LandoLincoln
Well-Known Member
So you've got your brewery up and running and you can make beer in it. Hooray! But there's always room for improvement, am I right? Nearly all of us have made lists of things that they've wanted to do to create their ideal brewery, and nearly all of us have quickly realized that we don't have nearly enough extra money to accomplish all of these things, so some things need to be prioritized and some things need to be saved for later. So we make lists and we hem and haw over the list, trying to figure out which projects need to go ahead of other ones. If you find yourself at a loss on how to prioritize these projects or things to buy, then this thread is for you. I'm not an organizational expert. I'm just trying to help.
Step 1: Come up with a general set of goals and decide which goals are more important than others
For example, here's a set of goals that I would like for my brewery:
* Make better beer (who doesn't want this?)
* Make the brewery look better / more enjoyable to hang out in there
* Make the brewing process easier
* Make my beers more repeatable
* Save money in the long run
* Save time with various processes
Now that I've got my list, I have to decide what goals are more important than others. After some deep thinking, here's my personal priorities:
1) Make better beer (shame on me if I didn't make this priority 1)
2) Save money (I'm more poor than lazy)
3) Make brewing easier (I'm more lazy than impatient)
4) Save time (I'm somewhat impatient)
5) More repeatable process (having to adjust stuff mid-brew is kinda annoying)
6) More enjoyable brewery (it would be nice to make it not look like a cave)
Okay, so far, so good. Now, to brainstorm on all of the stuff that I'd still like to do for my brewery either real soon or someday...
Step 2: Develop a list of projects that you'd like to do or buy for the brewery
Well, this is the easy part. The only hard part about this step is to stop adding things to it. I am currently at a loss as to how to do that.
So here's my (rather extensive) list for my basement electric brewery:
* Upgrade my mill from a corona to a roller mill
* Get a hot water line run to the kettle area to help with cleaning stuff
* Get a cold water line run to the sink area to help with cleaning stuff
* Start distilling your own water or install an RO system
* Get a better sink
* Make a keg washer / faucet washer
* Install a TV
* Install a stereo system
* More / better lighting
* Get a hop rocket
* Get a second stir plate
* Install more taps onto the keezer
* Finish the new and improved wort chiller
* Finish the floor with epoxy paint
* Finish the cinder block walls with some kind of washable surface
* Install a urinal
* Install a stripper pole
I think that once you add the stripper pole to the list, it's time to stop. Unless you added that first, in which case, it's time for you to get out more.
Step 3: It's matrix time!
So you've got your goals prioritized and your list of projects. Time to combine them into something meaningful.
I find a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Sheets to help out.
List all of your priorities (in order from left to right) along the top and then list your things to do, like so:
And then figure out how each of those things impact the brewery by placing X's in each appropriate column. Please don't critique my choices here. I don't want to hear about how a hop rocket isn't going to make better beer for me. This is MY brain, not yours!
And then, finally, the end result. Assign points to each X. Assign 1 point to each X in the least important priority, assign 2 points to each X in your second-least important priority, and so on until you've assigned points to everything. And then total up the points in each line and then sort the lines by their priority scores.
Well, that gives me a rational list of things to do. It's pretty obvious that I should get that distilled water system / RO system going before anything else, since it will give me the most benefit.
(Optional) Step 4: Assigning some "cons" to the projects
Some of you may not be satisfied, though. "Installing a urinal would be awesome, but it's freaking expensive!" I hear you. If you'd like to fret over the list a bit more, then assign some negative aspects (cons) to each project.
My primary concerns are 1) how much it's going to cost me and 2) if I have to get professionals involved. I really detest depending on other people doing stuff for me, so that's my biggest negative. Then it's the cost. So here's my attempt at further prioritizing the projects with the negatives of each project included:
So...yeah...as you can see...that urinal project is gonna have to wait.
Well, that's it. I hope that this little instructional helps to limit the amount of time you sit and stare at your to-do list and inspires you to actually get out there and start knocking stuff off your lists.
Step 1: Come up with a general set of goals and decide which goals are more important than others
For example, here's a set of goals that I would like for my brewery:
* Make better beer (who doesn't want this?)
* Make the brewery look better / more enjoyable to hang out in there
* Make the brewing process easier
* Make my beers more repeatable
* Save money in the long run
* Save time with various processes
Now that I've got my list, I have to decide what goals are more important than others. After some deep thinking, here's my personal priorities:
1) Make better beer (shame on me if I didn't make this priority 1)
2) Save money (I'm more poor than lazy)
3) Make brewing easier (I'm more lazy than impatient)
4) Save time (I'm somewhat impatient)
5) More repeatable process (having to adjust stuff mid-brew is kinda annoying)
6) More enjoyable brewery (it would be nice to make it not look like a cave)
Okay, so far, so good. Now, to brainstorm on all of the stuff that I'd still like to do for my brewery either real soon or someday...
Step 2: Develop a list of projects that you'd like to do or buy for the brewery
Well, this is the easy part. The only hard part about this step is to stop adding things to it. I am currently at a loss as to how to do that.
So here's my (rather extensive) list for my basement electric brewery:
* Upgrade my mill from a corona to a roller mill
* Get a hot water line run to the kettle area to help with cleaning stuff
* Get a cold water line run to the sink area to help with cleaning stuff
* Start distilling your own water or install an RO system
* Get a better sink
* Make a keg washer / faucet washer
* Install a TV
* Install a stereo system
* More / better lighting
* Get a hop rocket
* Get a second stir plate
* Install more taps onto the keezer
* Finish the new and improved wort chiller
* Finish the floor with epoxy paint
* Finish the cinder block walls with some kind of washable surface
* Install a urinal
* Install a stripper pole
I think that once you add the stripper pole to the list, it's time to stop. Unless you added that first, in which case, it's time for you to get out more.
Step 3: It's matrix time!
So you've got your goals prioritized and your list of projects. Time to combine them into something meaningful.
I find a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Sheets to help out.
List all of your priorities (in order from left to right) along the top and then list your things to do, like so:
And then figure out how each of those things impact the brewery by placing X's in each appropriate column. Please don't critique my choices here. I don't want to hear about how a hop rocket isn't going to make better beer for me. This is MY brain, not yours!
And then, finally, the end result. Assign points to each X. Assign 1 point to each X in the least important priority, assign 2 points to each X in your second-least important priority, and so on until you've assigned points to everything. And then total up the points in each line and then sort the lines by their priority scores.
Well, that gives me a rational list of things to do. It's pretty obvious that I should get that distilled water system / RO system going before anything else, since it will give me the most benefit.
(Optional) Step 4: Assigning some "cons" to the projects
Some of you may not be satisfied, though. "Installing a urinal would be awesome, but it's freaking expensive!" I hear you. If you'd like to fret over the list a bit more, then assign some negative aspects (cons) to each project.
My primary concerns are 1) how much it's going to cost me and 2) if I have to get professionals involved. I really detest depending on other people doing stuff for me, so that's my biggest negative. Then it's the cost. So here's my attempt at further prioritizing the projects with the negatives of each project included:
So...yeah...as you can see...that urinal project is gonna have to wait.
Well, that's it. I hope that this little instructional helps to limit the amount of time you sit and stare at your to-do list and inspires you to actually get out there and start knocking stuff off your lists.
