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Microbreweries likely to be allowed take-away and supply to bars
New Delhi: The proposed excise policy for Delhi allows microbreweries in the city to offer take-away services for draught beer, and supply to bars and restaurants by meeting certain protocols
New Delhi: The proposed excise policy for Delhi allows microbreweries in the city to offer take-away services for draught beer, and supply to bars and restaurants by meeting certain protocols.
“Draught beer will be allowed to be taken away in bottles or growlers (pitcher or can like containers used for measuring beer) as applicable in other states such as Punjab and Karnataka. This will help fuel the micro-brewery industry. Draught beer will also be allowed to be served at permitted events who have the P10, P10A P11, P13 license. However, wherever draught beer is being served as a take away, clear signage and information will be needed to put up about its short shelf life and the bottles will have to mention the expiry date clearly,” read the report of group of ministers set up last September.
The recommendations were cleared by the Delhi cabinet. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Monday that the excise department will start drafting the new Delhi Excise Policy, 2021 on the basis of the GoM report.
The report also recommended that micro-breweries will be allowed to supply to other bars and restaurants who have L12, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, L20, L21 licences. It said the orders can only be placed by the these licence holders through a retail vend who will procure the product from an L1 distributor. “Each microbrewery will have to appoint a L1 (wholesale license category) distributor for any off-premise sale. The L1 distributor and the micro-brewery will have the responsibility to reinforce the expiry date and ensure no product outside the expiry date is being sold at the outlets,” the report read.
Delhi has only two microbreweries – Ministry of Beer and Connaught Club -- both located in Connaught Place, said a senior official in the excise department.
Manpreet Singh, treasurer of the National Restaurants Association of India, said the proposed move will help in the growth of microbreweries in Delhi, and the owners expand their business. “The move to allow microbreweries use their additional capacity for distribution will be a major relief in the winter months when their capacities usually remain under-utilised because of drop in demand but they still have to pay a flat monthly fee.”
In 2015, the Delhi government had introduced a provision in its excise policy to allow restaurants, hotels and clubs to have microbreweries. The first application for licence was received the same year. To be sure, the microbreweries in Gurugram had already existed for several years by then – expanding their range products and splashing big offers. But Delhi had a difficult road ahead.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the Master Plan 2021 included microbreweries under the category of “liquor-making plants” that are prohibited in the Capital. In September 2018, lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal approved a proposal, which said microbreweries be excluded from the prohibited list. Matters related to land use in the Capital comes under the domain of the L-G.
In February 2019, the DDA notified the change. Since then, two microbreweries have been functional in Delhi. According to current rules, a microbrewery can only have a capacity of up to 500 litres per day and has to install an on-site waste treatment plant.
