When a 100-member tour group from South Korea approached a Hong Kong craft beer manufacturer about a visit and tasting session, the operator declined their request.

The refusal was not due to a lack of confidence in the product or a staff shortage. The brewery simply lacked a licence to serve beer on the premises.

“It is not easy doing manufacturing in Hong Kong,” said Luke Yardley, founder of local craft beer brewery Yardley Brothers.

“It is just a missed opportunity when in every other country – if you are in London, New York, Dublin – customers can go for a day out and visit the brewery. They get to have a nice experience where they can consume alcohol on site. And the key thing is they can buy alcohol on site.”

Yardley is not alone. Many of Hong Kong’s craft beer manufacturers operate in industrial buildings under food factory licences to house their giant equipment and save costs, which makes applying for liquor licences difficult.

The situation has prompted calls for a review of the licensing regime governed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to allow breweries to offer samples for walk-in customers, which industry leaders and a lawmaker have said could help support tourism.