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Leopold Chen

When a 100-member tour group from South Korea approached a Hong Kong craft beer manufacturer about a visit and tasting session, the operator declined their request.
The refusal was not due to a lack of confidence in the product or a staff shortage. The brewery simply lacked a licence to serve beer on the premises.
“It is not easy doing manufacturing in Hong Kong,” said Luke Yardley, founder of local craft beer brewery Yardley Brothers.
“It is just a missed opportunity when in every other country – if you are in London, New York, Dublin – customers can go for a day out and visit the brewery. They get to have a nice experience where they can consume alcohol on site. And the key thing is they can buy alcohol on site.”
Yardley is not alone. Many of Hong Kong’s craft beer manufacturers operate in industrial buildings under food factory licences to house their giant equipment and save costs, which makes applying for liquor licences difficult.
The situation has prompted calls for a review of the licensing regime governed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to allow breweries to offer samples for walk-in customers, which industry leaders and a lawmaker have said could help support tourism.
Hong Kong has about 15 home-grown craft breweries producing more than 30 distinct brands, with some being exported for international consumption.
In Hong Kong, catering operators that want to serve alcohol must obtain a licence from the Liquor Licensing Board, and they are usually given to restaurants or clubhouses.

For other premises, an application must undergo extra scrutiny from other government arms, including the Planning Department, Fire Services Department and buildings authorities, leading to lengthier approval times.
Yardley has been running his brewery for 10 years, and the factory in Kwai Chung now produces about 15,000 litres (3,963 gallons) of beer per month.
He said Hong Kong was home to a few top beer makers in Asia, but the regulatory hurdles made it difficult for producers to promote themselves “confidently”.
Yardley called for a review of the current licensing regime and urged authorities to explore the feasibility of introducing a dedicated liquor licence for breweries, allowing them to offer samples to visitors, which he said could also attract more tourists to Hong Kong.
“A concern [could be] having it out of control where you have nightclubs in industrial buildings and that is not what we are proposing,” he said.


Also expressing similar frustration was Christopher Wong See-wai, head brewer and a co-founder of Heroes Beer in Yau Tong, who said it was a pity that all household beer brands in Hong Kong came from overseas.
“The reason why microbreweries in other countries can win support from their neighbourhood community, expanding their influence to a broader area, is through residents’ visits to learn what they are doing,” said Wong, who is also the co-founder of a few other local breweries.
“The biggest problem in Hong Kong is that people do not even know we exist.”
For a niche brand such as Heroes, which specialises in “experimental beer” and produces about 40,000 litres of beer per year, building a reputation to rival established names such as Blue Girl, San Miguel and Carlsberg is difficult without local community engagement, according to Wong.
“There are many luxury homes in Yau Tong. If I have a licence, people can come to my brewery, sit down, have a glass of beer after work and join a tour to learn more about us,” he said.

Also a restaurant operator, Wong said many breweries were able to meet the conditions for obtaining liquor licences. He questioned the government’s reluctance to expand the licensing regime to them, when there were already many retail and even gym operators in industrial buildings.
Lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong said breweries in Hong Kong were facing “massive challenges” in running tasting tours because of the licensing regime, as well as land-use restrictions.
He agreed that authorities should explore introducing a dedicated “taproom licence” with certain restrictive conditions such as size and capacity to avoid turning factories into entertainment venues.
“Introducing a taproom licence regime can on the one hand enhance the international publicity of Hong Kong brands, and on the other hand, it is good for the tourism industry as many visitors would like to tour our local breweries,” he said.

During a recent public consultation session for Hong Kong’s first five-year plan, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu acknowledged that the city needed globally recognised local brands and pledged to provide policy support.
Ho said he would meet authorities to discuss the matter after collecting information and opinions from the industry, but cautioned that progress required cross-departmental collaboration.
Even if the department approved serving alcohol at breweries, there could be further restrictions on land use stipulated by authorities and the deeds of mutual covenant governing use of the buildings, he added.
“It takes time and I think we need a starting point in promoting industrial building revitalisation,” he said.
In response to a South China Morning Post inquiry, the department stressed that the operation of commercial or retail activities in industrial buildings must also comply with other statutory requirements, such as zoning plans, government lease conditions and building and fire safety legislation.
“The [department] will continue to work closely with relevant policy bureaus and departments to examine feasible options that support local food trade while upholding regulatory standards and community interests,” it said.
The Development Bureau said catering services were permissible in wholesale converted industrial buildings under its revitalisation scheme.
It added that it was reviewing the scheme and would explore the possibility of widening non-industrial uses in non-wholesale converted industrial buildings, taking into account emerging market needs and interdepartmental feedback.


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Untapped market: Hong Kong’s craft breweries push for permits to serve guests

Luke Yardley, founder of local beer brewery Yardley Brothers. Photo: Sun Yeung

Luke Yardley has been running his brewery for 10 years, and the factory in Kwai Chung now produces about 15,000 litres of beer per month. Photo: Sun Yeung

Chris Wong, head brewer and co-founder of Heroes Beer, says craft beer brands’ biggest challenge is lack of awareness among residents. Photo: Chris Wong

 Yardley Brothers beer products. Photo: Handout

The Yardley Brothers craft brewery in Kwai Chung. Photo: Sun Yeung

“It is just a missed opportunity when in every other country – if you are in London, New York, Dublin – customers can go for a day out and visit the brewery," Luke Yardley says. Photo: Sun Yeung

San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong in Yuen Long. Photo: Handout

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Brewers in industrial buildings say licensing rules prevent them from hosting tours and walk-in customers, missing out on tourist revenue


Brewers in industrial buildings say licensing rules prevent them from hosting tours and walk-in customers, missing out on tourist revenue.


Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Development Bureau

Untapped market: Hong Kong’s craft breweries push for permits to serve guests

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Brewers in industrial buildings say licensing rules prevent them from hosting tours and walk-in customers, missing out on tourist revenue

Brewers in industrial buildings say licensing rules prevent them from hosting tours and walk-in customers, missing out on tourist revenue