Brewery insurance for craft breweries and taprooms

Brewery packages are built around production first, with the taproom and distribution layered on.

• Property and contents. Covers the brewhouse, fermenters, brite tanks, kegs, canning or bottling line, raw materials and finished inventory, plus leasehold improvements.
• Equipment breakdown. Pays for sudden mechanical or electrical failure of boilers, glycol chillers, compressors, pumps and packaging equipment. For many breweries this is the coverage that protects against the most likely large loss. Read about repairs after a mechanical or electrical failure.
• Spoilage and contamination. Covers product lost when temperature control fails or a batch is ruined by a covered event.
• Liquor liability. Needed for taproom service, tastings, growler fills and events. See protection for taproom and tasting service.
• General and product liability. Responds to visitor injuries on brewery tours and claims that your product caused harm, such as a can that bursts or a contaminated keg.
• Business interruption. Pays continuing costs and lost profit while production is down after a covered loss. Because fermentation takes weeks, recovery is rarely quick. Learn how income replacement during a shutdown works.

Temperature control and lost batches

Fermentation depends on precise temperatures. A glycol chiller that fails overnight can ruin several tanks before anyone arrives in the morning. Alarms that alert staff by phone and a maintenance log for your cooling system help with both prevention and claims.

Example: A small craft brewery in Southwestern Ontario has its glycol chiller compressor seize over the August long weekend. By the time the head brewer checks the tanks, three fermenters have run warm and the batches are unsellable. Equipment breakdown pays to replace the compressor, the spoilage extension covers the value of the lost beer, and business interruption helps with the weeks of reduced sales while new batches ferment, subject to the policy terms.

Pressure, heat and chemicals

Boilers, steam jackets, CO2 and nitrogen tanks, and caustic cleaning chemicals all create injury and property risks. Insurers often ask about boiler inspections, CO2 monitoring and chemical storage. Staff injuries fall under WSIB rather than your commercial policy.

Product leaving the building

Once your beer is in a store or someone else’s tap line, you have less control but still carry product liability. Over-carbonated cans, foreign material or labelling errors can trigger a claim or recall. Retailers and distributors will commonly ask for a certificate and sometimes to be named as additional insured, which we issue for you.

The taproom and brewpub

A taproom turns a production facility into a public venue. Visitors walk past hoses and forklifts on tours, and you are now responsible for how much they drink. Brewpubs that add a full kitchen also take on kitchen fire risk. The AGCO sets the terms of your manufacturer licence and any by-the-glass sales, and servers should hold Smart Serve certification.

Seasonal events

Festivals, beer garden pop-ups and release parties bring crowds and off-site exposure, especially through patio and festival season. We will make sure coverage extends to events away from the brewery.

Kegs and cans in other hands

Kegs are expensive, and many disappear or come back damaged from accounts. Cans and kegs in a delivery van or a distributor’s warehouse are also away from your premises. We check whether your property cover extends to stock in transit and at other locations, and how lost kegs are treated. If you use a mobile canning service, find out who is responsible if their equipment damages your product or your floor.

Operation	What tends to matter most
Production-only brewery	Equipment breakdown, spoilage, product liability, recall
Brewery with taproom	Liquor liability, tour safety, customer slips and falls
Brewpub with kitchen	Kitchen fire, food liability, longer service hours
Contract or gypsy brewer	Your product in someone else’s facility, contract terms, recall

If your taproom feels more like a pub than a tasting room, read how licensed bars and pubs are insured. Producers who also make cider or wine can compare with coverage for wineries and tasting rooms.

Use the form on this page to tell us about your brewery, including production volume, distribution and taproom service, or call us at (416) 346-6886. One of our brokers will ask about your operation, then take your application to insurers that suit craft beverage producers. We explain how each option handles equipment, spoilage and liquor, set up the policy you choose and stay with you for distributor certificates, changes, renewals and claims. The quote is free and there is no obligation.