When Geese Fly
Okay well maybe we won’t wait quite that long to start construction, but you get the idea.
Between the last blog post and this one, a lot of progress has been made behind the scenes. Progress in the right direction, that is. Up until now it has felt like a mixed bag on which direction the progress has been headed. Of course headaches were to be expected, but as I’ve reiterated in nearly every single one of these blog entries, we are on the right track!
Last week we visited with the City Council to have the Brewpub designation on our BDL (Beverage Dispensary License) approved. This was the next step in the lengthy process of getting fully licensed. In simple terms, the way that Alaska sets up licensing for our type of operation is a little…convoluted.
Due to antiquated city zoning, our building actually isn’t zoned for a Brewery license. We instead have to operate a Beverage Dispensary License (that’s just the technical term for a full blown liquor license), with a brewpub designation. This type of designation can only be carried if you have a BDL. Essentially that means that we are licensed the same way a full bar would be, and also carry the ability to manufacture our own beer on-premise. There are pros and cons to this type of licensure for sure. For example, we are not governed by the same set of rules that standard breweries are bound by like limited hours, limited entertainment, or total ounces served, but we are unable to self-distribute our product (we have to go through a distributor) and have a smaller cap on how much we can produce in a year.
By the time you’ve read through Title 4 (The section of Alaska Law that covers all the alcohol stuff) you are left with more questions than answers to be honest. Nonetheless, these seemingly arbitrary rules must be followed.
So what does that mean for how our business will operate?
Well honestly it doesn’t change very much in how we hope to run our business. We plan to operate in a way that takes advantage of some of the pros that we have with our license type, while limiting the negative impacts of the cons. For example, while we don’t plan on being open until the wee hours of the morning like most bars, we will stay open slightly later than other taprooms in town (that way my buddies that run other breweries in town can close down their spots for the night and come over here and throw things at me for a few hours while I work).
Because we hold a full BDL, we are able to serve guest taps on top of the beers that we make. That means that we will always have a rotating list of beers from our neighbors for you to choose from. This point is especially exciting because of how much we love doing collaboration beers with our pals. Typically, due to state laws, a collaboration beer can only be enjoyed in the taproom of the brewery that the beer was produced in, or at a retail establishment that buys kegs of the beer. With our license however, we can also serve that amazing beer!
Sure we can’t self-distribute in the same way that other breweries can, which is a bummer, but it isn’t the end of the world. We are still able to sell customers up to 5 gallons of beer for off-site consumption every day. For us, that means Crowlers at first, and full on four packs of 16 oz cans a little down the road once we’ve secured a canning line. That means theoretically if you came in and wanted to buy x12 four packs of beer, you could do that. Once we’ve established a few brands that we are proud enough of to distribute, we will talk to a distributor that will be able to get our beer into accounts across the state in kegs and cans!
So while we do have some constraints that limit us to the way we operate, we plan to be smart about how we do business in order to maximize your enjoyment!
Stay tuned for more updates as we approach springtime.
Cheers, Talon