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Hello ICB,

I'm a homebrewer from Portland Oregon USA, visiting Ireland for a few weeks.

The friends I'm visiting are organizing the Vantastival music festival in Co Louth over the May Bank Holiday weekend, and would like to have homebrewing demos or workshops during the event. I'm writing to ask if this sounds like something any ICB members would be interested in putting on. It would be up to you as to beer style, extract vs all-grain, etc. You'd have a tent space, could post a big ICB banner, etc. The event website is here: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="vantastival.com">vantastival.com

I'm also looking to brew 100 hl of extract beer for the crew, artists and patron sampling - now modifying a 50 litre SS keg into a brew keggle, but that's about as far as I've got. I'll need something like thirty 25/33 l fermenters and cornies to hold it all. (Alternately, if anyone has a counter-pressure bottle filler, some of the batches will go into plastic 2 litre club soda jugs... but will still need 6-8 cornies for carbonation prior to bottling.)

I'd like to borrow gear rather than buying, if anyone can spare fermenters and/or cornies. If anyone can loan all or a substantial portion of this, the thirsty organizers will provide a free weekend ticket (€65 value), and I'll hold back a few jugs of homebrew. Of course, any gear loaned will be returned cleaned and sanitized after the event.

Sláinte,
Mike Harper
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Hi Mike,

I've split this off into a new topic.

A couple of things occur to me about the plan: since you're charging admission I suspect, though am not 100% sure, that beer made available to the public at such an event would be liable for excise duty, which in turn would mean it would have to come from a licensed commercial brewery. Any event we've given homebrew samples at in the past has been on a 100% free basis. My best advice would be to check with the local Revenue Commissioners office.

I notice from the website that you're not having a bar at this. If you are going to be providing drink to patrons, commercial or not, I strongly suspect you'll need a special event licence. But again I'm not 100% certain.

Both matters are worth checking. Irish alcohol laws are pretty strict and it's not advisable to play fast and loose with them.

I don't think the beer is specifically for patrons. I think it is for the crew but patrons could sample some at a stand promoting homebrew.

It still could contravene one of our alcohol laws but since patrons are patronising a music festival and a homebrew exhibition happens to be there providing free samples to the public it might be ok.... but I have no idea for sure so legal advice would be best.

One thing though, if there is not going to be a bar (not sure about that) at the festival and this is the only source of alcohol then 100 litres is not going to be enough to prevent possible riots <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->


Remember the chocolate festival? There was a ticket charge to get in to my tasting so the organisers may have broken the law...

&amp;quot;Saruman&amp;quot;:35syiyij wrote: I don't think the beer is specifically for patrons. I think it is for the crew but patrons could sample some at a stand promoting homebrew.

It still could contravene one of our alcohol laws but since patrons are patronising a music festival and a homebrew exhibition happens to be there providing free samples to the public it might be ok....[/quote:35syiyij]Intent is not relevant. It's an easy defence for an actual tax-evader to say they didn't mean to break the law. Revenue won't have any truck with "I thought it would be all right". They've even dragged someone into court after [i:35syiyij]telling[/i:35syiyij] him that it would be all right.

&amp;quot;Saruman&amp;quot;:35syiyij wrote: this is the only source of alcohol then 100 litres is not going to be enough to prevent possible riots[/quote:35syiyij]People are advised to bring their own, which is fair enough. Either you get a licence and serve them alcohol, or you don't and you bring their own. I doubt one can have it both ways.

Isn't there a bigger brewing problem than a legal problem ? i.e. the OP has virtually no equipment and just three weeks to brew, ferment, condition and package 1,000 litres* of beer! Even brewing a couple of times a day it would take you a couple of weeks to brew that much beer with a keg boiler.


*I'm assuming he means 10 hl (1,000 litres) rather than 100hl (10,000 litres) as he said he needs about 30 fermenters.

Jaysus I thought it read 100L not HL <!-- s:shock: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_eek.gif" alt=":shock:" title="Shocked" /><!-- s:shock: -->
I completely misread the whole situation and thought it was a small amount for the crew with some free samples at a demo stand.

And Diablo is right, it begins the end of the month. There is no way the beer would be ready in time.

I think the legality is now second to the fact it would not be possible, at least not to serve up that much [i:38wxla9w]good [/i:38wxla9w]beer in so short a time.