Go Ahead....make fun of my dream!

[dantodd]

Then kindly explain how we could misunderstand one another.

Bob

I don't believe we do.

 

[dontman]

I have almost reached my goal. I call it Wild Willie's Pub. It serves only the best food and my favourite home brew's. My cousin who happens to be a master cabinet maker from Munich helped build the bar and back bar. It only needs a new dart cabinet and it'll be ready. The only problem with it is the lack of parking (only 1 spot unless I'm home then there isn't one) and it only seats 4 at the bar. But being in my basement I can be very picky on who I let in.

Right on. I'm in the exact same state of dream catching. I have a great pub. It is open only when I feel like it. Keeping it stocked is a frickin joy, not a job. If I have a beer that is less than stellar, meh, who's gonna complain for the prices that I charge. If I don't feel like going in to the pub one day, I don't go downstairs. If I don't feel like brewing one day, or, one month, the worst that happens is I put a cup on top of one of my taps for a few days.

I have been reading this from very early on and I keep coming back to the point that I think so many dreamers miss. That busting ass 24/7 to barely scrape by is no fun, no matter what you are doing.

People say that the money doesn't matter as long you love doing what you are doing. Even if you love it, at the end of the day if you've got nothing to show for it then it will get tedious as hell. Sales is hard to do consistently and in a disciplined way month after month. And you have to keep replacing customers that fall off due to entropy. Restaurant/Food bev cleanliness is a huge pita and you don't lose a batch if you slip you lose your shirt.

What exactly about home brewing is the dream to which so many aspire? It is often the romance of it, not the reality.

I am speaking from experience too. I have started and run three companies. I sold two and just closed the third a couple months ago. The one I closed was actually successful but became too much of a chore to keep going. This one grew out of another hobby and passion of mine - coffee roasting. I built that up through an almost fulltime sales effort to the point where I was selling a few hundred pounds per week. I then put in another 15-20 hours roasting and packaging coffee. It got to the point over the course of three years where I HATED firing up the roaster. And not because of the actual roasting process for the first batch, but for all of the ancillary duties that came with roasting.

I bet that would happen with beer to. And the idea of dreading firing up the brew equipment just sucks.

 

[z987k]

Right on. I'm in the exact same state of dream catching. I have a great pub. It is open only when I feel like it. Keeping it stocked is a frickin joy, not a job. If I have a beer that is less than stellar, meh, who's gonna complain for the prices that I charge. If I don't feel like going in to the pub one day, I don't go downstairs. If I don't feel like brewing one day, or, one month, the worst that happens is I put a cup on top of one of my taps for a few days.

I have been reading this from very early on and I keep coming back to the point that I think so many dreamers miss. That busting ass 24/7 to barely scrape by is no fun, no matter what you are doing.

People say that the money doesn't matter as long you love doing what you are doing. Even if you love it, at the end of the day if you've got nothing to show for it then it will get tedious as hell. Sales is hard to do consistently and in a disciplined way month after month. And you have to keep replacing customers that fall off due to entropy. Restaurant/Food bev cleanliness is a huge pita and you don't lose a batch if you slip you lose your shirt.

What exactly about home brewing is the dream to which so many aspire? It is often the romance of it, not the reality.

I am speaking from experience too. I have started and run three companies. I sold two and just closed the third a couple months ago. The one I closed was actually successful but became too much of a chore to keep going. This one grew out of another hobby and passion of mine - coffee roasting. I built that up through an almost fulltime sales effort to the point where I was selling a few hundred pounds per week. I then put in another 15-20 hours roasting and packaging coffee. It got to the point over the course of three years where I HATED firing up the roaster. And not because of the actual roasting process for the first batch, but for all of the ancillary duties that came with roasting.

I bet that would happen with beer to. And the idea of dreading firing up the brew equipment just sucks.

hehe if you ended up hating firing up the roaster, you should go volunteer to clean tanks at your local brewpub sometime.

 

[dontman]

hehe if you ended up hating firing up the roaster, you should go volunteer to clean tanks at your local brewpub sometime.

Exactly Not so glamorous when you get down in the trenches. And I had a person who did all of the scut work. Couldn't turn over the roasting. That would be akin to having someone else be your master brewer.

 

[dontman]

Bob's got the right idea. I have been a sales management consultant for about 12 years now and it always stays fresh. By the time I start to get tired of the same old sales routine, I move on to a new project.

 

[fredGSX]

I think you have everyone dream on here. I know it is my dream and has been for while. It is the real reason why I have began brewing my own. I really want to learn and possibly take it some where. You can not do it though without taking a risk. I am 26 years old and there is no way I want to work for the big man for the rest of my life.

I still have a long way to go before I could even think of doing it, but I think I have some good food recipies and by then I should have a couple good beer recipies. I am on my second batch and my first was a Hefe. I just had a party and people were asking me if they could buy it as a 6 pack. I was shocked, I like it but I did not think everyone else would also.

I think the key is location of course, but you also need a good staple brew with awards and some decent food for people to eat. WAB in Ferndale, MI has great beer and just sandwhichs and they have expanded over the years. Good beer will bring good people, you just need the right marketing.

 

[dantodd]

Here's an Idea, Brewclubs. You start your brewpub and set it up so that you can rent out the equipment to brew clubs, they work the equipment and provide supplies for themselves and keep most of the produce. You only ask them to give you a small amount to feature in your pub, if people like it then they can make more and you can rent them the equipment and by their brew for the pub. I have noticed that the equipment isn't running all the time in most brewpubs. But for most of us, it is the equipment is the thing. Also it is a thrill to possibly have your brew sold comercially and not have to put up with all the paperwork needed. The equipment would be professional and the variety of the pub would be assured. As I said, you rent out the equipment for a nominal fee and stock for the pub. They get a big batch and to test their skills on the big boy equipment and possibly get the going professional out of their system or even have the wherewithall to get the stuff themselves. You could even do a teaching class on going pro and a short disscussion on the equipment needed. I don't brew beer but even I would be interested in going to said class. I brew mead myself. Often wondered what I could do on a big rig and wanted to know the diffrences needed. Sort of a getting my feet wet type of thing before coming up with a professional situation is what I would like. I know the folks over at Gotmead.com have some people that went pro on it.

I think that this idea has merit though.

We have a local brewery "Devil's Canyon" that has a "brew on premises" program. They don't use it to supplement their stock but it does help supplement their income. I have never been to the brewery but apparently they will help you tweak your recipe and help with your brew day. I suspect they also do the clean up. Then they baby your fermenter until you come back to bottle your 15 gallon recipe. I'm sure they make decent markup on the kits and bottles.