how to add on brewery to existing restaurant

[mandoman]

Well, the restaurant gig didn't work for me b/c, in my opinion, it was just too shoestring and not established - too risky and all of the investment would be on me. Well, in the meantime, another already established rest. is interested in adding a whole brewery - and they have the money/know how/connections etc. and are very successful already. In the last 3 months I've done some hardcore research and know the laws/regs/hurdles/finances/etc. and am actually prepared. I'm going to meet with these folks in a week or so and see what they have in mind.

Anyway, this thread has been helpful and encouraging and maybe will continue to be!

 

[GreenwoodRover]

Keep us posted, I'm enjoying living vicarously through your adventure.

 

[Bob]

Good on you! I wish you all the success in the world. Should you require assistance, well, just click the link in my sig.

Bob

 

[chefmike]

Darn glad to hear it... I went to App State and drove that way to go up to Lewisburg to hit the caves. I also have a bunch of Hokie friends (even if I live in GA now). I will gladly stop off and quaff a beer in Damascus.

The rest of you... put it on your travel map. Beautiful place.

 

[NJTomatoguy]

Check out flying fish website. They have some good advice and stories about how they got started.


http://www.flyingfish.com/fishtales/business1.cfm

 

[david_42]

This sounds much better all around. And don't forget that you can find good deals in used brewery equipment, as companies upgrade and consolidate. Or even unused by someone who didn't plan things well enough. There are two 1 barrel breweries in the local area, one of which only does lagers. Talk about expensive, but he is making it, just moved into a new building and is working on a bigger system.

 

[mandoman]

UPDATE! Wolf Hills Brewing Company has been approved by our local planning commission and zoning boards. We have submitted our licenses to the TTB and Virginia ABC. We have a location and most of our equipment. We have 4 solid, consistent ales (APA, Stout, Brown Ale, Wheat). It's been about a year in the making so far and we may have another year to go but we've really made progress and passed the point of no return (license fees alone ran about $4K). We will be a brewery (i.e., not a brewpub) running a 1 bbl (31 gallon) system using homebrewing-style techniques (e.g., cooler MLT with copper manifold) in a single-tier system. Wolf Hills Brewing Co Microbrewery Abingdon VA will feature pics and stories, etc. very soon but is just a placeholder for the moment. We're also on facebook. We will be able to produce between 150 and 500 bbls a year (labor being the biggest variable) and plan/hope to expand quickly and have the funding lined up to do so. Our first six months goal is to 'test the market', get a better handle on demand, and try out distributors (although we hope we have that one covered) since you can't self distribute in VA. Ideally, we'll be expanding to a 7, 10, or 15 bbl system within the first year. We've got our fingers crossed but realize that the dream of many is realized only by a few.

Chris

 

[thataintchicken]

Congratulations!
Keep us posted.

 

[Dagatris]

Sounds awesome dude! Congratulations!

 

[Chad]

Congratulations! It's good to see this thread revived with such a positive outcome. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

Chad

 

[mandoman]

Thanks for the support y'all. The energy for this thing has certainly been encouraged by this site! Actually, there have been a lot of negative comments that have been equally helpful along the way. I'm still waiting for the hammer to fall but so far, so good.

 

[HBRunner]

Congrats!! That is awesome! Hope everything works out for you.

 

[fixie]

Wonderful! I can't imagine how good you must feel. I have a friend that took the plunge and now owns his own brewery, it was definitely tough for him but with some hard work and will power he did it. Sounds like you are well on your way. Keep up the work! and the updates.

 

[brianholton]

Awesome. I've been planning on doing a similar nano-brewery thing. There's a guy I've gotten in contact with on probrewer.com who's doing something similar in PA....He's already up and running, making the beer in his garage and selling sixtels to local bars. I've gotten a lot of helpful advice (and equipment) from him. I can fwd his contact info to you if you're interested. I'm sure he wont mind, so here's some pics of his brewery:
Flickr: breakerbrewingcompany's Photostream

 

[bad coffee]

Sounds like great news for you. Keep us posted, a lot of other brewers dream of exactly what you're doing. Knowing what steps you've gone through will help us out someday.

If I'm ever in the area I'll gladly help out for a day or two. Just feed me and give me a place to crash.

B

B

 

[staffVAJoe]

Looks like you are in my area - always looking for business interests. Will provide free support and start-up labor for beer and new business associates.

Joe B.

 

[mandoman]

brianholton, I too have chatted with CM from PA and he has been very helpful.

The outpouring of support is fantastic. So many said it can't be done, and we're still not there but it seems so close. Of course, that's what everybody thinks and it still takes forever. I'd be more than happy to share what I've learned and done so far. I'll be back soon.

 

[mandoman]

joe et al,

stafford va only about 5.5 hrs from here. We have submitted our license applications to ttb and abc and are eagerly awaiting approval (or not?!). The virginia licenses for brewery and off premise (kegs and growlers) ran us about 3k and we had to pay a tax bond to the ttb for 1k. In other words, we're committed (or should be). Paid the rent and deposit on the building (actually a 18 X 16 foot room) and installed water and sewer and electric. Picking up some cooperage next week and placing our first ingredient order for 'testing and tasting' but won't be able to sell anything until we're approved. Next up is to run our ads in the paper alerting the community of our intentions. Can you believe each ad will run us about 700 bones? It really does add up.

 

[mandoman]

ads in weekly local paper cost $45, sweet. State needs $2500 to cover a tax bond that we'll never reach as our production is too low. Whatever. Met with local distributor tonight and they loved the beer and want to carry it for us. Next is to discuss the terms, markup, etc. So far, so good.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

Wow, this is cool. Good luck with everything!

 

[mandoman]

so our applications are filed with the federal TTB and the Virginia ABC. Of course, ABC can't do anything until TTB gives us our brewer's notice and approval. TTB asked us for another round of paperwork after we filed and they will have that tomorrow. After that they have to do a phone interview with myself. How long will it take after that? That is one question. The other question is, how long will it take for ABC to approve us?

In the meantime we're awaiting our boil kettle and chiller so we can dial in the system.

Finished installing insulation and motel ac/heat pump unit. Can keep the whole brewery (all 288 square feet of it) 65F with no problem.

Once we seal the floor we will move the big equipment in (freezers/fridges/mash tun etc.)

We're sittin' on 700 lbs of grain and several pounds of hops awaiting our first brew session.

 

[Drummin101]

that is so cool i really do hope things work out and if i am ever in Virginia (the odds are I won't) i will have to try one of your brews.

 

[TheRealBonger]

Very cool I was at the Martha Washington Inn last winter for an American Association of Professional Landmen meeting. Neat town and that will fit right in. Best of luck. :rockin: If I am ever back that way will have to check it out.

 

[lithy]

Hell, you're closer to all of East TN than the rest of VA. Let me know when you will be 'opening' or where I can get your beer and I will make the drive on the first weekend available.

Congrats!

 

[LakeErieBrew]

Keep us posted. This is so cool!

 

[mandoman]

thanks for the kind words. This thread helps me keep the enthusiasm up during the doubtful times. Sometimes I wonder what the h$%l I'm thinking, that brewing is a lot of work, cleaning, etc. The ultimate payoff isn't that large and if I f up the beer it comes out of my pocket. I just heard from another brewery that it took 3.5 months for them to get federal ttb approval instead of the 30-60 days they tell you. Ugh.

On a good note, our giant blichmann kettles came yesterday and they are indeed sweet.

 

[smarek82]

I was just at a very good business conference and you know how it is good to pick up on at least one good word of advice from the speaker? Mine to you would be on the lines of marketing. You are going to do the newspaper, tv, ads, flyers, etc. If your town is quaint and they appreciate local business. The speaker denoted 1 very important fact... DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS.

He said early on in his career, which was in the restaurant business, he would take 4 hours each day and walk around town, knock on peoples doors and develop relationships with them. He would ask to "give me a chance". "Give my business a try". Well it worked. Right now this gentleman has been VP of Ritz-Carlton, and now CEO of a Henry Ford Health Systems hospital in Michigan.

I swore to use this word of advice if I was to ever turn entrepreneur. Good Luck!

 

[Catch-22]

This may have been addressed already so sorry I didn't read all the posts but was anything mentioned regarding the yeast dumping and your municpalities ability to process those little critters at the water treatment facility? I too want to do this but I am worried the suburb area in mind isn't big enough to support the yeast dump of a brew house. Lagunitas brewery had a similar problem a few years back and was kicked out of the city. Just wondering.

 

[Hegh]

I didn't think yeast were a problem... Sanitizers, on the other hand, can be.

 

[mandoman]

All of the environmental/water stuff goes through the ttb. Given that we're a 1 bbl system and recycling most of the yeast I don't think our impact is going to be that great. But that's not for me to decide and I'm not sure who actually decides - only the ttb ask for the info, the state does not. I heard about several breweries whose yeast dump was their biggest environmental impact of concern. According to 5 star, pbw and star san are completely safe for municipalities - it's the septic tanks that can be affected. 5star has impact statements for all of their products on their website.

Plus, I assume you could just kill the yeast before flushing to avoid metabolic contamination or oxygen depletion or whatever the problem may be.

I'm sure this issue will come up and I'll post.