Brewery and Distillery Finance: Funding Each Stage of Growth
How breweries and distilleries fund each stage of growth, from brewhouse and still finance to taproom premises, excise cashflow and ageing stock.
Manufacturing Hub
Brewery Finance · Excise · Growth Stages
A brewer who has been making beer on someone else's kit decides it is time for a brewhouse and a taproom of their own. The finance that got them this far will not get them to the next stage, and the order they borrow in matters as much as the amount.
Quick Answer
Brewery and distillery finance is usually built in stages: equipment finance for the brewhouse or still, a property loan when you buy premises with a taproom or cellar door, and working capital to cover excise and stock before sales come in. Start with equipment finance, then add premises and working capital as trading and your cashflow support them.
Also called: distillery finance, craft brewery loan, brewing equipment finance. Breweries and distilleries share equipment and premises questions; distilleries add ageing stock, which breweries mostly do not carry.
How does brewery and distillery finance work?
Brewery and distillery finance is a mix of equipment finance for the brewhouse, still and canning line, a property loan if you buy premises, and working capital to bridge the gap between paying excise and getting paid, with the stage of the business deciding which pieces you need. Very few producers need all of it at once.
The lenders in this space are major banks, non-bank lenders and specialist equipment funders. Banks tend to want trading history and property security. Equipment funders are usually more comfortable with a younger business because the asset itself secures the loan. Non-bank lenders sit between the two and can be more flexible on documents, which matters if your accounts are behind or your first full year is still in progress. Our guide to what lenders use instead of two years of financials covers that situation.
The equipment side usually runs through equipment and asset finance. The premises side runs through commercial property loans. The cash side runs through working capital loans or a business line of credit. Breweries and distilleries share most of those questions. What sets them apart from other food and drink businesses is excise, and for distillers, spirit that sits in barrels for years before it earns anything.
How do you finance a brewhouse, fermenters or a still?
A brewhouse, fermenters or a still are usually financed with a chattel mortgage, a hire purchase agreement or a lease, where the equipment itself is the main security for the loan. That is why equipment finance is often the first finance a craft producer can get, sometimes before the business has much of a trading record.
The structure you choose changes who owns the equipment, how GST is claimed and how the payments are treated for tax. Questions about depreciation and whether the instant asset write-off applies to your purchase belong with your accountant, not your lender. What the lender cares about is whether the equipment holds its value if things go wrong.
What about used or imported brewing equipment?
Used and imported equipment is financed regularly, but lenders read it more cautiously than new equipment from a local supplier. Expect some or all of the following:
- An independent valuation or inspection for second-hand tanks, stills or packaging lines, since there is no dealer price to rely on.
- A larger deposit or extra security where the equipment is specialised and the resale market is thin; how much more varies by lender.
- Proof of shipping, import costs and installation for imported kit, because lenders usually fund the landed and installed cost, not the factory price alone.
- A plan for the installation period, since payments typically start before the equipment produces anything.
The hospitality equipment finance guide covers cafe and restaurant equipment and the difference between equipment and fit out. For a producer with patchy paperwork, low doc asset finance is another route.
How do you finance premises with a taproom or cellar door?
Premises with a taproom or cellar door are usually financed as industrial or commercial property with a licensed venue attached, through a commercial property loan, with any fit out financed separately. The building and the bar are two different conversations for a lender.
Before a lender looks closely, three things need to line up. The zoning has to allow production and on-site sales together, which is a question for your town planner and council. The liquor licence for drinking or tasting on site is a separate approval from your manufacturer licence, which your solicitor can map out. And the lease or contract has to give you long enough tenure to justify the fit out.
Valuation is where producers are most often surprised. A valuer typically values the property as industrial space, so the brewhouse platforms, drainage, cool rooms and taproom finish may add much less to the valuation than they cost. The industrial and warehouse property finance post explains how lenders read that kind of security. The taproom fit out is usually financed through fit out finance or equipment finance rather than folded into the property loan. Where the taproom sits in leased premises, the security questions in bar and nightclub finance apply to its fit out as well.
How do excise and the remission scheme affect cashflow?
Excise affects cashflow because it is payable when product is entered for home consumption, not when your customer pays you, so the excise is paid before the beer is sold. The remission scheme reduces that outflow for eligible producers, but only up to an annual cap.
The ATO's remission scheme for alcohol manufacturers page sets a $400,000 annual remission cap from 1 July 2026, at the time of writing, up from $350,000 for the years to 30 June 2026. To be eligible, a manufacturer needs a manufacturer licence for the premises, must have fermented or distilled at least 70% of the alcohol content by volume at those premises, and must be legally and economically independent of any other business that has received the remission. Distillers also have to meet a still ownership test after their first two eligible years. The remission is applied on the excise return, and once the cap is used up, full excise applies for the rest of the financial year.
Where this commonly lands is a business that is profitable on paper and still short of cash in the second half of the year, because the cap ran out as volumes grew. A lender reading your forecast will look for the month that happens and how you plan to cover it. In the producer files I have placed, the one who can show that month in their cashflow forecast, with a working capital facility sized for it, gets a far smoother credit read than one who explains it after the fact.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Remission scheme for alcohol manufacturers. Read 15 October 2026. Whether your products qualify, how to track the cap and how excise interacts with your BAS are questions for your accountant or tax agent.
How do distillers fund spirit while it ages?
Distillers usually fund spirit while it ages through a mix of their own equity, pre-sales of casks or future releases, and loans secured over property or equipment, because few lenders will lend against maturing spirit on its own. Spirit that ages ties up cash for years, and that is the main way a distillery's finance differs from a brewery's.
Stock or inventory finance for maturing spirit exists, but it is limited. The lenders that offer it typically discount the stock heavily, because it cannot be sold until it matures, its final value is uncertain, and it sits under bond where excise is still owed. Many distillers bridge the gap by selling faster products, such as gin or vodka, while whisky or rum matures, which also gives a lender a trading record to read.
This post covers producers funding their own stock. Cask investment schemes sold to investors are a different product and are not covered here.
What finance fits each stage of growth?
The finance that fits each stage is the smallest facility that funds the next step you can already show demand for, rather than everything on the wish list at once. The table sets out the usual pattern from contract brewing to a second site.
| Stage | What you are buying | Usual finance | What a lender wants to see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract brewing | Ingredients, packaging and time on someone else's brewhouse | Your own cash, a business line of credit or a small unsecured business loan | Sales history, the contract with the host brewery, recent BAS |
| First brewhouse or still | Brewhouse, fermenters or still, chillers and installation | Chattel mortgage, hire purchase or lease over the equipment | Supplier quotes, a trading record or a credible plan, extra security for used or imported kit |
| Taproom or cellar door | Fit out, a licensed area and sometimes the property itself | Fit out or equipment finance, or a commercial property loan if buying | Zoning and licence approvals, lease term, a forecast of on-site sales |
| Packaging line and distribution | Canning or bottling line, cool room, delivery vehicles | Equipment finance plus working capital for stock and excise | Distribution agreements, your excise and remission position, debtor terms |
| Second site or bigger premises | A larger industrial property or a second venue | Commercial property loan, or a refinance of existing equipment debt | Full financials where possible, margins after excise, how existing debt is serviced |
Lender appetite for craft producers is cautious after a run of closures in craft brewing, and how cautious varies by lender, so the producers who get the best response are the ones who can show each step paying for itself before asking for the next. That does not mean the door is shut. It means a lender wants evidence of sales, margins after excise and a realistic forecast, not just a plan for capacity.
If you are mapping out your next step, our manufacturing loan pack sets out what to have ready, and the Manufacturing Hub covers finance for producers more broadly. When you are ready, you can check your eligibility before you speak to a broker.
Brewery and distillery finance works best in layers: equipment finance for the brewhouse, still and canning line, a commercial property loan once premises make sense, and working capital sized for the excise that falls due before product is paid for. Distillers carry the extra weight of spirit that ages for years, which few lenders will fund on its own. Lenders are cautious with the sector, so each stage needs to show it can carry itself before the next one is financed.
Key takeaway: finance the next stage you can already prove demand for, and build the month your excise remission runs out into the forecast before a lender asks.Frequently Asked Questions
The cost to set up a brewery in Australia depends on the size of the brewhouse, whether you lease or buy the premises, the fit out for any taproom, and the working capital you hold for excise and stock, so there is no single figure. A lender looks at those cost lines separately: equipment through equipment finance, premises through a commercial property loan, and the rest through working capital or your own cash. Getting a quote for each line before you speak to a broker makes the funding conversation much shorter.
A property loan for a brewery is available from a number of lenders, usually as a commercial property loan secured over the industrial unit or building the brewery trades from. Lenders typically value the site as industrial space rather than as a brewery, so a specialised fit out may add little to the valuation. Our post on industrial and warehouse property finance covers how lenders read that kind of security.
Used or imported brewing equipment can usually be financed, but lenders are more careful with it than with new equipment bought from a local supplier. Expect to supply an invoice, evidence of condition or an independent valuation, and expect the lender to fund a smaller share of the price, which varies by lender. A chattel mortgage or hire purchase is the usual structure.
Ageing whisky is accepted as security by only a small number of lenders, and those that do typically discount it heavily because it cannot be sold until it matures and its final value is uncertain. Most distillers fund maturing spirit through equity, cask pre-sales, or security over property or equipment instead. Building the full ageing period into your cashflow forecast is what a lender wants to see first.
The excise remission scheme helps a small brewery's cashflow by remitting excise on eligible product up to an annual cap, so less cash leaves the business before the beer is sold. The remission is applied on the excise return, and once the cap is reached full excise applies for the rest of the financial year. A lender reading your cashflow forecast will want to see the month the cap is likely to run out.
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