Your customers may view your new collaboration beer as a gift. A couple of craft breweries combining their expertise to craft a new superbrew for a thirsty and grateful public.

It’s true that brewing a collaboration beer can be fun, and a great marketing tactic. But Beall Brewery Insurance points out that it’s not a spur-of-the-moment, do-you-have-plans-this-week kind of decision. Selecting a collaboration beer partner, managing the brewing logistics, and marketing the resulting beer are business decisions that need to be taken seriously.

• Who owns the resulting beer? Typically it belongs to the host brewery, and is theirs to sell.
• If a collaboration beer is re-released, does the partner brewery receive any remuneration? Most often the answer is no.
• Who is responsible for brewing, packaging, and marketing the beer? Again, the ball is usually in the host brewery’s court.

Collaboration Beer Risks

Then there’s the more prosaic consideration of potential injury or damage sustained during the collaboration. If the visiting brewer (or group of brewers) receives an injury in the course of working on a collaboration brew at your brewery, how will your craft brewery insurance address that injury?

Or what if damage occurs to your equipment in the course of brewing a collaboration beer. Does non-brewery staff’s participation in the work impact how you file—or collect on—your claim?

While participating breweries certainly have fun working on collaboration brews, and craft beer fans often anticipate them, they are not projects a craft brewery should enter lightly. Be sure you are choosing your collaboration partner wisely, that both of you are on the same page regarding the business aspects of the collaboration, and that you check with your craft brewery insurance agent before the project begins.

For more than 25 years, Beall Financial and Insurance Services, Inc., has been helping corporations and individuals protect their most important assets. The agency’s client base covers a spectrum of niche businesses, such as craft breweries, that require specialized insurance packages and knowledge. With California offices in Redlands and Newport Beach, Beall Financial and Insurance Services serves clients nationwide.