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Pombe

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All,

Hoping some people can shed some light on some lingering questions I have in my research as I go on my own journey of perhaps "going pro". Questions mainly for those who have gone pro with a Nano System (<3BBL):

1. Did you keep your day job? If so, do you maintain your career full time or at a reduced workload?

2. Anyone doing this full time?

3. While maintaining your career, what sort hours are you putting in at your respective breweries per week? per month?

4. Considering all of the above, how do you manage?

My current goal is to work towards a part-time Nano, 1-3BBL producing up to 350 BBL per year (maximum). The project would be funded entirely from my own budget, but I have several people interested in being a part of this. The plan would be to self-distribute to a limited number of draft accounts as well as offer growler fills on premise (very few, if any breweries in the area currently offer growler services).

Thoughts and feedback? Please ask any questions you have.

Regards,
G
 
Hi Pombe,

I own and run a brewery in Austria which we (Wife, Teenage son & I) have been operating for the last 2 and a bit years.

We currently produce about 100 x 0.5l bottles per day.

We brew 5 or 6 days per week and a brew day lasts about 8hrs.

My background is in IT and I retain a consultancy role which I can do during the brew day and to be honest, this is a major feature in our ability to run the brewery. Having said that the lessons learned from running such a small brewery have helped us avoid making serious mistakes, so had we gone big from day one I think we would've gone bust by now ... As it is we have survived and are now looking to expand to about 250l per day.

We love the life life we lead and the fact that the family works together is a very motivating factor in today&#8217;s age ...

The bottom line is that brewing is kinda the easy bit, it's the time spent talking to people, persuading them to try the bier, the marketing, accountancy, etc. etc. that is the real "work" of running a brewery ... If only everyone just wanted to drink bier!!

I'd be very happy to answer any questions you have and go into details if it would help, but unless there are particularly personal questions you'd like to ask I think it would be good to keep this thread public for the benefit of all readers ...

So, ask away, and keep the faith!!

Des
 
Hi Des,

Thanks for the insightful post! It seem like you've got a comfortable operation going over there, Prost!

Some more background information on this venture - the need for a separate brewing facility, namely commercial lease, leasehold upgrades, etc, sort of puts a stranglehold on cashflow. If I we were able to brew and sell from our own garages, everyone would be doing it. I figure I could get by with between 500-750 sq.ft. which would cost in the region of $500-1000 per month before utilities, strata, etc.

My working hours are not that flexible, typical 9-5 office routine, but I might be able to work out a reduction to 4 days per week. I suppose it all comes down to time management, but the prospect of brewing, which has been noted as the easy part, as well as packaging, promoting and selling, seems overwhelming to say the least. It poses the tough question of whether I want to take this on and spend ALL of my personal time at the brewery and visiting accounts.

Anyone have additional thoughts on this?
 

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