issues. Bringing an experi

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