Environmental Regulations

Brewing produces waste — a lot of it. Waste water from cleaning, cooling, and processing needs to go somewhere, and you can't just pour it down the drain without permission. You may need a trade effluent consent from your water company, and the requirements depend on the volume and composition of your discharge. High BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) effluent — which brewery waste water typically is — can attract significant charges.

Depending on your location, you may face additional regulations around emissions, odour, and noise. Neighbours who thought they'd love living near a brewery quickly change their minds when the smell of boiling wort drifts through their windows at six in the morning, or when delivery trucks start rumbling past at dawn.