Distilleries and Home Breweries

Arizona Requirements

Giving away your homemade liquor (beer, wine or distilled spirits) to family and friends who are age 21 or older does not require a license. Dealing in liquor for sale or resale does require a liquor license. "Dealing in liquor" includes producing, infusing, reformulating, manufacturing, bottling, storing, serving, sampling, and selling. In many cases a licenses on the local, state and federal level are required.

Below are the registration requirements to have a still on private property for personal production/consumption of distilled spirits in Arizona, activities which do not require a state-issued liquor license. They may require a federal or local liquor license, however.

Also below are statutes and rules for distilling, home brewing, and wine production for resale.

Before applying for a liquor license to produce liquor at your residence, check with your homeowner's association, and local government (county, city, town) to ensure compliance.

Finally, federal requirements for home distilling, brewing and wine-making are the last section of this page.

Statute #	Description	View
4-221	Registration of stills; forfeiture; sale; proceeds	View

Producing Liquor For Resale:

In-State Producer Application Kit - Series 1

This non-transferable liquor license allows an in-state producer to produce or manufacture all types of spirituous liquor and sell the product to a licensed wholesaler. A person who holds an In-State Producer license may also sell liquor produced or manufactured on the licensed premises for on-site consumption if the producer also holds an on-sale retail license (See series 06, 07 or 12 below). The retail license premises must be located on, or adjacent to, the licensed premises of the in-state producer.

Link to License application

Home Brewing and Wine Production:

To deal in liquor (as described below in statute), you must; 1) have a business approved by your local government to operate from, and 2) have a liquor license.

Giving your homemade liquor away to family and friends who are age 21 or older does not require a license.

The law regarding "dealing in liquor" (selling, storing, producing, providing for profit) is below.

Statute #	Description	View
4-244	Unlawful acts	View
4-244.05	Unlicensed business establishment or premises; unlawful consumption of spirituous liquor; civil penalty; seizure and forfeiture of property	View

Federal Requirements for Producing Spirits

You may not produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant. [See 26 U.S.C. 5601 & 5602 for some of the criminal penalties.] There are numerous requirements that must be met that also make it impractical to produce spirits for personal or beverage use. Some of these requirements are paying special tax, filing an extensive application, filing a bond, providing adequate equipment to measure spirits, providing suitable tanks and pipelines, providing a separate building (other than a dwelling) and maintaining detailed records, and filing reports. All of these requirements are listed in 27 CFR Part 19. Spirits may be produced for non-beverage purposes for fuel use only without payment of tax, but you also must file an application, receive TTB's approval, and follow requirements, such as construction, use, records and reports.

View TTB website