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  • Records for breweries

    If you manufacture and store excisable beer, you need to keep detailed records of your operations.

    You need to:

    • keep the records required by your licence
    • keep the records for the period advised on your licence (generally five years)
    • make these records (and copies) available to us if we ask to see them.

    If you cease to hold an excise licence you must keep all records of your previously-licensed activities, for the period advised on your licence.

    Most records required are those that you would normally use in your business operations. If your records don't meet the requirements, we may direct you to maintain specific records.

    On this page:

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    Brewery records required

    In addition to the general records for most excisable alcohol businesses, if you operate a brewery you need to keep records that cover the entire manufacturing process:

    • receipt of raw materials
    • production process
    • packaging
    • stock on hand
    • sales
    • excise return lodgment and excise duty payment.

    Generally, the information you should record includes:

    • the amount of excisable beer produced including all inputs, outputs and waste
    • details of all excisable beverages held in your excise-licensed premises
    • all deliveries from your excise-licensed premises
    • details of all excise returns lodged and duty payments
    • any refunds and remissions.
    Brewery records information and examples

    Examples of types of records

    Information your records need to show

    Raw materials register recording:

    • all raw materials moving into your excise-licensed premises
    • all raw materials used in production
     

    The information needs to include:

    • invoice number
    • date, type and quantity of material received
    • opening stock quantity
    • date, type, quantity and batch number for the raw material used in production
    • closing stock quantity.
     

    Recipes of all products produced at your excise-licensed premises

    The minimum details need to be:

    • product type
    • ingredients used – type and quantity
    • hops and other bittering agents used (for beer)
    • process of manufacture.
     

    Brewhouse records

    The minimum details need to be:

    • type of product being manufactured
    • details of equipment used, for example storage vessels, lauter tun, mash tun, kettle
    • batch number and date on which manufacture of the batch commenced
    • quantities of materials used
    • volume of water added to kettle
    • volume of liquid transferred to fermentation tanks
    • details of fermentation tanks used
    • details of losses incurred during transfer of product.
     

    Fermentation and storage records

    The minimum details need to be:

    • date on which liquid is transferred to fermentation tanks
    • volume of liquid transferred to fermentation tanks
    • quantity of yeast added to liquid
    • details of specific gravity measurements during fermentation
    • temperature at which specific gravity measurements are taken
    • fermentation tank details.
     

    Bright beer register

    The minimum details need to be:

    • the date and quantity transferred, if beer is moved to a storage tank after fermentation
    • whether the beer was filtered when being transferred
    • the date the beer was moved out of the tank for packaging
    • the quantity and temperature of beer moved for packaging
    • details of tanks used.
     

    Packaging register

    The minimum details need to be:

    • product type
    • date of packaging
    • packaging unit size, for example 330ml bottles, 50 litre kegs
    • volume available for packaging including litres and alcoholic strength
    • total number of units packaged
    • packaging losses incurred.
     

    Packaged product register

    The minimum details need to be:

    • product type
    • package type and size
    • opening stock details and date
    • quantities of packaged stock as a running total
    • alcoholic strength of product
    • date on which product was moved to packaged stock
    • quantity of product moved to packaged stock
    • date on which product was moved out of store
    • quantity of product moved out of store
    • details of breakages and loss of products and any remissions claimed.
     

    You can also contact us for further guidance or examples of appropriate records to meet the record-keeping requirements.

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    Last modified: 15 Sep 2020QC 63613