Craft beer and artisan spirit producer licence options

You must be licensed to sell craft beer or artisan spirits in Queensland.

Eligibility

You'll need an Australian Government licence to manufacture excisable products to legally manufacture craft beer or artisan spirits for commercial purposes. You should already hold this licence before applying to the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) for a liquor licence under the Queensland Liquor Act 1992.

There are several types of liquor licences available to craft beer or artisan spirit producers in Queensland—you can decide which suits you best.

Craft brewers typically get an artisan producer licence, but other options might provide greater flexibility for your circumstances.

Whichever option you choose, you must always meet the principal activity of that licence.

Artisan producer licence

Under an artisan producer licence, your main activity must be the production of craft beer and/or artisan spirits on the licensed premises. In any financial year, you can make:

  • at least 2,500L of craft beer—but no more than 5 million litres
  • at least 400L of artisan spirits—but no more than 450,000L.

You can sell your product for consumption on or off the licensed premises.

You can also sell other Queensland licensees' craft beer and artisan spirits (and only Queensland wine) for consumption on the premises only. The sale of another licensee's products can't account for more than 30% of your total sales for the year.

You can also apply to sell samples of your product at promotional events, for consumption at the event or as takeaway. Apply for a licence condition allowing you to:

New Queensland liquor licence applicants can apply for this condition by ticking the relevant box under part G of the application for a liquor licence.

There's no restriction on the number of promotional events you can attend. Once your licence is endorsed with this condition, you won't need further approval.

Producer/wholesaler licence

A producer/wholesaler licence allows you to sell craft beer or artisan spirits that you produce on the premises for consumption on or off the premises.

You can also apply for a licence condition allowing you to:

These must be sold as samples for consumption at the event or as takeaway liquor.

Allowing BYO

Under the producer/wholesaler licence, you can allow patrons to BYO for on-premises consumption. Besides corkage, you can't charge a fee in relation to BYO alcohol—this is not authorised by the licence.

Satellite cellar door approval

A producer/wholesaler licensee can partner with a licensed Queensland wine producer to get satellite cellar door (SCD) approval for their premises. This allows the sale and consumption of the other producer's wine on or off the premises (in addition to your craft beer or artisan spirits). Under this arrangement, the wine producer is responsible for the sale and supply of their wine at the SCD.

The producer/wholesaler licence and SCD approval are issued under separate legislation, but both can be issued for the same premises if held by the same licensee.

Commercial–other subsidiary on-premises (meals or cafe) licence

A commercial–other subsidiary on-premises (meals or cafe) licence allows you to sell any type of alcohol for on-premises consumption with meals or prepared food.

A meal is food that can be eaten with cutlery while seated—for example, roast beef with vegetables, lasagne, a stir-fry or a curry with rice. It is not light takeaway food like snacks, hot chips, an entree or kid's meal.

Serving meals must be the principal activity of the business. This means:

  • meals must be provided daily
  • most patrons who attend the venue during a day will consume a meal
  • most of the premises will be set up for dining
  • the kitchen will be open up until 1 hour before closing the premises
  • there will be enough staff on site to prepare and serve meals.

You can't have more than 1 licence for the same area of your premises, so areas licensed under producer/wholesaler and meals/cafe licences would have to be separate, but can be adjoining.

Commercial–other bar licence

A commercial–other bar licence allows you to sell any type of alcohol for consumption within the licensed area on the premises, provided you limit your capacity to 60 (seated) or 100 (standing) patrons in that licensed area.

You can't have more than 1 licence for the same area of your premises, so any areas licensed under producer/wholesaler and bar licences would have to be separate, but can be adjoining.

Commercial hotel licence

A commercial hotel licence allows you to sell all types of alcohol for consumption on or off the premises and maintain the wholesale aspect of your business. Your business must have a commercial kitchen and at least 2 of the following facilities:

  • a dining, restaurant, or bistro-style facility
  • self-contained accommodation with at least 3 rooms for letting to travellers
  • a function room available for hire by the public.

It must also have seating for more than 60 patrons and adequate male and female toilets.

Also consider…

  • Last reviewed: 7 Sep 2023
  • Last updated: 22 Sep 2023