Making the jump from home brewing to brewing for a living

[davedoran]

Good topic for Brewery in NSW. Goes through some of the details discussed above but has a lot of info on the web page as well

http://www.caseysbeer.com.au/?page_id=423

 

[bigmacca]

Good topic for Brewery in NSW. Goes through some of the details discussed above but has a lot of info on the web page as well

http://www.caseysbeer.com.au/?page_id=423

Ive been following the caseysbeer.com.au site for a while now. Its a great resource.
Best of luck to the bloke!

 

[Phoney]

To bump an old thread... as this was probably the most recent one out of many on this topic:

If I want to sell my beer, under my own brand name, but have no intention of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on establishing and fitting out a premises. ie: I will only be contract brewing at my mates established & licensed brewery.

Do I just pay the $500 for a NSW producers license, insurance and I'm good to go? If not, what else would I need to get this far?

 

[jimmy86]

You will need an excise licence from the ato to be blessed with paying tax.
Only guessing with this but an approved DA from the local council since it's requested at the top of the producers application.

Then your own kegs, marketing and all the other fun things with running a business.

Give olgr a call they are really helpfull.

 

[Greg.L]

The council are the first people to talk to, they make the decisions on who can sell booze in their council area, so be nice to them.

 

[///]

To bump an old thread... as this was probably the most recent one out of many on this topic:

If I want to sell my beer, under my own brand name, but have no intention of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on establishing and fitting out a premises. ie: I will only be contract brewing at my mates established & licensed brewery.

Do I just pay the $500 for a NSW producers license, insurance and I'm good to go? If not, what else would I need to get this far?

Phoney

Ignore the above (sorry fella's, you are not right here). If you are seeking access to a Contract Brewed Beer you will need a NSW Wholesale Licence, this allows you to buy from and sell to another Licence Holder.

If you are going this route, you order the beer and all raw material / energy / copack inputs should be itemized and invoiced by the Contract Brewer, which when the product is to be released from their Bonded Excise Area, the residual and all excise needs to be payed. Typically the Contract Brewer will ask for 50% up front (inc all raw material/energy/excise/copack amounts) and then 50% on release from the warehouse (residual + excise unless you are moving to a bonded store).

For a Wholesale License, you apply to NSW Liquor and Gaming, but have to check on the Councils input. All NSW Liqour Licenses require the license to be linked to a Physical Address, this may be your 2 year olds bedroom, but there are specific requirements whether you are a Tenant or Owner Occupier.

Anyways, we have been thru 6 license applications, and a good lawyer may seem a bit of $$, but can save you a ton grief at the end of the day. We always appoint Grant Cusack http://www.hatziscusack.com.au/

I know Grant has done a number of these applications and knows his stuff.

Anyways, any more info let me know. I am the CBIA State Rep and hence have a degree of pastoral care for such matters.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

If you are going to run a bonded store then the ATO will need to be consulted and approval obtained. They want stuff like physical adress, methods to secure the alcohilic product..etc

Its easier if you pay the excise before it leaves the contract brewers permises.

 

[spog]

Perhaps getting in touch with Dr Smurto will help in answering questions in the minefield of commercial brewing,he may be able to give you info of who to talk to.,anyone here been lucky enough to try Dr,s orders brews?

 

[jimmy86]

Thanks Scotty, happy to be corrected.

And spog Drs orders is doc and not dr smurto as far as I know. Doc was the cuckoo's nest brewer where he takes over the brewery ... In a sense.

Warning I was wrong earlier in this thread

 

[mje1980]

Perhaps getting in touch with Dr Smurto will help in answering questions in the minefield of commercial brewing,he may be able to give you info of who to talk to.,anyone here been lucky enough to try Dr,s orders brews?

/// is also involved in the brewing industry. He also likes wearing garish shirts and walks on the beach.

 

[jimmy86]

Also to add I really enjoy trying Dr's orders beers spog. And they will be easier to access now he has started to bottle.

 

[///]

Doc may do some work in the brewery on the wort production side, but most do not give this option and the site does all the work. Ie. you order the beer, pay your bill, get your stock.

Last year I contracted over 250,000l across 4 sites (have brewed in 8-9 over time), know this gig backwards as well as the NSW Licensing and ATO.

Scotty

 

[Burt de Ernie]

Um no, same rules do not apply across the state. From the producer/wholesaler section of the OLGR website -

"For small-scale regional brewers and distillers, the licence also allows tastings and retail sales in bottles at the licensed premises."

I think this has something to do with the zoning of the property where the brewery/winery is on.

 

[Burt de Ernie]

The licensing, brewery plant and making beer are lesser issues when wishing to make money from brewing. IMO the business of brewing is primarily a volume game. This means the breweries with the best distribution are the most successful.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

The licensing, brewery plant and making beer are lesser issues when wishing to make money from brewing. IMO the business of brewing is primarily a volume game. This means the breweries with the best distribution are the most successful.

110% TRUE

 

[peas_and_corn]

Perhaps getting in touch with Dr Smurto will help in answering questions in the minefield of commercial brewing,he may be able to give you info of who to talk to.,anyone here been lucky enough to try Dr,s orders brews?

Dr S isn't a (commercial) brewer. The guy who runs doctors orders is Doc

 

[Greg.L]

Phoney

Ignore the above (sorry fella's, you are not right here). If you are seeking access to a Contract Brewed Beer you will need a NSW Wholesale Licence, this allows you to buy from and sell to another Licence Holder.

If you are going this route, you order the beer and all raw material / energy / copack inputs should be itemized and invoiced by the Contract Brewer, which when the product is to be released from their Bonded Excise Area, the residual and all excise needs to be payed. Typically the Contract Brewer will ask for 50% up front (inc all raw material/energy/excise/copack amounts) and then 50% on release from the warehouse (residual + excise unless you are moving to a bonded store).

For a Wholesale License, you apply to NSW Liquor and Gaming, but have to check on the Councils input. All NSW Liqour Licenses require the license to be linked to a Physical Address, this may be your 2 year olds bedroom, but there are specific requirements whether you are a Tenant or Owner Occupier.

Anyways, we have been thru 6 license applications, and a good lawyer may seem a bit of $$, but can save you a ton grief at the end of the day. We always appoint Grant Cusack http://www.hatziscusack.com.au/

I know Grant has done a number of these applications and knows his stuff.

Anyways, any more info let me know. I am the CBIA State Rep and hence have a degree of pastoral care for such matters.

It's good to get such accurate information posted. I thought Phoney wanted to sell direct to the public which is why I said go to council. It must be hard getting small volumes sold through retail outlets.

 

[Greg.L]

I think this has something to do with the zoning of the property where the brewery/winery is on.

It is just a matter of whether the brewery is outside Sydney, zoning would be important but that is part of the DA process. If you want to sell booze direct to the public you need a suitable location (eg not next to a school).

 

[Phoney]

Phoney

Ignore the above (sorry fella's, you are not right here). If you are seeking access to a Contract Brewed Beer you will need a NSW Wholesale Licence, this allows you to buy from and sell to another Licence Holder.

If you are going this route, you order the beer and all raw material / energy / copack inputs should be itemized and invoiced by the Contract Brewer, which when the product is to be released from their Bonded Excise Area, the residual and all excise needs to be payed. Typically the Contract Brewer will ask for 50% up front (inc all raw material/energy/excise/copack amounts) and then 50% on release from the warehouse (residual + excise unless you are moving to a bonded store).

For a Wholesale License, you apply to NSW Liquor and Gaming, but have to check on the Councils input. All NSW Liqour Licenses require the license to be linked to a Physical Address, this may be your 2 year olds bedroom, but there are specific requirements whether you are a Tenant or Owner Occupier.

Anyways, we have been thru 6 license applications, and a good lawyer may seem a bit of $$, but can save you a ton grief at the end of the day. We always appoint Grant Cusack http://www.hatziscusack.com.au/

I know Grant has done a number of these applications and knows his stuff.

Anyways, any more info let me know. I am the CBIA State Rep and hence have a degree of pastoral care for such matters.

Thanks so much Scotty! Legend. Can you give me a ballpark sort of figure of costs to get off the ground with a NSW wholesale license and be ready to contract brew?

It's good to get such accurate information posted. I thought Phoney wanted to sell direct to the public which is why I said go to council. It must be hard getting small volumes sold through retail outlets.

Well I do want to sell direct to the public. Though the "retail outlets" are usually called pubs or bars and the council is already well aware of them. I have friends who are publicans and / or managers of licensed premises. As soon as I can commercially produce kegs of beer, they will buy them off me and put them on tap for the public to devour. It's as simple as that. However given that it generally costs around $170 to produce a keg via contract, and you sell them for $250, I don't want to invest too much into this venture when the profit margins are so slim.

 

[Greg.L]

You are lucky to have contacts like that, selling booze is much harder than making it. For me, the idea of contracting one place to make beer to sell in another place doesn't seem to have much point, I can't see where the fun is. Making your own beer and selling it direct to punters, yes.