Brewers bid to offer craft in glasses
Craft brewers who want to be able to serve beer by the glass have welcomed moves to put them on a level playing field with wineries.
Wine producers can sell wine for consumption at an approved part of their licensed premises, but beer producers have to apply for a tavern or special facility licence before they can do so.
Under the Liquor Control Act, boutique beer producers can only sell beer as packaged, takeaway liquor. But WA's independent liquor review recommends beer producers be able to sell liquor for consumption at their premises between 10am and 10pm.
Billabong Brewing licensee Alan Proctor, whose Myaree microbrewery specialises in gluten-free beer, said all he wanted was to be able to sell his product by the glass in the brewery.
Mr Proctor said his brewery could provide a free 100ml sample to customers but he would like to stay open three nights a week.
"We don't want to be a hotel, we don't want to be a tavern - all we want to be able to do is invite people in and sell them a glass of our beer," he said. "It would open up the brewery to tourists and make us look more professional."
Kalgoorlie brewer Nick Galton-Fenzie, who set up the Beaten Track nano-brewery in 2010, said the land the brewery was on would have to be re-gazetted for him to get a tavern licence.
"When the Act was written in 1988 there was one (micro) brewery in WA and that was the Bootleg Brewery," Mr Galton-Fenzie said. "With this change you would probably see a lot more microbreweries opening up, which will lead to a bigger selection for consumers."
