Based in Irwin, PA  Β·  Serving Allegheny, Westmoreland & Beyond  Β·  Family-Owned Since 1990 Call (412) 672-8340 Β· Text (412) 444-8875
🍺 Brewery, Winery & Distillery

Insurance for Craft Breweries & Wineries

Tanks, taprooms, and a product with its own liability profile. Erie writes this class specifically β€” and we know the coverages a generic business policy leaves out.

Craft Producers & Taprooms

Production, tasting room, distribution, or all three β€” we'll write coverage around how your operation actually runs.

Craft Breweries Brewpubs Taprooms Wineries Vineyards Distilleries Cideries Meaderies Tasting Rooms Contract Brewing

What Actually Goes Wrong

🌑️ A glycol failure ruins a full batch mid-fermentation

Temperature control goes overnight and you lose thirty barrels. The tank still works β€” the product is gone. That's not a property claim in the normal sense, and it's the loss that hurts most: weeks of production plus the revenue it would have become.

Equipment Breakdown Β· Product Contamination

🍺 A taproom guest is over-served and causes harm

You're a manufacturer, but the moment you pour on site you carry the same dram shop exposure as any bar. Pennsylvania holds licensees responsible for serving visibly intoxicated patrons, and general liability excludes liquor liability for businesses that serve.

Liquor Liability

πŸ“¦ A bad batch reaches distribution

Off-flavor, contamination, or a labeling error after kegs have shipped to accounts. Pulling product back costs money and reputation β€” and a general policy typically won't fund a withdrawal you initiate voluntarily.

Product Withdrawal Β· Product Liability

What Your Policy Should Cover

🍺

Liquor Liability

Essential the moment you pour on site. Excluded from standard general liability for businesses that serve.

βš™οΈ

Equipment Breakdown

Tanks, chillers, glycol systems, conveyors, canning and bottling lines, and refrigeration.

πŸ§ͺ

Product Contamination

Lost product, lost income, and cleanup when a batch is spoiled or contaminated.

πŸ“¦

Product Withdrawal

The cost of pulling product back from accounts and shelves after a problem is found.

πŸ’΅

Business Income

Revenue protection while production is down β€” fermentation timelines make outages long.

πŸ›‘οΈ

Premises Liability

Taproom injuries, tours, event space, and the general public moving through a production facility.

Built Around Your Operation, Not a Template

Erie offers coverages written for producers β€” liquor liability, product contamination, and product withdrawal β€” rather than a general business policy with a liquor endorsement stapled on. The exposures here are genuinely different: you're a manufacturer, a retailer, and often a hospitality venue all at once.

These are optional and tailored. A production-only operation that never pours on site and a brewpub running events every weekend need very different policies β€” so we build around what you actually do rather than selling you the whole menu.

We'll go through it with you β€” barrels produced, taproom hours, whether you self-distribute, whether you host events β€” and put together only what fits.

Events, Festivals & Self-Distribution

Pouring at a festival, hosting weddings in the tasting room, or running your own delivery van all change your coverage picture. Off-premises events often need to be specifically addressed, and hired and non-owned auto matters the moment someone runs kegs in their own vehicle.

Tell us everything you do β€” it's much cheaper to schedule it now than to discover the gap after a claim.

Brewery & Winery Insurance FAQs

I only produce β€” no taproom. Do I still need liquor liability?

Product liability is the bigger exposure for production-only operations, but liquor liability still deserves a look β€” especially if you do tours, tastings, or pour at festivals. The moment alcohol is served to a person on your premises or at your event, the dram shop exposure attaches.

Is my beer covered if a batch is ruined?

It depends on how it was ruined and what's on your policy. A mechanical failure that takes out temperature control generally routes through equipment breakdown, while spoilage or contamination routes through product contamination coverage. Both are worth carrying β€” the product loss is usually larger than the equipment repair.

We pour at festivals. Is that covered?

Off-premises events often need to be specifically addressed, and many festivals require a certificate naming the organizer as additional insured. Tell us your event schedule and we'll make sure it's on the policy β€” and we can turn certificates around quickly through our certificate request form.

Do I need workers' comp for part-time taproom staff?

Yes. Pennsylvania requires workers' compensation from your first employee, including part-time staff and family members. There's no family exemption and no hours threshold.

We self-distribute in our own van. Anything special?

Yes β€” that's a commercial auto exposure, and the product in the vehicle may need to be addressed separately from the vehicle itself. If employees ever use personal vehicles for deliveries, hired and non-owned auto liability should be on the policy too.

🎁 Earn a $20 Gift Card

Know another producer who should have their coverage reviewed? Refer them and we'll send you a $20 gift card.

Refer Someone β†’