[paloaf]

Hi everyone,
My fiancee and I have set the date for late September, 2014.  I've always thought it would be fun to brew beer as a party favor for our wedding guests but I'm not sure what the legalities of this would be.  We live in MN and I was hoping to give a way a bottle to each guest that is over 21.  If it isn't feasible, we'll need to find another way to incorporate beer into the wedding. 

[Stevie]

Congratulations

I've known plenty of brewers that have done this. Check your local laws. Some states are more strict than others relating to taking Homebrew away from the home.

My lady and I are getting marred next May. Fortunately the venue she liked the most allows for beer to be brought in without a fee. We are planning 4-5 corny kegs plus the wine which we must buy from them.

[jaftak22]

Not sure about you laws but that's an awesome idea. You going to do a couple different styles?

[paloaf]

Not sure about you laws but that's an awesome idea. You going to do a couple different styles?

Yes, I have many different styles that I love to brew, but I'm thinking of a Munich Helles and an APA or DIPA.  We'll be going to Oktoberfest during our honeymooon (I know, I'm lucky) so I thought the Helles was a good fit.

We're having our rehearsal dinner at our house, so I was considering having a few different beers on tap that night.  Has anyone done this much brewing for their wedding?  Is it too much work to bite off?   Any suggestions for beer styles? 

[Stevie]

We're having our rehearsal dinner at our house, so I was considering having a few different beers on tap that night.  Has anyone done this much brewing for their wedding?  Is it too much work to bite off?   Any suggestions for beer styles?

It helps to recruit friends. I am getting married 1800 miles away, so I am planning a long weekend of double brew days with two buddies close to the venue.

You need to brew for the audience. Currently I am planning a kolsch, saison, hop bomb IPA, and 80/-. My group will be about 50% craft beer knowledgeable, 15% bmc drinkers, 25% wine drinkers, and 10% sober. Kolsch is for the bmc, and the rest are for the craft beer folks and those interested in branching out.

[AmandaK]

We are also getting married in September. It was #1 priority in planning that we be allowed to serve our beer at our reception. In KC, that means we have to stay on the Missouri side of the State Line. We narrowed down our reception site choices to the two who would have us. The more friendly one got the job. So we will be serving beers on 4 taps (club member supplied) and toasting with my Belgian Golden Strong Ale.

I am a Board Member of our club, and we are very involved in the homebrew laws in both states, so I have the distinct advantage of being aware of what we can and cannot do within state law.

We have been brewing test batches since December and have brewed the first half (10g) of the toast beer so far. I am planning on brewing at least 10 gallons of each style, if not 20 gallons in some cases. Tis better to have too much beer than not enough.

[klickitat jim]

I'd just do the wedding on a brew day, like during vorlauf

[Thirsty_Monk]

I'd just do the wedding on a brew day, like during vorlauf

This way you can have weding every week

[klickitat jim]

Zactly!!! On Friday have a high gravity annulment,  or keep them around for an annual vertical tasting.

[riverrat]

I am in MN as well, and both me and a friend had homebrew favors at our weddings.  Not sure if it was legal or not, but the two different venues we each used were ok with it.  We were told that they are not to be consumed on site, had to be take home favors.  I don't think that memo made it to all the guests though.

I had just under 200 guests and he had over 300.  Those two events were more bottling than we have ever done.  Combined.

A third friend that I brew with was able to serve our beer at his wedding, but that was in WI.

[Iliff Ave]

I did this for my wedding. I am not sure if it was legal or not...haha. I brewed 3 separate 5 gallon batches (due to capacity constraints) of the same recipe and bottled in bombers with custom made labels. We put them in crates at the reception and luckily the brewery we were at didn't have a problem with it. I ended up with some left over because I didn't communicate effectively that they were available. For the rehearsal and wedding we had 3 different homebrews on tap including what was in the bombers. I got great feedback. It was cool after not seeing someone for some time they would say, 'hey I just drank that bomber from your wedding...I really liked it!' I assumed that if they didn't like it they would have just not said anything which made me feel good.

[Rhoobarb]

We served homebrew at our reception. Some venues allow it, some don't.  We picked on that did and out caterer was very cool with it, too. I brewed an O'fest, a Chocolate Stout and a Rye IPA.  60 guests went though all three 5 gallon kegs by the end of the night. If you start now, you'll have plenty of time.  We lived in IL at the time.

As for beer favor gifts, no idea.  I woud think MI would have no laws against it.

[arustyt]

I brewed 30 gallons of Irish Red ale (3 batches) for my daughter's wedding. The place we had the reception would not serve it so I bottled bombers and gave them out as favors. I don't know if it was strictly legal or not.  My daughter's friend is a graphic designer and designed the label for the bottles. 

[el_capitan]

My little sister got married in southern MN last year, and they rented out a group site at a state park.  It was awesome - we had a big reception area with a commercial kitchen, walk-in freezer, the whole works.  Plus a bunch of cabins, bathrooms with showers, etc.  They brewed a ton of beer and wine for the wedding, and I brought two kegs.  No problemo. 

The best part - Whitewater State Park is in a zone with no lakes, but plenty of running water.  No standing water = no mosquitos whatsoever.  I took a canoe trip through there a couple years ago, and in 4 days on the water, we saw a total of 7 mosquitos.  Unbelievable.