Federal Government budget set to suit small alcohol manufacturers

Starting July 1, 2021, eligible brewers and distillers will receive full remission of any excise paid on their alcohol production, with a cap of $350 000, compared to the previous 60 per cent capped at $100 000.

Bathurst-based distiller Ian Glen, owner of Stone Pine, is among the 400 distillers expected to benefit from this scheme, saying any excise relief is a boost for smaller distilleries.

"The excise kicked in maybe three years ago, so we [Stone Pine] ran for the best part of 10 years without excise relief," Mr Glen said.

"It started with a 60 per cent rebate, which was 60 per cent we hadn't had before and now it's going to 100 per cent, which is ... I never thought I'd see the day actually, it's quite astonishing."

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After having to pay the same in excise as the larger alcohol manufacturers for so many years, this new scheme will now allow smaller brewers and distillers to look at expanding their businesses.

"It's something we need to sit down and think about," Mr Glen said.

"But we can, for the first time, seriously think about employing someone for instance to help with the packaging side of it, which would allow me to increase production on the still. So yeah, it does open up other opportunities."

As well as creating more jobs, the scheme will allow brewery and distillery owners to make needed upgrades to their businesses.

"It's already allowed us to increase our capital investment, so I think we ran for the first 10 years with no investment whatsoever other than the initial outlay," Mr Glen said.

"Whereas in the last year or two, we've purchased a new bottling machine for instance, a new forklift ... so we've actually had some money to invest into the business which is a big positive."

With Melbourne being Stone Pine's biggest market, and Covid causing many pubs and restaurants to tumble like dominos, it has been the regional businesses that helped the local distillery to continue manufacturing.

"I think regional tourism, obviously being on Sydney's doorstep, has boomed for us here in Central West. So all of a sudden we had people coming out here and the Cellar Door [Orange] was and still is busy," Mr Glen said.

"The other thing that's jumped massively is internet sales, so if people can't go out they're ordering stuff to get delivered to their home."

Although still not entirely certain what the budget changes will mean for Stone Pine Distillery's future, Mr Glen is looking forward to the potential opportunities it will bring.

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