Brewing Licence

lad_chonamara

Could someone tell me how you would go about getting a brewer's licence in Ireland , how much it costs and what criteria you have to satisfy to obtain one. Thanks

BeerNut

lad_chonamara wrote: »

Could someone tell me how you would go about getting a brewer's licence in Ireland

Apply to your local Revenue office.

lad_chonamara wrote: »

how much it costs

Not much. A couple of hundred.

lad_chonamara wrote: »

and what criteria you have to satisfy to obtain one.

You must have a secure premises. It must meet the relevant planning laws and your operation must be certified safe for food production. You must have a bond in place with your bank. The amount of the bond is set by your Revenue officer and is based on the capacity of your brewery.

There's more here, but the best people to speak to now are your local Revenue office and get them to talk you through it. They may have to dig out the paperwork and learn the ropes too if they don't already have a brewery on their books, so allow plenty of time to get through the red tape.

lad_chonamara

Thanks for that, hard to find much info on the internet about it

sharingan

Also talk to any craft brewers who have made the leap.

You might be able to meet some at beer festivals.

drunkmonkey

I'm making some vodka, I presume I don't need a licence unless I sell it? Is it ok to share with friends legally.

Khannie

I don't think it's legal to distill spirits in ireland without a license.

Sky King

Yeah i think you can't legally distill... can;t figure where i read that though.

sharingan

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'm making some vodka, I presume I don't need a licence unless I sell it? Is it ok to share with friends legally.

Theres an old thread on this, but the distillation of spirits in Ireland is illegal without a license. Plain and simple.

There are issues with regard to other methods of producing highly concentrated alcohol (like freeze concentration) that could be a grey area, and there are robust yeasts that can get quite high alcohol concentration without distillation.

rubadub

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'm making some vodka, I presume I don't need a licence unless I sell it? Is it ok to share with friends legally.

You can't in Ireland without a licence, in several countries you can but not in backwards Ireland, the prevailing myths surrounding it probably mean no change in the foreseeable future.

Unless you are talking about brewing vodka kits, with no distillation. These are just neutral wines which are treated with carbon to reduce smell & taste.

Mr Simpson

A brewers licence costs €500 per annum, its renewable every september and is obtained from the revenue. To obtain a brewers licence you must pay a bond of 50% of the duty you expect to pay in the year. As far as I remember, this works out at about 12c per 500ml of 4.5% beer, its based on abv.

And in relation to distilling, In Ireland it is illegal to distill without a licence, regardless of whether you intend to sell it or not.

BeerNut

mmcn90 wrote: »

you must pay a bond

Well, you don't actually pay anything, other than the bank fees to keep the bond in place.

Mr Simpson

BeerNut wrote: »

mmcn90 wrote: »

you must pay a bond

Well, you don't actually pay anything, other than the bank fees to keep the bond in place.

Yeah, the bond is given to them at the start of the year, and you pay the rest of the duty as it occurs. At the end of the year the bond is equal to the duty due from a microbrewer, the rest is refunded.