Two Prayagraj bar owners apply for licences to set up microbreweries

The move to open microbreweries in Prayagraj aims at increasing government revenue, providing a boost to employment and tourism

PRAYAGRAJ Soon, beer lovers of Sangam city too would be able to enjoy freshly brewed lagers at select joints in Prayagraj. For the first time, two bar owners of the city have applied for licences to the state excise department for setting up microbreweries on their premises, according to senior state excise department officials.

As soon as the plants of microbreweries get installed and become functional at bars in Prayagraj, licences for running them would be issued as per the set norms. (Photo for representation)

The applications for the licences have been made under a June 2019 state government’s decision, allowing hotels, restaurants and clubs to set up microbreweries for serving draught beer. The decision aimed at increasing revenues of the Uttar Pradesh government and also providing a boost to employment and tourism in the state, they added.

“As soon as the plants get installed and become functional, licences for running them would be issued as per the set norms,” the officials said.

Confirming the development, district excise officer, Prayagraj, Jitendra Kumar Singh said that so far cities having high tourist large footfalls or business centres in the state had applied for setting up microbreweries like Lucknow, Agra and Ghaziabad among others, but now for the first-time interest in this regard has been shown by two bar owners of Prayagraj city.

Officials said that in stark contrast to various liquors for which “older the better” is the mantra, in case of beer “the fresher the better” is the buzz word.

“Beer freshness has an immense impact on the brew’s flavour, which is why the beer poured from a keg is likely to be fresher and tastier than what you would sip from the bottle,” they explain.

A microbrewery is a small unit that produces beer in limited quantity for captive consumption, and is found mostly in establishments such as hotels and restaurants located in tourist hotspots. The state cabinet meeting chaired by the UP CM had cleared the proposal for amending the UP-Brewery Rules-1961 with UP Brewery (6th Amendment)-2019 to incorporate relevant changes to facilitate setting up of microbreweries.

Many states like Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh etc also have the provision of microbreweries in major cities and towns. So far, 12 licenses have been issued in UP.

The economics of setting up beer plant

Setting up a small beer plant requires ₹50 lakh while a bigger one can cost ₹90 lakh and one needs a minimum of 250 sq feet of space. In 2019, the state increased the annual license fee for microbreweries from ₹25,000 fixed in 1974 to ₹2.5 lakh and has also hiked the renewal fee. Besides, ₹1 lakh also needs to be deposited as guarantee amount.

Current holders of licenses for hotel, resort, restaurant and commercial clubs are eligible to apply for microbrewery with the state excise commissioner through the respective district magistrate offices. The excise commissioner can permit microbreweries based on the recommendation of the district magistrate. Each microbrewery would, however, be allowed to produce only 600 litres of beer a day and taking 350 as average number of working days annually, 210,000 litres of beer can be produced each year. There is a penalty of ₹5,000 per day for violation of microbrewery rules.