Telangana government to allow microbreweries

Hyderabad: Beer lovers will have reason to cheer. The Telangana government has decided to give licences to set up micro-breweries in the GHMC limits and other major municipal corporations for the first time from this year, a concept which is popular in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. 

Orders to this effect were issued on Friday. With microbreweries, people have the choice to have a variety of beers, such as wheat beer and dark beer at par with other global cities. A microbrewery is a small brewery with an installed capacity of not more than 1,000 litres per day in a place having a built-up area with a spacious dining hall and parking facility, where draught beer is made and the same is served to their customers. 

These licences will be granted to establishments functioning in the GHMC area and municipalities and within a belt area of 5 km of the periphery of municipal corporations and in tourism centres (except places of religious tourism) as notified by the Union or state departments of tourism. The licence will be valid for one year from October 1.

The licence fee has been prescribed at Rs 3 lakh per annum. The licensee should furnish a security deposit of Rs 1 lakh as bank guarantee. Despite Telangana accounting for higher production and consumption of beer, there were no microbreweries till now unlike other metros and there has been demand from various quarters over allowing the same.

With the TRS government devising ambitious plans to develop Hyderabad as a ‘global city’, the latest move to allow micro-breweries is being viewed in this direction. Telangana is one of the largest beer producing states in the country, with more than six breweries. As many as 6.5 crore cases of beer are sold every year, including 3 crore cases in Hyderabad alone. Beer contributes 30 per cent of the excise revenue.