Microbreweries - establishment and relief

How do breweries qualify for the relief?

A brewery will qualify for relief if:

  • the quantity of beer brewed in the previous year was less than 75,000 hectolitres
  • the brewery is independent of any other brewery
  • and
  • the premises is located apart from the premises of another brewery.

A brewery will also qualify if less than 50% of the beer brewed in the previous calendar year was under:

  • licence
  • franchise
  • or
  • contract

to another brewery.

If you own two or more breweries, you are treated as a single brewery. You will qualify for this relief if the total quantity of the beer brewed in those breweries does not exceed 75,000 hectolitres.

Any beer which you produce under licence, franchise or contract for another producer of beer should be included when calculating your annual production quantity. Usually, beer produced under licence, franchise or contract for another producer of beer does not qualify for relief. However, there is an exception to this whereby beer brewed for another brewery under licence, franchise or contract will qualify for the relief if:

  • each of the breweries satisfies the criteria outlined above
  • the quantity of beer brewed in each of the breweries did not exceed 75,000 hectolitres
  • and
  • the total quantity of beer brewed by all the breweries involved did not exceed 150,000 hectolitres in the previous calendar year.

Further information on the total annual production threshold applicable to independent small producers of alcoholic beverages can be found in the Explanatory Notes published by the European Commission in December 2021.

Next: How do you claim the relief?