Southern Cape - Managers of liquor licensed business to be trained

Liquor Law Training -  The Western Cape Liquor Authority will be conducting a training session in Mossel Bay at 11h00 on Thursday, 30 June 2016, to train managers of liquor licensed premises, as well as directors of companies who have or intend to apply for new liquor licences.   Attendance is obligatory for managers and directors - no new licences will be issued or current licences transferred without proof by way of an Attendance Certificate.  

Any person who wishes to attend, can make a booking with The Licence Co by clicking Here.   There will be a limited number of seats available and booking is advisable.   Past training sessions were fully booked. 

New Rules for Western Cape Liquor Licence Applications

Liquor Licence Applications - The Western Cape Liquor Authority has issued new guidelines on how liquor licence applications will be dealt with in future.   As from 01 July 2016, liquor licence applicants will only have one chance to correct any defect in licence applications.  Defects must be corrected within 30 days from being requested to do so.   Examples of defects can be - lacking motivation, outstanding information, missing document, incorrect floor plan, etc. Failure to comply within 30 days will probably mean refusal of the licence application as the Liquor Licence Tribunal ("Liquor Board")  cannot approve a defective application.  

Applicants should therefore ensure that they use suitably qualified, experienced and reputable professional assistance to prevent applications being refused. Contact The Licence Co (LiquorWise) for a free assessment and quote.

Beer Law – 500 Years of the Reinheitsgebot

Beer licence law – Many beer drinkers would ask what on earth the Reinheitsgebot is?   Well, it is a beer law made more than 500 years ago (23 April 1516 to be precise) which limited the ingredients of all German beer to hops, water, yeast and malted barely.  By implication, it forbid the use of wheat  (saving wheat for food production) and sugar (preventing cheaper, less tasteful beer).

At 130 words long, it is probably the shortest law with the greatest global impact ever  - read the full Reinheitsgebot  text.   Not even the European Court’s 1987 decision which lifted the ban has dampened the enthusiasm with which many beer brewers voluntarily follow this “gebot”.   However, not all beer brewers agree that the Reinheitsgebot did Germany a favour.  Read why – here. 

Craft Beer - Profit Margins to Dictate Future Focus on SA Local Markets

Liquor - Craft Beer.   Lagging 10 – 15 years behind the US, microbrewers often look to the European and USA markets to predict growth paths of business sectors in South Africa – especially when assessing niche markets such as craft beer.   The current trend in overseas microbrewery markets has been branded -  “hyperlocal”.  In short, this refers to a renewed focus on one’s local market.   You would be right in asking why this is considered a “new” trend – wasn’t microbreweries conceived by enthusiastic brewers who wanted to share their unique brews with locals?   Well, craft beer’s life cycle is back where it began, this time driven by profit margins. 

How did this come about?   The rapid growth in the number of microbreweries (US = 2 new breweries per day!) has resulted in increased competition for shelf space.   The number of microbreweries in SA is set to double in the next two years.   Stores will be squeezing microbrewers for reduced profit margins.   Larger brewers will buy smaller breweries, making it more difficult for the latter to compete effectively.   The fight for space on the beer lists of local bars will intensify. (Contact us for more statistics)

How should SA microbrewers react?  Small to medium – sized microbrewers in South Africa have a choice to either follow the same gradual growth path or to “fast forward” and focus on becoming “hyperlocal”.   Hyperlocal simply means focusing on selling in-house.  Selling R35 beers in your own taproom will generate R1400  from a small keg for which a distributor or pub will pay you R800.  They should evaluate statistics such as that 52 percent of craft beer drinkers indicated that locality was an important consideration when buying (2015 Nielsen study).  Wineries have experienced this first hand and many have adapted smartly.    In the Stellenbosch region, for example,  one will often pay more for the same bottle of wine at the wine farm’s tasting room than in the local supermarket.  

Options?   The benefit of the growth of the craft beer market is that it will increase the options available to microbrewers.    One obvious, but capital intensive route,  is to establish a “franchise brewery” - giving each franchise a unique local flavour.  However, the idea of commercialising craft beer in this way may have many microbrewers “frothing”!   South Africans are an intrepid bunch and we have no doubt that we will yet see many new, unique and successful  business models arising from our turf.

Contact Us for specialist assistance to help amateur microbrewers to become licensed.   We share your passion!

(Article by The Licence Co for all South African microbrewers, adapted from an article in The Globe)