the future of micro distilleing

[virtuoso]

Hello All

while the ADI has done a wonderful job of promoting our industry within its membership as well as PR. AS the micro dsitilling industry matures I can see we will need additional resources. The time is comming when we will need to have our own associaton that will work on the two most important issues we face. they being state laws governeing how we operate, licensing and fees. The second is the distribution network at present it is not fair and often handicapes us. the old system needs to be changed wheter it is to be able to self distribute with state license fees which havee used to control competition for the big distributors so that they don't cost thousands of dollars a year or some other form of micro dsitilling legislation. Now we do have to deal with state by state rules but with a cental organization we could come up with a uniform set of laws and work to get them past state by state. we need a central reposityory of each states laws so we eqach use them in our state to get each state up to some consistent legislation. Its time to start thinking about this collectively

Steve Ross

[Scott @ Twenty2Vodka]

Here here. Important to factor in the NABCA for control states into this plan as well. As far as I can tell, the NABCA pretty much calls the shots, and the 19 control states fall in line with whatever has been dictated. Antiquated doesn't begin to describe the structure we all are forced to operate under, however they get away with calling themselves (border line bragging) that this structure creates a monopoly to better regulate. Crazy.

-Scott

[MadMacaw]

I agree with the original thread. Although the establishment of the ADI has served a valuable function by offering an organization for this segment of the industry to offer events and learning opportunities, it needs to morph into a real trade association. We need to organize much like the Brewer's Association and form committees to address all issues that face the craft distilling industry. This would definitely step up the value added to the membership. Getting immersed in the regulatory and political arena to let "those that be" become aware of our existence and what issues are important to us is paramount.

Additionally, one of the biggest needs for most is an on-going emphasis on marketing effectively.

Right now we are limited to a forum that can offer great insight at times, but otherwise is comprised of random topics. It is also concerning, at least to me, that the forum has a significant population of individuals that are illegal distillers. As a professional association, we should not be educating this population. They already have their own sites for this.

I personally think that allowing at least some reasonable amount of home distilling should be legal, but regardless of my views or that of others, it remains illegal and we have to keep that in mind. The less we allow our legal activities to be associated with backwoods spirit production, the more our status a fine spirits producers will be elevated.

So, yes, I believe it is time for the ADI to begin making steps toward becoming a complete trade organization for the benefit of it's members.

Eric Watson

AlBevCon

[Max Action]

This is related to a question I posed in the ADI section of this forum, regarding the nature of ADI itself, but I haven't gotten a response yet. Is it for-profit or non-profit? What is its purpose and objective?

If it's simply a for-profit educational institute, I could understand that. There is certainly a demand for it in this growing industry. But if it's non-profit, what are the goals and member benefits?

[cowdery]

I sure hope nobody has started a distillery with a business plan whose success depends on reform of America's alcohol beverage regulation system.

There's an old saying about poverty: "the best thing you can do for poor people is not be one."

Likewise, probably the best thing you can do for the future of micro-distilling is to become a successful micro-distiller.