Northern Ireland’s craft beer makers may be able to serve their ales straight from the brewery more often under new licencing laws.
Part of a Stormont overhaul of local liquor licencing rules includes a proposed Amendment from the Assembly Communities Committee to allow brewers to be granted 104 days per year to operate a ‘taproom’.
The Amendment is one of a number of proposals made by the Committee in its report on the new Licensing and Registration of Clubs (Amendment) Bill. The Committee says its report “contains a number of important proposals and amendments which, if passed by the Assembly, will see the most comprehensive changes to liquor licensing laws here since 1996”.
Under the taproom rule, the beer makers will be allowed to serve their produce on site between 4pm and 10pm. The move could be a significant boost to some local brewers who currently have to be given an ‘occasional’ licence from an existing licence holder - most likely a pub.
There are around 30 craft beer makers throughout Northern Ireland and sources familiar with the industry believe around eight to ten would be interested in running taprooms. It is common practice in England for beer makers to serve their beers straight from the brewery.
In East Belfast, Boundary Brewing is well known for its taprooms, however the new rules would make organising such events potentially easier. There have been some concerns raised by local brewers regarding planning permission and rates bills.
Reacting to the developments, William Mayne of Bullhouse Brew Co off Boucher Road in South Belfast, said: “One issue which hasn’t been clarified yet is whether this will impact our industrial de-rating. If it does, it could see rates bills go up by 180% for something we can only use for 12 hours per week, which would leave brewers wondering whether it was all worthwhile.
“Another issue is around planning and whether or not there will be any requirement for planning to be approved for a possible ‘change of use’. In the Republic they introduced a similar change to the law to allow taprooms in 2018, but three years since the law changed only one brewery has been successful in jumping through all the planning requirements because it was not clarified in the legislation. We are concerned that, if the Department do not clarify these requirements, the Committee’s Amendment may end up being nothing more than a vanity project and we may end up in a worse position than we are in now.”
Speaking before an Assembly debate on the issue, Stormont Communities Committee Chairperson Paula Bradley confirmed that Committee Members have “proposed a new key amendment which would introduce a licence allowing local producers to operate a taproom during limited hours for 104 days a year”.
