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Howard County board approves distillery permit and license class change for JS Brewery
Summary
The Howard County Alcoholic Beverage Board approved a change in license class and an on‑site distillery/on‑off sale permit for JS Brewery to produce and sell traditional Korean makgeolli and soju, citing the applicant’s educational mission, federal and state approvals and small production scale.
The Howard County Alcoholic Beverage Board on July 21 approved a change in license class and a distillery on‑site consumption and on/off‑sale permit for JS Brewery, a small Columbia enterprise that brews traditional Korean makgeolli and seeks permission to distill a traditional soju.
Martin Johnson, who assists the applicant, told the board JS Brewery is a small production and education facility on Route 108; counsel said the applicant has federal and state approvals already in place. Applicant Rajiv Kumar Agarwal described the operation as primarily educational — tastings, hands‑on brewing classes and cultural programming — and said most sales are marginal and by the bottle (375 ml), with typical sessions lasting two to three hours.
Agarwal said annual production of the distilled product is expected to be about 100 gallons (roughly 10 gallons per month). He described the product as a traditional, additive‑free soju and said makgeolli bottles are priced about $30–$35 while soju would be about $60 a bottle. Board members emphasized the small scale of production and the educational mission and noted there were no prior licensing violations on record.
After questions about hours, batches and on‑site consumption, Chair Chen moved to approve the license change and on‑site distillery permit; the motion passed on unanimous roll call and the applicant waived rights to appeal.
