Craft beer label brewed at a host brewery

Local pubs, bottle shops, cafes, restaurants, events and direct customers buying online or at markets.

Wholesale sales of kegs, cans or bottles to venues and shops, plus higher-margin direct sales online and at markets. Your main costs are brewing fees, ingredients, packaging, excise and freight.

• Understanding beer styles and recipe development
• Selling and building relationships with venues
• Organising production runs, labels and deliveries

• Excise licensing with the ATO and state liquor licensing, check who needs to hold which licence in a contract arrangement
• Label rules, including standard drink and pregnancy warning requirements, check with Food Standards Australia New Zealand and your state regulator
• Public liability and product liability insurance
• Cash flow, as you pay for batches and excise before customers pay you
• Registering a trade mark and checking your beer name is not already in use

Estimates suggest startup costs are typically around $10,000 to $45,000, depending on batch size, packaging, branding and the arrangement with your host brewery. You pay for batches and excise before customers pay you, so cash flow matters.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on how many pubs, bottle shops and online customers you sell to. It can start from about 15 hours a week.

Check excise licensing with the ATO and state liquor licensing, including who holds which licence in a contract arrangement. Check label rules, such as standard drink and pregnancy warnings, with FSANZ and your state regulator. Also check insurance and trade mark availability.