Takeaway beer and growler rules in India

Why there is no single answer

Alcohol in India is a state subject. Each state decides which licences exist, who may sell beer for consumption off the premises and in what containers. A brewpub or microbrewery licence in one state may allow takeaway sales in sealed containers. In another it may allow sale only for consumption on site. Rules also change with new excise policies, sometimes from one financial year to the next.

So treat any rule you hear from another founder, or read online, as a starting point for a question rather than an answer. Check the current notification for your state or ask your licensing consultant.

Questions to ask your licensing adviser

• Does my licence permit sale of beer for consumption off the premises? If not, is there an additional licence or permission I can apply for?
• Which containers are allowed: growlers, crowlers, cans, bottles or kegs? Is there a minimum or maximum volume?
• Must the container be sealed? Is a particular seal or closure required?
• What must the label show? Think brand, ABV, volume, batch, date and statutory warnings.
• Is there a limit on how much one customer can buy?
• How must takeaway sales be recorded for excise? Does duty work differently?
• Can I deliver, or must the customer collect in person?

Get the answers in writing. Excise inspectors will ask to see your records, so set up your POS and stock registers to match before the first fill.

Food safety and labelling

Beer sold in a container is a packaged food product as well as an excise product, so FSSAI requirements on packaging and labelling may apply alongside state rules. Our guide to FSSAI rules for beer explains the general framework. Your label must be accurate, especially the alcohol content.

Measure ABV rather than guessing it from the recipe. The standard estimate is (OG minus FG) x 131.25, using gravities read on calibrated equipment. A beer that finishes a few points higher or lower than planned will carry a different strength from the one printed on last month's label. Keep a record of the readings for each batch you package.

Fill it properly or do not fill it

A growler filled carelessly from a tap is a short-lived product. Beer splashed into a warm glass jug picks up oxygen, loses carbonation and starts to taste stale within days. That stale beer then gets judged at a friend's dinner party under your name.

Good practice for brewpubs that are allowed to fill:

• Fill only clean, sanitised containers. Many brewpubs refuse customers' own growlers unless they are cleaned on site.
• Use a filling tube to the bottom of the container, or better, a counter-pressure filler that purges with CO2 first.
• Fill cold. Beer at 2 to 4 °C holds its carbonation far better than beer at room temperature.
• Cap on foam so there is as little air as possible in the headspace.
• Tell the customer to keep it in the fridge and drink it within a few days. Once opened, it should be finished the same day.

Indian heat makes the last point urgent. A sealed growler left in a car in Pune in April is not going to taste like the beer you poured.

Cans and crowlers

Where the rules permit, a crowler (a large can seamed at the counter) or pre-filled cans protect beer from light and oxygen better than a glass growler. A small counter seamer is a modest investment. A canning line is a much larger one and changes your excise and labelling work. Weigh both against the volume you expect to sell. Our guide to beer distribution in India covers what changes once your beer leaves the premises in bulk.

Responsible sales

Takeaway brings responsibilities that end at the door for a dine-in pour. Check age as you would at the bar. Do not sell to someone visibly intoxicated. Remind customers not to drink and drive. Keep within any per-person limits your state sets.

Working out whether takeaway is worth it means pulling together licensing, packaging cost, excise records and pricing in one view. That is a business question as much as a brewing one.

Start small if you are allowed to sell at all. Offer one or two core beers for takeaway, track how many containers go out each week and compare the margin with a pint sold over the bar. Some brewpubs find takeaway brings in new guests. Others find it mostly moves sales from the bar to the counter at a lower margin.