Wanting to start a Microbrewery

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randolphmg

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Alright here it goes:

I am 21 years old. I brew beer at home and surely like it. I am at that stage in my life where I have to decide on a career. I only have 1 year of college under my belt. I think I have a business mindset and will succeed in what ever I put my mind to. So, since I want to be in business, I was thinking of starting a Microbrewery.

Do I need a business degree to begin with? IF I create a business plan, how would I get the ~$1mil for financing since I personally have $0. Should I attend a Brewing school? Try to find a Brewery to work at? I am totally lost as where to go with this. But I am certainly interested.

Thanks!
 
BrewPastor could lend you some advice on this one... I can tell you that, as it is with most businesses, if you run it you will spend 99.9% of your time running a business, and maybe .1% playing with beer.

still a worthwhile profession, however! My wife keeps telling me we need to open a brewery - I love her more and more every time she says it!

:D
 
I would keep going to college just to have something to fall back on but while your going to college you should see if you can help out a brewery for one to get the experience and connections but for two to see if you'll really like it.
 
Hey, its the Stig! But back to business, I would get a job at a brewery first.
 
I'd work at a brewery while you're going to college, and take a business major. Not only will this help you if after working at a brewery you decide you start one, but it'll give you a very useful major if you decide not to.

Working at a small brewery will help you to learn what costs are associated with running it, and give you a better understanding of the processes involved. I wouldn't EVER consider opening a brewery until I had spent some time working at one first.
 
I think it'd be really fun in concept but in reality would be a ton of work. There's all the planning of a regular business plus alcohol regulations on top of that.

It's an extremely competitive business and there are lots of other great companies producing good beers. Which means unless you have an absolutely killer beer you're going to go under.

Really the biggest put off is that almost all your time would be spent on the business side and not the beer side. Perhaps look into becoming a brewmaster instead?
 
go to a two year college. get a degree in restraunt management. open a brew pub. a microbrewery seems a bit out of the question for a 21 yearold with one year of college
 
mysteryberto said:
It's an extremely competitive business and there are lots of other great companies producing good beers. Which means unless you have an absolutely killer beer you're going to go under.
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I disagree, that part is all about marketing. Look at some of the micros out there, a lot of them are nothing wonderful, and they do great because of all the marketing hype and such.

For instance, New Belgium just started distributing around here and everyone thinks Fat Tire is the best beer ever. Which, IMO is not true at all. It's great that a descent beer is now available at more places, but I can think of a lot of amber's that kill Fat Tire.
 
z987k said:
I disagree, that part is all about marketing. Look at some of the micros out there, a lot of them are nothing wonderful, and they do great because of all the marketing hype and such.

For instance, New Belgium just started distributing around here and everyone thinks Fat Tire is the best beer ever. Which, IMO is not true at all. It's great that a descent beer is now available at more places, but I can think of a lot of amber's that kill Fat Tire.
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I agree, in Oregon we have a lot of breweries but they continue to pop up, there is still a lot of room in the market if you can make a decent brew and market yourself well. Actually around here the big thing now is specialty breweries, we have a lot of up and coming Belgian style breweries in the works (seems to be the in thing right now).
 
Laurel said:
I'd work at a brewery while you're going to college, and take a business major. Not only will this help you if after working at a brewery you decide you start one, but it'll give you a very useful major if you decide not to.

Working at a small brewery will help you to learn what costs are associated with running it, and give you a better understanding of the processes involved. I wouldn't EVER consider opening a brewery until I had spent some time working at one first.
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Agree with this...
 
I would definitely suggest working at a brewery for a while, seeing how the operation runs and how you like the business. maybe take some classes, there is a great 18 month course at UC Davis.
 
randolphmg said:
Alright here it goes:

I am 21 years old. I brew beer at home and surely like it. I am at that stage in my life where I have to decide on a career. I only have 1 year of college under my belt. I think I have a business mindset and will succeed in what ever I put my mind to. So, since I want to be in business, I was thinking of starting a Microbrewery.

Do I need a business degree to begin with? IF I create a business plan, how would I get the ~$1mil for financing since I personally have $0. Should I attend a Brewing school? Try to find a Brewery to work at? I am totally lost as where to go with this. But I am certainly interested.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

no offense butwith the questions your asking it doesnt sound like you are ready
 
First off, where are you located? I bet there are some here that would know of breweries or microbreweries near you. Especially, in/near college town. Then you have an idea where to go and volunteer or hire on.

Second, do you want to mix your hobby with your career. That could kill your passion for your hobby which is the heart of your business.

Third, +1 on the brew pub idea mentioned earlier. You could combine the two ideas. There is a brew pub in Athens, Ga that makes and sells its own beer on tap. Add fried food with that and you could have a successful business. :D

Finally, if you are serious about the microbrewery idea, listen to the complaints on these boards about not being able to get specific types of beers on either side of the Mississippi. This would give you a start on a business plan to supply the demand for beers that compete with those beers desired.

Best of luck and keep asking how could this work!!
 
farmbrewernw said:
Dude, I wondered if anyone would ever know who or what my avatar was :D
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the stig rules!
top gear is the greatest car show ever!
sorry for being off topic

i have also considered the idea of brewing as a business...i thought it would be cool to brew beer and sell it locally (my dads owns a carryout and I know several bars that would carry it) but im afraid all the red tape would be more trouple than its worth
 
fat x nub said:
go to a two year college. get a degree in restraunt management. open a brew pub. a microbrewery seems a bit out of the question for a 21 yearold with one year of college
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This is good advice, but I will stress, underline, scream, complain, and jump up & down to emphasize the idea that you will need to have some business instruction from your educational career.

There's 2 ways I can see you going about this. First, you want to own/run your own brewery. In that case, focus on business education. Knowing how to run a business will keep your business from tanking once you have a desirable product.

The second way is if you want to concentrate on brewing. At that point, keep homebrewing, but look into the educational options that focus on beer. This might mean traveling abroad where beer is looked at far more seriously than here in America. If you take this route, still have at least a brushing familiarity with business courses, but figure on finding someone who groks beer and is a good business man to actually "run" the business.

At this point, you'll either need people or money. The Small Business Association for your area is a good place to start. You can meet up with successful business owners or entrepreneurs who are willing to give you the venture capital you need to start your brewpub or microbrewery. To get this money though, you need a good, solid business plan, and you need a good contract lawyer on a retainer to make sure you don't get screwed in any way by your new partner. Once you find a good partner who will either invest in you or help you run your business, you can go to your lawyer and incorporate, get insurance, and do everything else you need to cover your ass and your assets. This is vital, especially since to brew you need a license from your state. Lots of red tape to jump through.

However, taken all of this into account, I'm going to say to keep your ass in college now. This is a piss poor economy, hops and barley prices are up, and I seriously wonder how much venture capital will be floating around to be had. In any event, figure out how you want to proceed first, and then apply yourself, push yourself through college towards that goal.

21 years old, 1 year of college, and no business experience/training will destroy your dreams before your very eyes. Line yourself up properly, make your move from a position of strength, not a gambling position.

Edit: I might actually incorporate before I go looking for investors actually. It's easier to just give them 500,000 shares of "poopy breweries inc" or whatever you call the business than have to contract a business deal from the ground up. Besides, incorporating is only a couple thousand maximum, and if you get someone to invest in you, but they don't simply want shares, it's not much to scrap your corp and start a new one. The SBA is good advice on this as well.

At the very, very least, you should know the difference between a partnership, sole proprietorship, LLC, S corps, and all the other different kinds of businesses you can run. It's a lot of paperwork and a lot of effort to do it, but it's important to not just hand it over to someone in the beginning because things can end up screwing you over down the road (as happened to me and my company last year).
 
Brew-Happy said:
First off, where are you located? I bet there are some here that would know of breweries or microbreweries near you. Especially, in/near college town. Then you have an idea where to go and volunteer or hire on.

Second, do you want to mix your hobby with your career. That could kill your passion for your hobby which is the heart of your business.

Third, +1 on the brew pub idea mentioned earlier. You could combine the two ideas. There is a brew pub in Athens, Ga that makes and sells its own beer on tap. Add fried food with that and you could have a successful business. :D

Finally, if you are serious about the microbrewery idea, listen to the complaints on these boards about not being able to get specific types of beers on either side of the Mississippi. This would give you a start on a business plan to supply the demand for beers that compete with those beers desired.

Best of luck and keep asking how could this work!!
Click to expand...

looks like the georgia boys know what to do :)
 
My brother and I have tossed around the idea of opening a brew pub. He's graduating this year from Johnshon & Wales and is currently a sous chef at a nice restaurant in Providence and I have a BS in Operations Management. We've discussed modeling the restaurant/pub after a local, non-brew pub restaurant where there are 2 parts: one part is a nice, fancy pants restaurant and the other side is a pub, which would be a brew pub in our case. At this point in time I do have a lot of available free time and have looked into attending the Siebel Institute. While this would be my dream, I don't know how attainable or realistic this really is. It will take a lot of research and even more investing. If you are serious about opening a microbrewery or brew pub then I suggest you do a lot of research into the business aspect of it.
 
Start your plan and go for it. While your at it you can stay in school, and get a job @ a local brewery doing anything they will let you. If $$$$ is the factor..... Welcome to my world. I have been working on getting funded for a year now and $$$ is tight for new startups. You have to have DEEP pockets in the brewing Ind.
Cheers and good luck
JJ
 
Well thanks for all the advice. I KNOW that I want to own a business. Though, I am not sure what. Owning a Brewpub seems like double-trouble to me. Restaurant and brewery, is that more difficult. Also, what kind of profit can a owner of a brewpub make? I could really see myself doing something like that.

But I have to get a business degree. And within that time I will figure something out. Maybe a bowling center hahaha.
 
mot said:
no offense butwith the questions your asking it doesnt sound like you are ready
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It seems that's the reason for his post - to ask for direction so that he can become prepared for it. He never said he was planning on opening one up tomorrow. He asked the direction he needed to go in to possibly realize his vision.

:tank:
 
keep making homebrew. Make money some place else so you can have free time to make homebrew. Get a job that allows you time off to drink beer and make homebrew. DO NOT OPEN ANY SORT OF COMMERCIAL BREWERY!

That is just my EACO.
 
I don't mean to sound like an arrogant bastard that's here to poo-poo on your parade, but there's just no way that you're ready, or at 21, have the resources to make this happen.

Homebrew and learn all you can. See if you can get a job at a local brewpub/brewery and in 10 years it might be an option. We all have the dream at one point, but just because you and your friends think your beer is good doesn't mean that paying customers will, and in the end that's what it all boils down to.

Sorry, I don't mean to come across too harshly, I'm just not one to blow smoke up anyone's keester.
 
ohiobrewtus said:
I don't mean to sound like an arrogant bastard that's here to poo-poo on your parade, but there's just no way that you're ready, or at 21, have the resources to make this happen.

Homebrew and learn all you can. See if you can get a job at a local brewpub/brewery and in 10 years it might be an option. We all have the dream at one point, but just because you and your friends think your beer is good doesn't mean that paying customers will, and in the end that's what it all boils down to.

Sorry, I don't mean to come across too harshly, I'm just not one to blow smoke up anyone's keester.
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+1. A brewery is a production facility that makes a product for mass sales. Beer is a really crappy product to try to get packaged and keep fresh. And when it goes south, so to goes your good name. It is hard work and at the end of the day you might as well been making tooth paste.

That is not to say don't try it. There are some amazing breweries out there making some really great beer. But it is not a cake walk. So, yes, do your homework and if it comes to pass, keep creative control of the product.
 
hey, i am 21 as well and have similar aspirations. im trying to figure out to do with my life as well. heres what i think you should do:

give everyone on here the finger, and become the youngest brewmaster/brewery owner ever. sure its gonna be hard, life is hard, but if you have a good work ethic, and above all, if you are doing what you want, you will succeed. to quote New Belgium brewing company - "follow your folly"....yours is beer.

life is about saying f u to people who say no, cant, shouldn't, and why.
now start brewing!!!!

whoa, one more thing, i just saw your profile on here, now that i know you are a lady homebrewer, we should go out sometime. :D
 
Go for it!
Anyone saying otherwise is just jealous.
It's my long life goal to own a brew pub. Sure I might be a refrigeration tech, my wife may be a chef, my brother may be in business management, but that's nothing.
Just the will to do it is enough, you don't need experienced people behind the venture, just some experience in beer!
Seriously, I tip my hat at anyone who does it succesfully, it's my lifes long dream. I haven't fixated on it, but I reckon eventually if me, my brother and our wives were running a brew pub, things would go well. I can fix ****, he has the gift of the gab to sell stuff. That's my retirement plan there folks :D

edit: Small breweries start off very small, just like any small business. It's not possible to earn an income off it for a long time. My plan is only feasible because of the skills that we all have. We plan to move into a small town where our income would be : me as the towns refrigeration mech, my brothers as a mining geotech would get a job in the local mines, my wife as a child care worker and running the hotel, and my brothers wife is a pharmacist.
This maybe an unnecessary edit, but the whole point is you need other incomes to support your business ventures if you are looking at such a large scale expence as a pub brewery.
 
Hey, if you start a brewery without business OR brewery experience, let me know. I'll contact you every few months to see when you're ready to sell me the equipment at a greatly reduced price. :)
 
First advice is to flip the bird to the naysayers. Every business venture is a gamble, and yes, only 1 in 7 businesses succeed, but you are 100% sure not to if you don't give it a shot.

Right now, I'm developing a software product for a company my friend and I founded; it's in a niche market but has plenty of potential and hardly any competition. I hope to quit my day job (also software development) within a few years and live off of income from my business.

Eventually I'd like to try my hand at opening a local nanobrewery that distributes to pubs and restaurants in central AR. Before I get serious, I know that I a) need to learn everything I can about beer and brewing and b) have enough startup capital to realize the vision. You remind me of myself, quite headstrong and positive that you will succeed; that's the best attitude to have in business, but don't forget that failure is a real possibility (and a statistical probability). Be prepared to fail, but also be prepared to succeed.

My advice is to stay in college, get that business degree, meanwhile learning everything you can about beer and brewing. Volunteer at a local brewery, like others have suggested, to get a feel for the game and the process. You'll get to the point where you feel it's time to realize your vision, and you'll have the knowledge to do it. You've already got the ambition.

Best of luck!
 
I don't think any of us are saying don't do it, but rather get prepared and do all you can to equip yourself for success. Business degree, brewing school, slave labor. You will be investing a huge amount of time and money, so make it worth it. I mean, if I did it anyone can!
 
paul_h said:
Go for it!
Anyone saying otherwise is just jealous.
Click to expand...

MOD EDIT: NO PERSONAL ATTACKS...we don't wanna see the guy waste his money and a couple years of his life while he could be making real money. He needs to go to brew school...he needs lots of thousands of dollars. You can't just make a some homebrews for a couple years and start a brewery. You need commercial brewing expierence. MOD EDIT: SAME REASON
 
DiewithBeerinmyHand said:
give everyone on here the finger, and become the youngest brewmaster/brewery owner ever. sure its gonna be hard, life is hard, but if you have a good work ethic, and above all, if you are doing what you want, you will succeed. to quote New Belgium brewing company - "follow your folly"....yours is beer.

life is about saying f u to people who say no, cant, shouldn't, and why.
now start brewing!!!!

whoa, one more thing, i just saw your profile on here, now that i know you are a lady homebrewer, we should go out sometime. :D
Click to expand...

When advice is asked for, it's considered rude to "give the finger" to those same people.

Besides, if you just jump into it... well, there are people who jump off of buildings and survive. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to take a leap off of one without taking some time to prepare.
 
+1 on the 21yo, 1 year of school, and no experience = not ready

You have PLENTY of time. Get your degree. In Business. Write your business plan as your masters thesis.

I have been preparing myself to POSSIBLY open a brewpub as a retirement venture. I am 35 years old, I have two degrees, several years of brewing experience, and investors with money to loan and I am still not ready.

My business plan went through 3 revisions and really is a dynamic document that changes with location, opportunity, and economics. By the way, this may be the best skill you can have to earn respect of investors. Don't just refer to your business plan. Know it and everything about the market, the numbers, and how you intend to hit them.

I have met with several investors and they will all say the same thing when it comes to brewpub/brewery. What is your "BUSINESS" experience? They have little to no interest in what your beer tastes like or how good you can make it. This was disappointing at first but I kept looking at the big picture. I want to open a business and it happens to be a brewpub.

I keep abreast of the market. I talk to brewpub owners. I get involved with the industry. And if everything lines up to work out, I will pursue it. But I am not naive that this will just be an extension of my hobby. It is a career change and it is a risky business. At your age, make sure you have something else to fall back on.

Good Luck and Keep us posted.
 

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