Brewpub question

[boomtown25]

Ok Ninjas:

This is a hypothetical “what if” type question but could ultimately lead to something. Myself and 3 other friends are throwing around the idea of opening a small scale local Brewpub in our town. In Mississippi, we have very sh*tty alcohol brewpub laws. In fact, you are not allowed to serve beers with over 5% abv. Additionally, a brewpub has to serve food and 25% of sales must come from food. You are not allowed to bottle the beer where it could be removed from premises and the Brewpub cannot distribute, all sales must be on premises. You are also required to sell other beers besides your own. With that being said, Mississippi (sad to say) is a huge BMC state, so while we want to brew our own beer, we know the majority of our sales would come from commercial beer sales and liquor. So here is my question- would a 3 bbl brew system be too small for a brewpub that seats about 100-150 people?

 

[asterix404]

I have heard about labeling things "malt liquor" or "malt beverage" to get around most restrictions. I don't know about MI, but does that work?

 

[Tinga]

so can you not sell growlers or am i reading that wrong?

you could sell another craft beer but always be "Sold Out".

3 bbl could serve that many people depending on how often you brew. Fermenters are often the bottle neck in the equation.

what i would do to find out is to find a brew pub of a similar size of what you're thinking and look at their yearly production. so say their yearly production is 600 bbls a year. that would mean you would have to brew 200 times a year. that doesn't seem very feasible.

 

[boomtown25]

Wouldn't think the labeling would get you around the laws in MS. The bible beaters love keeping us down. We have a lot of research to do, but I don't want us pumping tens of thousands of dollars into a 7 bbl/10bbl system only to find out that it was a waste of money because the customers prefer commercialized beer over craft beers, and we only have to brew every now and again instead of all the time.

 

[asterix404]

I wouldn't be too sure. I think I read in TX that the label for anything over like... 3% or something crazy has to be called "Malt Beverage" or something. Now however, this does not take care of the problem that even with those labels, you are not distrubuting beer, but a malt beverage. I would look into it, you are starting a business, do market research, give out free samples and find out how you can do that... you will need a core group of people willing to drink whatever you produce, but I will tell you that people who have been drinking the same beer from years will not try anything new ever, period.

Also, what about having a brewery and giving out samples and sell growlers etc. You wouldn't have food, but you would still produce beer.

 

[mcwilcr]

What about setting up as something other than a brewpub. Maybe you can get around the regs by setting up as a nano-brewery type establishment with a 'tasting room'.

 

[boomtown25]

NO tasting allowed out of the breweries here in MS either. I'm telling you its rough.

 

[JefeTheVol]

Dont do it in MS or AL. Move the operation Pensacola and mail the state of MS a report of the revenue the state lost through your new Florida Brewpub.

 

[phenry]

The brewery that just opened up this year in Rolla (Public House) has a 3 bbl system, and I'd say this is mostly a BMC-oriented town (rural town + college campus). I've only been there once or twice when they've run out of one of their 5 taps, but it seems like they're able to keep up with production on a pretty consistent basis. They've definitely found their niche in town, seeing as they're really the only place you can get any kind of craft beer on tap. A little expensive for me (a college student) to be going there too often, but I have no problem supporting a local brewery.

 

[boomtown25]

^^^^ +1 on this. That is pretty much what we are wanting to do. While I would love to say "craft beer will fly out the door" I am realistic and you go to the bars around here and it is either Bud, Miller, Coors and if they get crazy, maybe a Sam Adams or Guinness.

 

[asterix404]

Are there any craft like beers that are sold in super markets or liquor stores? You might want to ask what sort of volume they do, as a rough estimate. If mostly they sell non-craft beer, you might very well be stuck just because if there isn't any demand for it in a grocery store, there won't really be any in it at a bar.

 

[boomtown25]

Yeah, actually pretty good craft beer selection in grocery stores so that's good

 

[drathbone]

You're lucky. In VA nearly 50% of sales has to be food. I wish you luck but as others have said you'll need to do some serious research. Check if there are any other brewpubs (maybe a few towns/counties over) or check with local stores to see how well the craft brews sell.

 

[chuckw68]

yes

 

[Revvy]

yes

I take it you're ACTUALLY answering the op's question, rather than complain about the liquor laws and such? Good on you!!!

12 posts and noone actually answered his very simple question.