Craft breweries, distilleries, and independent drinks brands selling online in the UK face specific compliance requirements: age verification, the Premises Licence for online alcohol sales (DPS requirements), HMRC duty considerations, and UK alcohol labelling standards. Migration from WooCommerce to Shopify requires these requirements to be met on the new platform before going live. Here's how to handle the compliance and product setup correctly.

UK alcohol compliance requirements

Premises Licence and DPS

UK law: online alcohol sales require a Premises Licence (Alcohol Act 2003) authorizing internet retail
DPS (Designated Premises Supervisor): a personal licence holder must be named on the Premises Licence
Shopify does not change your Premises Licence requirements — you maintain the same licence, just on a new platform
Required on checkout: display the DPS name and Premises Licence number (often shown in footer or checkout)
Use Checkout Blocks or a custom Liquid snippet to display licence details in checkout

Age verification

Legal requirement: age verification before sale of alcohol online
Minimum standard: age declaration checkbox ("I confirm I am over 18") at checkout — acceptable for many operations
Best practice: third-party age verification service (AgeID, Yoti) for stricter compliance
Shopify age verification: go to Admin → Settings → Policies → Age verification. Enable the built-in age gate (shows before entering store).
Checkout age confirmation: use Checkout Blocks to add "I confirm I am 18 or over" checkbox at checkout. Save as order metafield for records.
Delivery: carrier must not deliver to under-18s. Challenge 25 policy at door. DPD and APC Overnight support Challenge 25 on delivery.

Responsible drinking messaging

Drinkaware (or Drink Aware Scotland) logo and link required on website — typically in footer and product pages
Unit content: UK law requires unit content on labels; best practice to show on product pages too
ABV: must be displayed on product pages

Product metafields for drinks

Beer and cider

product.metafields.drinks.abv (number_decimal) — alcohol by volume (e.g., 5.2)
product.metafields.drinks.units_per_serving (number_decimal) — UK units per can/bottle/glass
product.metafields.drinks.style (single_line_text) — "IPA", "Stout", "Lager", "Pale Ale", "Sour", "Wild Ale"
product.metafields.drinks.ibu (number_integer) — International Bitterness Units (beer geek spec)
product.metafields.drinks.ebc (number_integer) — colour (EBC scale)
product.metafields.drinks.hops (list.single_line_text) — hop varieties used
product.metafields.drinks.malts (list.single_line_text) — malt varieties
product.metafields.drinks.yeast (single_line_text) — yeast strain or character
product.metafields.drinks.serving_temp_c (single_line_text) — "4–6°C", "8–10°C"
product.metafields.drinks.food_pairing (multi_line_text_field) — food pairing suggestions
product.metafields.drinks.vegan (boolean) — vegan-friendly (no isinglass fining)
product.metafields.drinks.gluten_free (boolean) — gluten-free certified
product.metafields.drinks.allergens (list.single_line_text) — "Gluten (wheat)", "Sulphites" — mandatory allergen declaration

Spirits

product.metafields.spirits.category (single_line_text) — "Whisky", "Gin", "Rum", "Vodka", "Brandy"
product.metafields.spirits.abv (number_decimal) — ABV percentage
product.metafields.spirits.age_years (number_integer) — age statement (whiskies)
product.metafields.spirits.cask_type (single_line_text) — "Ex-bourbon cask", "Sherry cask", "New oak"
product.metafields.spirits.distillery (single_line_text) — distillery name
product.metafields.spirits.region (single_line_text) — "Speyside", "Islay", "Highland", "Lowland" for Scotch whisky
product.metafields.spirits.nose (multi_line_text_field) — tasting notes: nose
product.metafields.spirits.palate (multi_line_text_field) — tasting notes: palate
product.metafields.spirits.finish (multi_line_text_field) — tasting notes: finish
product.metafields.spirits.bottle_size_ml (number_integer) — 50ml, 200ml, 700ml, 750ml, 1000ml

Mixed case and bundle products

Craft drinks brands commonly sell mixed cases and curated bundles:

Fixed mixed case: create as a single product with components listed in description/metafields. Not a true bundle in Shopify — just a product where the description lists what's included.
True bundle pricing: use a bundle app (Shopify Bundles native, Bold Bundles) if price should differ from sum of individual products
Build-your-own case: customer selects 12 individual beers to fill a case. Requires Product Customizer app or custom development.
Gift sets: bottle + branded glass + mixer — standard product with item list in description. Gift wrap option via gift wrapping app.

Beer club / spirits subscription

Monthly subscription clubs are common for craft drinks brands:

Subscription app: ReCharge or Seal Subscriptions. Customer subscribes to a monthly box.
Subscription product: "Monthly Craft Beer Box — 12 beers" at £30/month
Curated vs fixed: if box contents change monthly, update the subscription product description each month. Notify subscribers via email.
Subscriber-only products: tag subscribers with a customer tag (set by subscription app on active subscribers); use Shopify customer tag visibility rules for exclusive product access
Pause/skip: subscription apps provide skip/pause functionality — critical for holiday coverage

WooCommerce to Shopify wine and spirits compliance transition

Age verification plugin (WooCommerce Age Verification Pro, WooCommerce Age Checker) → Shopify built-in age gate + Checkout Blocks age confirmation checkbox
Custom checkout fields for licence number display → Checkout Blocks text block in checkout footer
WooCommerce alcohol-specific shipping rules → Shopify shipping profiles: create a "Alcohol" shipping profile with restricted destinations and carriers that support Challenge 25
VAT/duty: Shopify tax setup for UK alcohol — apply correct tax rates. Alcohol is standard-rated for VAT (20%) in UK but check current rates for specific products.

Craft drinks migration checklist

Configure Shopify age gate: Admin → Settings → Policies → Age verification
Add age confirmation checkbox at checkout (Checkout Blocks)
Display Premises Licence number and DPS name in checkout and/or footer
Add Drinkaware logo and link in footer
Create drinks metafield namespace: ABV, units, style, allergens, tasting notes
Migrate all WooCommerce custom field drinks data to structured metafields
Display ABV and unit content on all product pages (required by law)
Display allergens on product pages (sulphites, gluten, any fining agents)
Set up subscription app for monthly club/subscription products
Configure alcohol-specific shipping: Challenge 25 carrier, restricted destinations
Verify Shopify tax configuration for alcohol products
Test age verification on mobile: verify age gate and checkout checkbox work on all devices

The most legally sensitive moment in a craft drinks migration is ensuring the age verification is configured on the new Shopify store before going live — not after. Going live without age verification on an alcohol site violates the Alcohol Licensing Act 2003 and Premises Licence conditions. This is a 15-minute task in Shopify admin (enable the built-in age gate) plus a 10-minute Checkout Blocks configuration (add age confirmation checkbox), but it must happen before the domain switches from WooCommerce to Shopify. Double-check it on mobile — the age gate must appear on first visit across all devices.

Migrating a craft brewery, distillery or drinks brand from WooCommerce to Shopify (2026)