We are a husband and wife team. In early 2008, we left our gigs as a CPA and an attorney to pursue our beer and entrepreneurial passions. We have always wanted to experience the gratification of creating a unique product and sharing it with others.
We initially set out on a beer road-trip around the western United States and Canada. Our journey also led us on a tour of the breweries of the United States, Russia, Estonia, Finland, Romania, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.
Brad began to fulfill his brewing passion by completing the Siebel Institute of Technology and World Brewing Academy's Master Brewer Program. When we came home, we started turning our passions into a product we could share with others.
The idea for a series of Primers to alcohol and beverage laws was sparked from our journey to open a small package brewery. We are currently working with a friend and fellow Siebel graduate to open a package brewery in Fort Collins, CO. If everything goes according to plan, Brad and his partner will sell the first beer in early fall 2010.
Before coming to Fort Collins, we put a lot of energy into determining the feasibility of breweries in Arizona, Vermont, and south Florida. Unfortunately, after many hours of research, our business ideas for a small package brewery were often snuffed out by the minefield of federal and state laws and regulations. Then we thought: "Wouldn't it be great if there was a guide to the laws?"
Such a guide would give brewers and vintners interested in opening breweries and wineries a quick glance at the issues they might face, and allow them to be more productive with business plans. So, we began to create our own guides to the alcohol and beverage laws affecting breweries and wineries in the Unites States.
Our Primers are focused on providing brewers and vintners with a basic understanding of what issues might arise in opening or expanding a brewery or winery. They also help a brewer or vintner identify what questions to ask about the alcohol and beverage laws, and where to find the answers; thus, freeing the brewer to focus on generating innovative business ideas. The Primers do not provide legal, business, tax, or other financial advice; and they may not be used as substitutes for obtaining the counsel and advice of competent licensed legal, business, accounting, and financial professionals.
If you are a startup brewery or winery, or looking to expand, we are sure you will find our guides helpful.
Anda & Brad Lincoln
