Things I learned going from Home to Nanobrewer...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Gordie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
381
Reaction score
33
Location
Healdsburg, CA
Well, I've been a licensed nanobrewery for about a year and a half now and it occurred to me the other day that I've learned a few things that might of interest to other folks. So off the top of my head, here goes...

1. Go bigger. Unless you've got way way too much spare time get at least a 1 bbl brewhouse. If you don't need a ladder, the brew house should be bigger. Having built your own rig helps when things inevitably go wrong, and is an advantage.

2. Fermentor size matters. This is your chokepoint for production. You'll need as many gallons as you can effectively temperature control.

3. Love your yeast. Effective yeast harvesting is a must (and easier with larger batches and regular brewing). And you'll get way more than you need. I get around 2 gallons of settled slurry from a batch. Washing every once in a while is good too and its a good idea to learn how to chemically/acid cleanse slurry too. I'm now using a 5g ale pail to harvest yeast and hold starters. Learn everything you can about yeast. Super important.

4. Its not as hard as everyone who gives you unsolicited opinions will try and lead you to believe. The legal stuff is manageable. Really. Production just takes more time, more (bigger) gear and a dedication to regular production. Calendaring really helps.

5. Learn everything you can about fermenting. Yeast nutrients. Temperature is critical. Pitching rates. Sanitation. Everything. Adding hops to beer in a 90 minute boil is fun, but then there's two weeks that need as much attention to avoid having to dump what could be $400-500 worth of beer down the drain.

6. Its a business, it needs to act and look like one. Learn accounting and do it yourself so you personally understand what's financially happening with your brewery. This pays off in spades. Among other benefits, you can get a tax deduction for your office, back yard (if you host a party), utilities, garage, etc. Beyond this, all your gear is deductible and depreciable, expenses for "professional development" ie. beer = "style samples and comparative tasting" expense, beer festival tickets = "market research", dinner and a beer at a bar you sell your beer to then becomes "travel and entertainment: meals" expense. Seriously.

7. Talk to everyone in the brewing business that you can. Pro brewers are (with extremely few exceptions) really really happy to help. For most of them, you're doing the "pure" version of professional brewing and not having to deal with health plans, payroll and insurance, etc. and they throw a lot of love. Vinnie from Russian River recently told me "We've all been there." Be respectful, don't name your stuff similar to anyone elses (in the area or out of it). Chances are good that you'll be able to piggy back their grain shipments and end up paying $0.72 a pound for malt and delivery will cost around $2.00 for a 55 bag, and picking up their overstock hops is a possibility too. Speaking of hops, hops in 11 lb bags from distributors are about $14/lb now and less at the end of the year when people are blowing out last year's crop.

8. Confidence. There's a reluctance to step out and take nanobrew to a bar and try and sell your beer-child. Its a personal thing that most people, outside artists and creative professionals, don't have a lot of experience with (myself included) and the prospect of rejection can cause you to undersell your self and your beer. Trust in your brew - it tastes better than 99% of what's out there. If it didn't we would be homebrewing.

9. Sales. This is the new part. Figure on spending at least as much time marketing and selling your beer as you do making it. Start local, find a publican with some love for the local and use that for momentum. I was "underground" for over a year selling to chefs, caterers and other folks which helped create a buzz and gave me time to get my act together (and recipes, my IPA is the 9th variation of the original recipe) before going and getting some bars to give me a tap. Personally meet the managers and bartenders and be available by cell. Tell the story of your beer and why you're doing this and offer to answer any questions. Make it clear that you may not be able to make enough beer to keep their pipeline full and tell them they need a plan B for the tap if you run out of inventory. Make this clear at the start to avoid problems down the road. Worst thing you can do is be spotty with delivering product.

10. Sanke kegs are a must. Buy used ones, and take the valve apart and clean them and put them back together. Repeat. This is like training to field strip and clean your M-16. Once you get used to them, they're way better than corneys (in my opinion) and no bars are going to pour from corneys.

11. Charge more money per keg. You are limited production, hand crafted artisan brewery. Charge for it. Find the distributor's price for the most expensive similar sized keg in your area and add $10.00.

12. Naturally carbonate in the kegs. Helps with keeping the beer fresh, it a good story and point of differentiation and easer than than force carbing in bulk and transferring under counter pressure. Also forces you to delay release of the beer and gives it some conditioning time so you're not releasing green beer.

13. Love. There's a ton of love out there for nanobrew. I just went to my first beer fest after being "underground" for the last year and a half. We had a line 6-8 people deep for the duration of the event. We got a shout out from the band. TONS of "hell yeah" comments about garage brewing. Can't say enough about the reception we got. Makes toiling in my garage alone at 1am for two years putting this together all worthwhile.

That's about all I can think of for now. Finally - if you're thinking about making the transition, its very doable and there's a lot of love for it these days. I mostly started because I could take the baby monitor to the garage and tinker around while my daughter slept and then it sort went haywire (well, it was that or World of Warcraft as a hobby, and you can't drink World of Warcraft) Go for it. Gotta run.

Gordie
 
Duh.

Most importantly - the beer has to taste good. Sweat the details. If your beer isn't tasty, nothing else matters.
 
Awesome post.

Sounds like you are living my dream. I can't stand my career anymore, if I had even close to the start-up cash I would go for it in a second. We have only one real brewery here in Buffalo, and a couple of brewpubs. Their beers are good, but just that. Everytime someone tries one of my beers and says "Dude, you should sell this", I get this twinge, like I'm missing the boat. Oh, well, I can dream.
 
Hey Gordie! Good read. Do you think you could do some section on the legalities of this sort of venture? I always figured you'd need to have a commercial facility to sell your beer to anyone, health inspections etc. Thanks!
 
Great post, thanks.
I'd be interested in more details on bullet 9 - Sales. You started out selling to chefs and caterers. Kegs, not bottles I assume? What chefs would want to put a no-name brand of beer in their restaurant? That seems like the biggest challenge to me.

Are you selling in a small to medium sized town or a large city? Large city would be much harder to get a foothold in it seems like.

I like your comments about tax deductions in bullet 6. :) That made me think... how much beer do you need to sell to be considered a business for tax purposes? I am not a CPA or tax planner and probably none of us are qualified to answer this for sure, but if I sold say one case of my homebrew to friends every few months or so, and set up a legal business entity (it's pretty easy to register an LLC), would that qualify me to deduct equipment investment expenses? :)
 
Thanks a ton Gordie. I'm reading Sam C's "Brewing Up a Business" right now and you bring up similar points. The dream is still alive... :mug:
 
Hey Gordie,

Thanks for the post. I am still a total noob when it comes to homebrewing (let alone nanobrewing). But it's nice to see that if I continue with this (most likely), and improve my craft and further develop my skills (hopefully optimistic), this could be a feasible thing.

I've been following you on twitter for the past, say, two months, and that alone has been very interesting and helpful.

Congratulations on your successes and best of luck to more of the same.
 
Great post!
Now I won't be able to get through the rest of the day without daydreaming about opening a brewery in the back of my families winery.
:mug:
 
Great post. I think I read a post from Brian Hunt at Moonlight that said many of the points, especially size. He said he wouldn't even think about trying anything smaller than 7bbl, it's just not cost/time effective.
 
Great post!
Now I won't be able to get through the rest of the day without daydreaming about opening a brewery in the back of my families winery.
:mug:

I my parents owned a winery there would have been a brewery in it long ago . Half the battle is over they have the connections and more importantly the site thats already approved
 
i wish i made good enough beer. there is a bar near me that is known in the area for having beers that no one else has and if i could make something that could really wow the owner he would be all about selling it. that alone could get me started. but i just bought a house to i have just enough money for about a can of extract right now. looks like this will have to wait for me
 
Gordie is my new hero!!! Now, all I need is a personal picture and I'll send it to FatHead for a nice wall poster in my bedroom, sorry Incredible Hulk. I am talking to a guy that wants to open a brewery but doesn't want to shell out the bucks for a large equipment setup. This is the shizzle fo' rizzle!!!
 
I my parents owned a winery there would have been a brewery in it long ago . Half the battle is over they have the connections and more importantly the site thats already approved
The winery has been open for almost couple years now. The main things that are stopping me from doing it is lack of brewing experience, and the fact that the winery is on the east coast, and me+wife+kids are on the west coast. I figure I've got about three years to get all the ducks in a row if I want to move back to MD and take a swing at it. They also have a small vineyard and I think I'm going to try to see if I can get them to plant some hops next spring.
 
Great post!

Thanx for letting us live vicariously through your venture, and giving hope to those on the cusp of moving in the same direction.

:mug:
 
Gordie thanks for the post.

California looks like a state very friendly towards small brewers.
The bad thing about Texas, we have a 3 tier system, no self distributing.
Without the county approval no state brewers license will be issued.
I read our 290 page document a few times looking for loopholes.

I wish you a great brewing future.
ClaudiusB
 
Awesome post. I'm sure you've had some interesting times getting to where you are, and more in front of you!
 
Hey Gordie! Good read. Do you think you could do some section on the legalities of this sort of venture? I always figured you'd need to have a commercial facility to sell your beer to anyone, health inspections etc. Thanks!

+1 to that, im very curious as well!
 
I need to respond to post #7 augusus.....


I am a CPA, and there is one MAJOR flaw with your final paragraph....If this was any other business you would be correct in your assessment, but when it comes to alcohol, there are many other permits, licenses, etc that you have to have BEFORE ever selling an adult product.....therefore you have an illegal business, and prob shouldn't be trying to depreciate things......

I've been drinking a bit this eve so thats all I can say for now, but let me know if you have any accounting related questions.

Chris
 
Thanks for posting your experience Gordie, I'd love to hear more.

I'm curious if there is a special category in CA for a nanobrewery.
I'd love to hear more about your process for starting the brewery, especially what types of beers you've chosen to brew.
Also, I'm curious if you have a day job, and how much you've invested/borrowed for this venture.
Lastly, where can I sample some of your wares?
 
Wow. Lots to respond to... Thanks for all the support and "atta boy" 's. I should also say that I have a day job that nanobrewing at the level I'm doing will not let me quit. Also, without the ability to self distribute and the absence of a rent/lease payment, nanobrewing at this level also wouldn't work. More specifically...

Smizak - I grew up on Lexington Ave. off Elmwood on the west side of Buffalo. If there was ever a place that loved its beer it's Buffalo. We made Genny profitable for generations, for christ sake...

Agustus - the chefs I sold to were alternately buying it for their crew and pairing it with other meals. I'm blessed to be in an area where having a story about the small production hand crafted and cult/underground/you-can't-get-it-without-knowing-someone nature of a beverage (wine, mostly) makes you a rock star, particularly cooks that are offering something different or off the beaten path. I fit that role pretty well, especially with the heightened beer-food-pairing foodie movement. My brewery not being well known (and producing limited, hand crafted, etc...) was actually a valuable selling point for the chefs. In terms of deductions, you actually have to be in the business. Selling would be required and evidence of some income - or the good faith pursuit of some - is a must. That requires licensing and actually being in business. Unfortunately, no shortcut. Oh - and I'm only kegging. I originally was going to only bottle but the logistics and space requirement and whatnot made it kinda unworkable. And you've got to deal with reporting and payment of conservation fees and whatnot for recycling bottles and other crap...

JohnnyO - Thanks for following! If there's any questions or anything I can answer in the process (or days afterwards) shout them out!

Splastik - A word about Brian and Moonlight - probably the best thing to happen to me is that I got to know Brian. I listen INTENTLY to everything he says. I'm of the opinion (and I'm not alone) that he's part Yoda and part Dumbledor. The man has forgotten more about beer than I may ever know. He's really the original one-man-brewing-army and he started almost 20 years ago when all this wasn't cool. In my mind, his credibility and integrity are unsurpassable. His beer is crazy tasty too. Beyond that, I think he's absolutely right about a minimum of a 7bbl system, and I'd actually go a bit further and say if you're going to run a 7 bbl brewhouse you may as well be running a 15 bbl brewhouse. As I mentioned above, I'm still into my day job and going to stay there for a while. If (actually when) I expand this, I wouldn't go smaller than 15 bbl. I may add a fermentor or something to my current setup, but if I'm going to go bigger - 15 bbl minimum (just my opinion, and there are plenty of others out there).

Wortmonger - dude, YOU are the one who taught ME all the fun things that you could do with a sanke...

ClaudiusB - send me a link to your local regs and I'll see if I can find a solution... (I've had some success at that sort of thing...)

Tomwirsing - light beer = marketing budget. Give me the Bud Light marketing funding and the ability to produce carbonated water with a 3.2% abv and I will rule the world.

gxm - Actually, there's no category for a nanobrewery. I have a Type 23 small brewer's license which would allow me to produce 60-80,000 bbl a year (I forget). I'm in a relatively small town that's kinda a hub/destination for wine. As the "regulars" I'm making (I've got about a dozen "irregulars") an English-style IPA, a Blonde (which is trending towards a summer ale) and an Irish red, all of which were closely considered and developed for reasons that have more to do with what I WANT to do with my brewery than what I may have thought I NEEDED to do. I've made a number of choices on beer type/name/etc. based on how I see my brewery that different brewers would not have made for how they saw their own breweries. I haven't taken on any debt and I've basically funded it through trickling cash at equipment over time. For a few months, I designated the mileage reimbursements for my car to brewery cash infusions. Overall, my rig is no more involved or extensive (with the exception of having almost 30 5 gal sanke kegs) than many of those on this forum. I've got a (large) Brutus type brewhouse, 3 chest freezers that I've rigged as fermentation chambers, and an understanding spouse. Finally, I'm on tap at Johnny Garlic's in Windsor, CA presently (Guy Fieri's place from the Food Network) and another small restaurant in Healdsburg, CA but they're both almost out. I'm rolling out another handful of kegs of IPA on 09.26 to a few locations and I'll give a shout out as to where they're going around then. Johnny Garlic's will get a few and a few places in Healdsburg as well.

I gotta go to bed. I'm sure I missed a few comments/questions so feel free to repeat them. Thanks for all the shout outs too!

Kevin
 
Hey all,
I just wanted to chime in here and say thanks to Kevin and his wonderful family for all the fun in the sun and great beer! The invite to the house for the after party was great, and the tour of the brewery and its works was even better!!! And there is something magical about being able to watch the brew master open the cooler, and seeing a keg with your name on it at the brewery! Sorry we couldn't hang out longer, but the two hour ride home wouldn't have mixed with me doing anymore drinking!!! The Healdsburg beer in the plaza event was a lot of fun, there were 35 breweries from all over present, along with some good food and a great blues band. We tried a lot of new beers and found a few that I will be looking for locally to add to my stock. The highlights for me were the;

Firestone - Union Jack IPA, a hop heads dream, 6 different hops melded together to the point where you can taste each hop type individually in a cascading wash of hop bliss!

Grand Teton - Double Vision Doppelbock, this is a private reserve limited quantities, large bottle 33.8oz beer, and it is amazing. If you can find it, try it!

North Coast Brewing - Brother Thelonious Belgian, Beergasm was achieved with this beer! I think I could drink this for a long long time!

Healdsburg Beer Co. - IPA, I Loved this beer immediately, with its very clean and snappy hop taste, lately I have really been bummed about the way people have butchered IPA's as a whole. I think it has become to excepted to brew an overly bitter beer lacking the character that should be found in an IPA. That can not be said here, this beer has a great malt base to it that starts the beer off and then finishes with very crisp and clean hop flavors that actually allow you to taste and differentiate hop types! Along with a great finishing aroma and an almost, dare I say it, Cream/Caramel mouth feel.... All that adds up to what I say an IPA should have "Character" not just bland bitterness!

Gordie is my new hero!!! Now, all I need is a personal picture and I'll send it to FatHead for a nice wall poster in my bedroom, sorry Incredible Hulk.

Let me help you make that dream come true !!!

Here he is the Man, the Myth, the Legend, WortMongers new Hero !!!

DSC_0001A.JPG

DSC_0002A.JPG

DSC_0004A.JPG

DSC_0007A.JPG

DSC_0008A.JPG
 
A few more pics for you all!

DSC_0011A.JPG
Grand Teton Double Vision Doppelbock One of my Favorites
DSC_0016A.JPG
This was another amazing find!
IMG00231A.jpg
Me and the Missus taking a sober break!
IMG00233A.jpg
5 Gallons of Keged IPA Bliss!
 
That Thelonius Monk tap is awesome! Me want!

Great writeup btw. Are there potential problems with a 7 bbl or even 3 bbl being too big at first...or is this essentially a non-issue?
 
The winery has been open for almost couple years now. The main things that are stopping me from doing it is lack of brewing experience, and the fact that the winery is on the east coast, and me+wife+kids are on the west coast. I figure I've got about three years to get all the ducks in a row if I want to move back to MD and take a swing at it. They also have a small vineyard and I think I'm going to try to see if I can get them to plant some hops next spring.


If you have an in with a winery I think this is the best way to go "pro". Where I live alot of the wineries are putting in breweries and/or distilleries. I have a standing offer to brew for a winery after I retire in 3 years. They are planning one for the future and the owner is planning for me to be there when I retire from my real job. Who you know definately matters. I'm printing this off so the owner can read it. Thank you.
 
There is a very small winery that opened up a few months back near my house. The first thought I had was "what if I could get these guys to expand and take me on as a brewer". I may need to think more about this now.
 
This thread is just chock full of Awesome. And yet another reason why HBT is singlehandedly the best site on the interwebs. Gordie You give hope to all of us that dare to dream. Please let me know if you ever get your brews to Colorado.
 
That would be me. :mug: Thanks for the plug.

Gordie, great read and great information. I am starting out small because my target is small but it has potential for growth. I'm hoping for that growth but making sure I'm okay if it doesn't happen. Just waiting for my Brewer's Notice from the TTB.
 
I wouldn't discard the nanobrewery idea just because you can't self distribute in your state. Maybe I'm an optimist, but after talking to some people in the know I think it could work to go legit, even with a distributor. Having a distributor would make it harder to sell your beer, but I think a person could have the beer already sold before you label your first bottle.

Like Gordie says, my beer would have to be really good. You could bring homebrew samples as gifts to your local craft brew enthusiast retailers until they say "wow, I would sell this at my store!" (or bar, or whatever). Get you beer out there -- be generous with beer samples to friends and acquaintances who are beer enthusiasts, compete in (and win!) contests, join homebrew clubs, etc.

Then you can ask the retailers who is a cool distributor that really supports local beer, and with whom your favorite retailers have a good relationship, who also likes your beer and wants to participate. Then when you think you have a sufficient support system you could work on licensing and get things going.

If your beer is really good, people will ask for it. The retailers will ask for it. The distributor will come pick it up and deliver it (for a fee of course). If you can't keep up with demand that's awesome!!

It would of course take a financial investment, but I think the risk and extent of the investment could be minimized this way, by taking the approach of creating a "pull" for your product instead of making it and pushing it. You could start out very small, and you could minimize dependence on investors who may want to interfere with your "artistic integrity" and business plans.

Well, that is my version of "the big dream!!!"
 
Back
Top