What are the legal hoops to jump through for a micro?

[mattd2]

I was wonding, partly out of interest / partly because maybe one day I would like to open one, what are the legal requirements that a micro brewery has to comply with? I have looked at a few places all over the internet and still don't feel like I know anything for certain.

Is it the food act, sales of alcohol act, local council, etc... or, as I am assuming, a combination of these. I know if you want to supply beer direct to the public you will need a liqour licence and comply with the sale of alcohol act but what else? And if you are only selling to a distrubutor (or someone else with a liquor licence) as I understand it you do not need a licence but what do you need?

If anyone would like to point me in the right direction for further reading, etc. that would be awesome.

Cheers!

[Ralph]

Food Hygiene regulations for a brewery are up here http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/1974/0169/latest/D... click on the next tab to read the other brewery relevant parts.

 

From the same act, you would need to register your premise http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/1974/0169/latest/D...

 

There is stuff in there about excise tax etc too.

[mattd2]

Ah, schedule 1 is also good for requirements of a register place in terms of what you actually need in the brewery construction.

Should have looked further, thanks Ralph!

[Chris Mills]

You will need to talk to your local council's Environmental Health Officer and they will direct you to all the particular documents and steps you'll need to go through. Each council is a little different so there may be certain hoops you'll need to go through that are different from someone else.

In my case I had to install a commercial kitchen which is a little more comprehensive than that of the basic brewery definition. The bottom line is check with your local council.