Skip to the content

Home > Business Insurance > Restaurants, bars, and food

What insurance does a California brewery or taproom need?

Published 2026-10-06 by Insurance City Agency, LLC, CA License #6003045. Leer en español

A California brewery needs an Alcoholic Beverage Control manufacturing license before it sells beer, and it needs workers compensation as soon as it has an employee. California Labor Code section 3700 is the compensation duty. Liquor liability is a separate policy question from general liability, because a general-liability form commonly excludes liquor, and because a landlord's exhibit often asks for it. ABC's license catalog does not state a minimum liability limit.

Request a quote

Which ABC license does a California brewery or taproom need?

According to the ABC license-type catalog, Type 01, Beer Manufacturer, authorizes breweries that produce over 60,000 barrels of beer a year. Type 23, Small Beer Manufacturer, authorizes production and sale by breweries that produce fewer than 60,000 barrels a year. ABC describes the common users of Type 23 as micro-breweries and brewpubs, and it says those words are not legal definitions. A Type 75 brewpub-restaurant, under Business and Professions Code section 23396.3, is an on-sale retail license with a limited brewing privilege. ABC says it is not the same as a Type 01 or Type 23 beer manufacturer.

A taproom that sells beer for drinking on site, and that is not the manufacturing license, follows a retail type. Type 40 is on-sale beer for bars and taverns, with snacks required and no wine or distilled spirits on the premises. Type 42 is on-sale beer and wine for public premises, with no food service required and with minors generally not allowed to enter and remain. Type 48 is on-sale general for bars and nightclubs. Type 41 and Type 47 are eating-place licenses and require a bona fide eating place. ABC states that Type 01, Type 23, Type 40, Type 41, Type 42, Type 47, and Type 48 are subject to Responsible Beverage Service training for alcohol servers and their managers.

Does a California taproom need liquor liability insurance?

General liability and liquor liability answer different claims. A wet floor in the taproom is a premises claim. A claim that the beer itself caused a later injury is the liquor question. Business and Professions Code section 25602 limits civil liability for selling or furnishing alcohol: subdivision (b) says the person who furnishes the beverage is not civilly liable for injuries the consumer later causes, and subdivision (c) says the consumption, not the serving, is the proximate cause the Legislature adopted. Section 25602.1 is the exception. A licensee, or a person required to be licensed, who sells or furnishes alcohol to an obviously intoxicated minor can be sued when that furnishing is the proximate cause of injury or death.

That statute is not a requirement to buy a liquor-liability policy, and it is not a promise that every adult-patron claim disappears. The policy still matters because liability forms often exclude liquor and because section 25602.1 remains. The product page is liquor liability. A restaurant that also cooks is a different guide: restaurant workers compensation.

Which workers comp class applies to a brewery or taproom in California?

According to the WCIRB explanation of the restaurant classification split, effective for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2024, the old class 9079(1) is reassigned. A full-service restaurant that brews on site stays in 9080 when more than half of the beer is sold at that employer's restaurant locations for drinking on site. If half or more of the beer brewed on site is sold for off-site consumption, brewing is separately 2121, Breweries. The same split is written for fast-food or fast-casual class 9083. Class 9084, Bars or Taverns, applies to a bar, tavern, lounge, or nightclub on ABC license type 42, 48, or 61, and it also applies to each beer tasting room or taproom location that operates under an ABC license. Under 9084, production of beer is separately 2121.

This page does not reprint a pure premium rate. Payroll, which of those classes the audit assigns, and whether the kettle is the business or a side of the restaurant are the facts that change the compensation filing. The compensation product page is workers compensation.

What should a brewery send with the quote form?

Send the ABC license numbers and types, whether beer is sold in the room or leaves in cans, whether meals are served, the employee list, and the landlord exhibit if there is one. Insurance City Agency, LLC reads that packet on the quote form.

Frequently asked questions

What insurance does a California brewery or taproom need?

An ABC manufacturing or retail license, workers compensation from the first employee, and a liquor-liability conversation that is separate from general liability. ABC's catalog does not set a minimum liability limit.

Is a Type 23 license the same as a Type 75 brewpub?

No. According to ABC, Type 23 is a small beer manufacturer. Type 75 is an on-sale retail license with a limited brewing privilege.

When is brewing classification 2121 instead of a restaurant class?

According to WCIRB, if half or more of the beer brewed on site is sold for off-site consumption, brewing is separately 2121. A taproom on an ABC license is also described under class 9084, with production still 2121.

Sources

Related

Insurance City Agency, LLC. Reviewed by Santo Militello, California-licensed Property & Casualty agent (CA License #1737723) and owner of Via Rapida Services — CA Insurance License #6003045. Our licensed team brings more than 70 years of combined insurance experience. Phone (209) 670-1556. Insurance City, 956 W Robinhood Dr, Stockton, CA 95207. Last reviewed 2026-10-06.

Send the ABC license type and where the beer is sold

Insurance City Agency, LLC starts from the license numbers and whether the beer stays in the room. Use the quote form.

Request a quote

Ask Enza
CallQuoteWhatsApp