Hyderabad: The state government is likely to relax regulations for establishing microbreweries in Hyderabad, said official sources in the excise department.
Currently, there are 18 microbreweries operating in Hitec City, Jubilee Hills, and Banjara Hills and the government wants to expand microbreweries to other parts of the city to meet the rising beer demand in the summer.
The previous BRS government first introduced the policy permitting microbreweries in the city in 2015, bringing Hyderabad in line with other metropolitan cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Gurugram. Following state directives, the excise department had issued a notification in 2015 inviting applications for microbrewery establishments.
The initiative received an enthusiastic response from pubs and hotels, with around 60 applications submitted in 2016. However, only 18 microbreweries were granted licences. Setting up a microbrewery requires an estimated investment of Rs 2 crore. The government had previously set a licence fee of Rs 3 lakh, along with an additional security deposit of Rs 1 lakh.
As per the existing regulations, any draught beer produced at a microbrewery cannot be bottled or sold outside the premises and must be served exclusively in glasses or pitchers. Additionally, beer older than 36 hours cannot be sold or served, and the production capacity is capped at 1,000 litres per day.
In 2015, the excise department mandated a minimum plinth area of 1,000 square metres for microbreweries in Hyderabad. This included a minimum of 100 square metres for the serving area, 100 square metres for a restaurant, and 300 square metres for the brewing plant. However, the government is now planning to revise these norms to ease the financial burden on prospective applicants. According to sources, the required plant area is likely to be reduced from 300 square meters to 100 square metres.
A fresh notification inviting applications for new microbreweries is expected soon, along with additional regulatory relaxations to encourage more applicants.
