Keg at licensed establishment in Ontario

[FEUO]

A good friend is getting married in March and he wants a couple 1/6 kegs of craft stuff to be poured.
He asked at the club and they said that HE had to get a license and go through the LCBO.

Here are my questions:
- why does HE need the license, he isn't pouring
- why go through the LCBO especially if they don't carry the particular beer (could be homebrew, could be imported from US).

Bottom line is, he is paying for it. It will be free to guests and to the club. Why the red tape?

[lister]

http://www.agco.on.ca/en/faqs/faqs_sop.aspx

Homebrew can be served as long as it's not sold.

Some of your other questions may be answered there.

[icemachine]

Bottom line is, he is paying for it. It will be free to guests and to the club. Why the red tape?

I think it is the paying for it issue. If the club was buying the alcohol to be served then it wouldn't be an issue. For an unlicensed venue he could bring his owbn and just have an SOP, however for a licensed venue there may be an issue with liability if the permit owner is not the purchaser of the alcohol

[FEUO]

Thanks for the link.

Hopefully the club doesn't get their panties in a bunch over it.
Lord knows they want their cut.

[FEUO]

5. I would like to serve homemade wine/beer at my wedding or other religious occasion, as well as offer an open bar or cash bar. Can both be offered at the same time?

Yes, however, homemade wine/beer can only be served, not sold. All other product must be purchased under the permit and alcohol purchase receipts must be available upon request.

From AGCO.


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[icemachine]

5. I would like to serve homemade wine/beer at my wedding or other religious occasion, as well as offer an open bar or cash bar. Can both be offered at the same time?

Yes, however, homemade wine/beer can only be served, not sold. All other product must be purchased under the permit and alcohol purchase receipts must be available upon request.

From AGCO.

Where it breaks down is that I understand your friend wants to serve beer at a licensed premise, which would mean he doesn't need a Special Occasion Permit

[Tapsucker]

We have hosted an event a few times at Legion Halls (licensed) where we wanted to buy craft beer they did not normally serve. I lined up the order with the breweries and had the legion manager call it in with their license info. Everything worked just fine.

It's the same as a bar buying direct from the brewery, you just need to talk to the licensee sales person at the brewery. No need to involve LCBO or TBS. You may have to pay a keg deposit, but the brewery will usually deliver and pick up empties for you. These were all Ontario breweries, so I can't comment on import.

Our events have not involved us selling the beer. We paid for it and the taxes, the guests bought a ticket to the event. The legion provided smart server trained bartenders.

[FEUO]

We have hosted an event a few times at Legion Halls (licensed) where we wanted to buy craft beer they did not normally serve. I lined up the order with the breweries and had the legion manager call it in with their license info. Everything worked just fine.

It's the same as a bar buying direct from the brewery, you just need to talk to the licensee sales person at the brewery. No need to involve LCBO or TBS. You may have to pay a keg deposit, but the brewery will usually deliver and pick up empties for you. These were all Ontario breweries, so I can't comment on import.

Our events have not involved us selling the beer. We paid for it and the taxes, the guests bought a ticket to the event. The legion provided smart server trained bartenders.

Great info. This is basically what he is looking to do.
Only difference is delivery of the keg.

[chris_schryer]

Delivery shouldn't matter, regardless of serving type, as long as somebody is at the location to receive it, it's fine. I agree that unless the manager is just misinformed, it's likely some type of liability issue (or not wanting their license number on a different invoice or some such silliness). But getting an SOP is not a big deal at all. Not sure where your friend is located, but when we gets SOPs for our church events, a guy just goes down to the retail location on Cooper St. fills out the form, and like 2 days later we have our permit. Especially if the location is already licensed (meaning it's got the necessary doors, bathroom, etc), it should take no time at all.

[FEUO]

But the SOP costs $ right? Why is that necessary if being poured in licensed establishment?

[Tapsucker]

But the SOP costs $ right? Why is that necessary if being poured in licensed establishment?

Correct don't spend the extra $100 bucks or whatever it is these days if the facility has a license. The only reason the facility may balk is because they mark-up the beer. There are two reasons they would do this. Cover the cost of their bartender or make extra money.

In our case we pay the bartender's salary for the night (+tip). As for the extra profit, consider that part of the cost of the facility they are renting you and negotiate from there. Basic conversation:
"So you want $500 bucks for the room plus markup on beer we don't want to buy?"
"What do you really want to make on the room if we order the beer ourselves?"
a. Yes that's a deal.
b. No that's a rip off, we will look elsewhere.