Brewery Concept - Homebrewer's Opinions

[zlehmann]

Hey all,

I am working on a business plan for a brewery concept. The idea is basically to have a brewery/bar that allows homebrewers to use our equipment to brew a keg of beer that is then sold at the attached bar. It allows the bar to have really unique and interesting beers for its consumers and acts as a sort of beer incubator for potential future brewery owners.

For the scope of this post assume I can work out the legal and financials. What I need from this community is a sense of the interest in something like this as homebrewers. Would you as a home brewer be interested in participating in something like this? How concerned would you be about brewing at a larger scale if that was an option (in terms of altering your recipes and such)?

any feedback is welcome! Just trying to get a sense of the feasibility here. Thanks!

 

[myerstyson]

So we'd do all the work and you'd get the profits?

 

[bobeer]

I guess I'd be interested in that. It would be cooler/more interesting for non homebrewers though I think.

I wouldn't really care how big of a batch I could turn my homebrew into. Obviously you'd have to work with the person to scale the recipe correctly since IBU's change with batch sizes and such and it's not a "double the batch double the hops" ratio.

My 2 cents in what I'd want... If the beer sells, is an option to gain something by using your facility. What happens when it sells out and people want more? Would I get to brew it again? And if I did would I get a cut of the profits at some point? What's the benefit of me brewing with your equipment and then letting you sell it when I can use my own equipment and give my beer away for the feedback? Would I get to brew my beer with you for free or would there be a charge?

You say it can be a holding tank for future brewery owners but I don't think the majority of people using your business would open a commercial brewery. So you'll have to have something else to draw people in to brew with you I'd think. Maybe free growlers of other people's brews that go on tap? Sort of a leave a penny take a penny concept.

The way I see it is you have everything to gain and the homebrewer doesn't really gain anything that they couldn't do on their own. You could argue the exposure is something the homebrewer couldn't do alone but free beer isn't exactly hard to give away. You don't have to come up with recipes, you don't even really have to brew it, since the homebrewer will probably want to use the equipment, and you get to turn a profit while the homebrewer can just say "My beer is on tap at this place."
You could argue that you're taking a risk because you really don't know if the recipes that come in are any good or not. You'd have to have some sort of quality control. Maybe have the homebrewer bring in a growler/bottle of what they want to brew and if you like it you can go for it. Not sure how that would work but the last thing you'd want is someone's crappy recipe on tap at your place.

All in all I think it would be a cool place to visit for a couple pints. You just have to work out the details a bit I think and offer an attractive package to the homebrewer to get people to want to give you their beer.

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Can't recall the name, but there is a new brewery here in Denver either just opened or getting close to opening, that is doing this. It is a brother/sister team, it was originally going to be next to a lhbs, but that store was force closed by the gov recently.

 

[QuercusMax]

Platform Beer Co. in Cleveland (http://platformbeerco.com/) is doing something sort of like this, but on a one-at-a-time basis. They came and talked about my homebrew club a few months back. They are basically taking on a homebrewer as an intern for several months, who will learn the ins and outs of the business (both brewing-side and business-side), and brew several batches which will be served in their taproom.

The idea is to use it like an incubator to help start new breweries.

 

[Phunhog]

I like the general idea (brewery incubator) but I think there would be many potential pitfalls to overcome. Who would actually make the money from the beer being sold? What happens if the beer doesn't sell/isn't well received? Would you be obligated to sell the beer for so many days? A homebrewer won't be able to brew on a commercial system with much success the very first time. So then at what point are they no longer the brewer but just an "assistant with a recipe"? Another pitfall is that your bar/brewery has to be commercially viable. That means you have to sell what the consumer wants....which sometimes can be relatively boring.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Can't recall the name, but there is a new brewery here in Denver either just opened or getting close to opening, that is doing this. It is a brother/sister team, it was originally going to be next to a lhbs, but that store was force closed by the gov recently.

Where in Denver? I hadn't heard of this place before

 

[h-bar]

Hey all,

I am working on a business plan for a brewery concept. The idea is basically to have a brewery/bar that allows homebrewers to use our equipment to brew a keg of beer that is then sold at the attached bar. It allows the bar to have really unique and interesting beers for its consumers and acts as a sort of beer incubator for potential future brewery owners.

For the scope of this post assume I can work out the legal and financials. What I need from this community is a sense of the interest in something like this as homebrewers. Would you as a home brewer be interested in participating in something like this? How concerned would you be about brewing at a larger scale if that was an option (in terms of altering your recipes and such)?

any feedback is welcome! Just trying to get a sense of the feasibility here. Thanks!

There is a place in phoenix called OHSO that does that! They don't just work with homebrewers, though. They even walk totally unfamiliar folks through the process and stuff - typically as a team building exercise for their workplace or whatever. Some of their beers are just made by the brewery staff. My homebrew club got offered the opportunity to brew some beers for them. I say go for it! That place is awesome and they make great beer. If it weren't across town from me, I'd be there all the time...

 

[progmac]

There is a place in Dayton that does this too, I can't think of the name. I think it's sort of gimicky and wouldn't be personally interested. Then again, I could just be hungry and cranky right now.

 

[zmanzorro]

Sounds interesting to have as a side part of the business (like maybe a weekly firkin or something), but I don't think it would work as your main business because of the unpredictability of the availability of the homebrewers. Unless you're actually going to hire them, you're on their schedule.

 

[ColoHox]

Where in Denver? I hadn't heard of this place before

Factotum Brewhouse

 

[Teromous]

I brew out of a rectangular cooler and a pot on a propane burner. I would love to brew on some larger system for fun. It sounds like the whole payment issue would get complicated though...I mean I don't know many homebrewers that would pay to brew if they didn't at least get to keep a portion of the beer or the profits. Also who covers the cost of the ingredients? If you're just letting people in to brew for free and they spend no money on the ingredients, I would probably do it at least once for the experience.

Alternatively I've always thought the Brew on Premise concept was pretty neat too, but I've never been to one. In that concept the people pay to brew at your business and take all the beer home with them. I know it's not what you're talking about but it's an alternate solution if you run into issues with your current idea. Best of luck.

 

[zlehmann]

Thanks for all the feedback! I've posted this on a couple of forums and the responses have been pretty much the same. Not enough incentive for a home brewer to really facilitate the idea.

I think something more like a true brew incubator (co-op brewery) is probably a more realistic project.

At least I didn't invest anything in getting it started before I asked!