How to Start a Beer Manufacturing Business in India

Starting a beer manufacturing business in India depends on a state excise licence first and on equipment second. Excise on alcohol is a state matter, so the forms, fees and stages differ from one state to the next. Choose the route and the state before you talk to a machinery supplier.

You have three routes: a brewpub or microbrewery that brews and sells at its own premises, a production plant that bottles or cans for distribution, or contract brewing, where a licensed brewery makes your brand. Money follows the route. In NPCS project reports, a craft beer plant making 5,000 litres a day needs a total capital investment of about ₹8.3 crore, and a plant filling 96,000 bottles a day needs about ₹37.8 crore.

Other drinks are covered in beverage manufacturing ideas.

Brewpub, own plant or contract brewing: which route fits you?

Each route changes the licence, the capital bill and the weak point.

Choose the brewpub if you can fill a premises with customers yourself. Choose contract brewing if you have a brand and distribution but no site. Build a plant only when buyers for its volume are already lined up, because its cost stays fixed whether the beer sells or not. If your buyers prefer spirits or wine, see the Indian-made foreign liquor guide or the wine business guide.

How much does it cost to start a beer manufacturing business in India?

Two NPCS project reports show how the bill grows with scale. They are sized in litres and bottles, so compare the shape of the cost, not the capacity.

Machinery is about 46% of the craft plant's capital and 64% of the large plant's. Even at industrial scale over a third of the money goes elsewhere, so budget separately for the building, effluent treatment, utilities and approvals. Your own number moves with brewhouse size, whether an existing building will do, the packaging line and the state's licence fee.

NPCS has prepared project reports since 1994, and the figures above come from its published project statistics. A lender will still want a report built for your site and your state.

Which licences does a brewery need, and in what order?

Start with the state excise department, not the factory inspector. Maharashtra's beer manufacturing licence page shows a typical sequence. You apply to the district Collector for a Letter of Intent, build the plant, tell the Collector it is ready, and only then pay for and collect the licence.

The file includes lease or ownership proof with the owner's no-objection letter, proof of non-agricultural land, a layout drawing, a process description, a project report, fire clearance, pollution control board consent (to establish, then to operate) and a police antecedent report. The page lists a minimum annual fee of ₹10,62,600 for production up to 2,00,000 cases of 7.8 litres and ₹5.35 for each case above that. The page shows a review date of 19 November 2020, so confirm the current fee.

A 2024 amendment, summarised by TeamLease RegTech, defines craft beer in Maharashtra as beer up to 8% alcohol by volume made in a microbrewery or restaurant-brewery. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued alcoholic beverages standards in 2018 that treat beer up to 5% as regular and 5% to 8% as strong.

Other states run their own sequence. This summary comes from a Lexplosion compliance guide published in 2021 and updated in March 2026:

How is beer made, and which machines will suppliers quote?

Beer needs malted barley, hops, yeast and water. FSSAI's standards also allow adjuncts such as wheat, maize or rice. The process below follows the Khadi and Village Industries Commission's craft beer project profile:

1. Mill the malt so it crushes to mixed particle sizes.
2. Mash the crushed malt in hot water so starch turns to sugar.
3. Lauter and sparge: separate the sweet liquid (wort) from spent grain, then rinse the grain for more sugar.
4. Boil the wort with hops, which set bitterness and flavour.
5. Clarify the wort and cool it.
6. Ferment: yeast turns sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
7. Condition and filter the beer.
8. Pack it in bottles, cans or kegs.

The profile lists no separate boil kettle, so treat it as a rough template. Ask two suppliers for full lists at the same capacity and compare what each leaves out before comparing prices. The profile also lists a kiln for drying sprouted barley; ask whether the quote assumes ready malt, which removes it.

Who will you compete with, and is demand growing?

IMARC Group values India's beer market at ₹477.05 billion in 2025 and projects ₹832.93 billion by 2034, growth of 6.45% a year. India's three largest beer manufacturing companies, United Breweries, AB InBev India and Carlsberg, launched the Brewers Association of India in May 2024, and The Week reported that together they hold about 85% of beer sales. A new brand competes for what is left, which usually means craft, a regional taste or a state niche.

Where do first-time brewery projects go wrong?

• Securing a site before checking it is non-agricultural land with the owner's no-objection letter, which Maharashtra's file asks for.
• Ordering machines before the Letter of Intent, when a refusal would leave them idle.
• Planning bottles by default. IMARC gives glass packaging a 40% share; if you want cans, read the aluminium can manufacturing guide first.

What should you do in the first month?

1. Choose the state where you will sell, since its excise department sets the rules.
2. Ask that office for the current brewery or microbrewery checklist and fee schedule in writing.
3. Fix your route, then collect equipment lists from two suppliers.
4. Draft the finances, using the startup funding guide and the detailed project report guide.

The licensing authority and your lender will both ask for a project-specific report. An NPCS project report covers the market survey, machinery and raw material sources, plant layout, manpower, project cost, working capital, cost of production, break-even point and cash flow projections, in the format banks typically ask for. It cannot promise approval or a loan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start my own beer brand without building a brewery?

Possibly, through contract brewing, where a licensed brewery makes your recipe. Whether a state allows it, and what the brand owner must register, differs by state. Get written confirmation from the excise office before signing with a brewery.

Is beer under GST?

No. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs GST FAQs say alcoholic liquor for human consumption is outside GST. State excise rules apply instead, which is why fees and licences differ by state. Ask a tax adviser how this affects the tax on your inputs.

How long does a brewery licence take?

There is no national timeline, because each state runs its own process. Maharashtra works in stages: Letter of Intent, construction, then licence. Andhra Pradesh requires the licence fee within six months of the Letter of Intent and a finished project within two and a half years.

Can I get a government subsidy for a brewery?

Do not assume one. Some scheme exclusion lists name intoxicant items, and a sample project profile on a scheme website is not an approval. Ask the District Industries Centre in writing whether a liquor unit is eligible before it enters your finance plan.