Let's say that i am interested in selling one of my beers. What, legally, do i have to do to enable that?
I am in the process of opening a brewery and let me just say the the federal TTB lic. is only one hurdle you are going to have to jump. There is also local regulations that are just simply going to shock you. Be prepared to spend at least $80,000 just to get off the ground, unless you are planning on going REALLY small and, in that case, be prepared to constantly lose money while supplying a small bar with beer.
To give you an idea we are starting with basically a 3 bbl system (or, to be more correct, a brew system that is capable of brewing 1.5 bbls that we back to back batch into 3bbl fermenters.) And we are looking to be able to supply only 2 or 3 bars until our big system is finally ready. On the books, unless you start off with around a 6 or 7 bbl brewery you are going to be losing money every month. And you really need about a 15 bbl system to really float the boat.
There are mounds and mounds of paper work. There are local laws that may cause you to have to go through a distributor. There are inspections, limits, regulations, and fees. Lots of fees.
We have been hit by many surprises by local officials. One of the biggest surprises was the $5,000 in food grade lights we had to have to pass inspection. Or the explosion proof grain room including fan and hundreds of dollars in outles and light switches that would not ignite a spark (stupid, I know.) Or the glass interceptor we had to install even though we are not planning on bottling - also $5,000. There's also $1000s of dollars of fees and lic you have to pay annually. There's lots more, I just don't have time to give you all the info.
If you are planning on just selling a few beers out your door be warned, the TTB does not think this is fine, funny or cute, nor does your local Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. They want their revenue. If they find out, they will arrest you!