Are there any brewpubs that use homebrew size equipment
- Thread starter JBrady
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Worth Brewing in IA (featured on basicbrewing & brewingtv) and The Keg & Barrel in Hattiesburg MS are the 2 that came to my mind.
Both have fairly good but very different reasons for not brewing 'big'. Worth's situation is an easy one to figure, they're located in a town of less than 2500 people I believe. TK&B's situation is more due to legal issues and resulting structure limitations due to those legal issues. K&B was an operating pub which decided to add in-house product, thus they stayed small with a self-built sabco type system. In MS any beer brewed in batches of larger than a certain size (either 50 or 100 gallons I can't recall) have to be served from serving tanks not kegs. FYI the law was written essentially by the gaming industry for their purposes and that's just one part to keep down the competition.
Thus Worth has little need for even a 3.5 bbl system though I'm sure it would be a nice luxury. TK&B has other hurdles which aren't easily traversed due to their facility, a very large old home. Plus the in-house ales are only a small part of what they sell with about 60 taps. As with most things in life, one size rarely fits all.
My dream is to own/run something along the lines of Worth's model only in a slightly larger town and have it also be a pizza joint. I like Worth's non-bar feel, sort of family like. The profit margins are off the charts for pub brewed biers vs packaging breweries.
Schlante & Roll Tide,
Phillip
Both have fairly good but very different reasons for not brewing 'big'. Worth's situation is an easy one to figure, they're located in a town of less than 2500 people I believe. TK&B's situation is more due to legal issues and resulting structure limitations due to those legal issues. K&B was an operating pub which decided to add in-house product, thus they stayed small with a self-built sabco type system. In MS any beer brewed in batches of larger than a certain size (either 50 or 100 gallons I can't recall) have to be served from serving tanks not kegs. FYI the law was written essentially by the gaming industry for their purposes and that's just one part to keep down the competition.
Thus Worth has little need for even a 3.5 bbl system though I'm sure it would be a nice luxury. TK&B has other hurdles which aren't easily traversed due to their facility, a very large old home. Plus the in-house ales are only a small part of what they sell with about 60 taps. As with most things in life, one size rarely fits all.
My dream is to own/run something along the lines of Worth's model only in a slightly larger town and have it also be a pizza joint. I like Worth's non-bar feel, sort of family like. The profit margins are off the charts for pub brewed biers vs packaging breweries.
Schlante & Roll Tide,
Phillip
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OP
JBrady
Well-Known Member
I have a buddy that lives in Hattiesburg that told me about the Keg & Barrel, I just remembered that he told me about that place when I read your post.
I would love to own brew pub/micro brewery someday! But where I live, which is in alabama, it's nearly impossible. Our state law says that to have a brewery or brew pub it has to be in a historic building that brewed beer for sales prior to prohibition. Last time I checked there were only 3 such buildings left in the state and 2 of them are breweries.
Other states have it so much better then Alabama. Maybe one day soon we can get that changed. If not I may have to move in the near future!
Other states have it so much better then Alabama. Maybe one day soon we can get that changed. If not I may have to move in the near future!
agroff383
Well-Known Member
I just have to applaud the guys out there doing 5 or 10 gallon batches. Me and my regular crew of 6 guys, 7 with me...we can usually kick a 5 gallon corney in a day of football on Sunday. Granted that would be a 4% abv pale ale or porter, and it isn't exactly 5 gallons, but you would have to be brewing 24/7 even on a 10 gallon system, I don't care how small the pub is.
Your time is worth money, and brewing 3 beers a day 5 days a week! That's nuts! It just doesn't make business sense. But the guys out there are doing it and I am just saying how it shouldn't work. I would want at least a 3 BBL system, I would want nothing more than to be able to have a brewpub someday, and I read these threads any time they come up just to soak in the info as much as possible.
Your time is worth money, and brewing 3 beers a day 5 days a week! That's nuts! It just doesn't make business sense. But the guys out there are doing it and I am just saying how it shouldn't work. I would want at least a 3 BBL system, I would want nothing more than to be able to have a brewpub someday, and I read these threads any time they come up just to soak in the info as much as possible.
Yea I wouldn't open a Pub in MS (or AL for that matter) unless someone gave it too me. It's simply archaic, backwards, and pure stupid. It's one of the reasons I've become more libertarian, if not outright disgusted with government at all levels. As soon as I'm done with school and my wife completes her doctorate I have a plan!
My plan/hope is in 10 or 12 years when that's done and she's rolling in the money to open a small brewpub as described above. Something that won't SINK us with debt, be too big a struggle to keep afloat as a start-up, etc.Schlante,
Phillip
RegionalChaos
Well-Known Member
Running a brew pub, or a small tap house seems like it could be more profitable then a distributing brewery, mainly because there is no middle man. All the mark up is your own. I totally agree that our distribution system for this stuff is pretty messed up..
remilard
Well-Known Member
On a fixed small scale, sure. The problem with brewpubs is that they are restaurants first and breweries last.
Package breweries can expand more easily than brewpubs (which would require a second location, and most of the multi site brewpubs aren't that well regarded).
Of course one well traveled option is to start with the pub, and then open the package brewery once you have built the brand/hype.
D_Struct
Well-Known Member
Can't wait to check out Southern Hops next time I'm in Florence! My wife's family lives there, and I've been hearing good things about it, so far.
D_Struct
Well-Known Member
Yeah. I'm amazed by the low-capacity brew pubs. I mean, 5 gallons = 40 pints. That wouldn't last long at all with any regular business. You'd have to brew constantly.
Interesting to see how small you can go as a brewery/brewpub. Of course, Sam managed at DFH, but some folks in this thread already made a good point about what it means to be brewing on a small system. Regardless how big the system is, it is still going to take about the same amount of time to brew.
Here in Alberta, being able to start a brewpub at less than 5HL (4.3 BBL) is not licensable. You have to have tanks at a minimum 5HL and an annual production of 2500HL (2137 BBL) with a maximum of 10,000HL (8547 BBL). For breweries, it is twice the minimum with no maximum. In other words, if you want to brew here in Alberta, you'd better be serious about it.
Another nice thing we have here is that breweries within Alberta can self distribute as well. Breweries selling into Alberta have to go through the only distributor in the province.
Here in Alberta, being able to start a brewpub at less than 5HL (4.3 BBL) is not licensable. You have to have tanks at a minimum 5HL and an annual production of 2500HL (2137 BBL) with a maximum of 10,000HL (8547 BBL). For breweries, it is twice the minimum with no maximum. In other words, if you want to brew here in Alberta, you'd better be serious about it.
Another nice thing we have here is that breweries within Alberta can self distribute as well. Breweries selling into Alberta have to go through the only distributor in the province.
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