I don't want to open a brewery (and maybe you shouldn't either)

[Homercidal]

I would say the return on investment has a lot to do with the homebrewer's expectations. The retail market is getting saturated with craft beer. There is still room for more breweries for sure, but it's exceedingly tough to get rich and expand into distribution these day (in Michigan, anyway). The new breweries are mostly going to be local watering holes.

If a homebrewer went professional and opened a brewpub it would very likely remain a taproom-only business. Maybe that's just what some homebrewers want? Open a small beer bar in an upscale area for serving "trendy" beers to people with a much higher income. With the right ambiance it could still work.

If you want to do it alone, it's really tough. We have a brewery coming in Reed City. They are trying to finance without borrowing large amounts. They are working on about 3 years now and still aren't open. Granted, they aren't from right around here, so there was some moving and whatnot happening in that time, but it's still a slow process. Most breweries I've seen start from the beginning take about year LONGER to open than they planned. Lots to do with getting permits approved. They've streamlined the process some, but most people are surprised by how long and frustrating it is to get the building and equipment set up and approved before licensing can be approved. Months of expense and no income to offset.

 

[Paul_Aris]

I would say the return on investment has a lot to do with the homebrewer's expectations. The retail market is getting saturated with craft beer. There is still room for more breweries for sure, but it's exceedingly tough to get rich and expand into distribution these day (in Michigan, anyway). The new breweries are mostly going to be local watering holes.

If a homebrewer went professional and opened a brewpub it would very likely remain a taproom-only business. Maybe that's just what some homebrewers want? Open a small beer bar in an upscale area for serving "trendy" beers to people with a much higher income. With the right ambiance it could still work.

If you want to do it alone, it's really tough. We have a brewery coming in Reed City. They are trying to finance without borrowing large amounts. They are working on about 3 years now and still aren't open. Granted, they aren't from right around here, so there was some moving and whatnot happening in that time, but it's still a slow process. Most breweries I've seen start from the beginning take about year LONGER to open than they planned. Lots to do with getting permits approved. They've streamlined the process some, but most people are surprised by how long and frustrating it is to get the building and equipment set up and approved before licensing can be approved. Months of expense and no income to offset.

I was just thinking about the reed city brewery this week and wondered what was happening with them. Headed up that way to our cabin today for the week which made me think of it.

 

[Homercidal]

I was just thinking about the reed city brewery this week and wondered what was happening with them. Headed up that way to our cabin today for the week which made me think of it.

PM on the way.

 

[bobeer]

We have a few brewpubs around here like Sweet Water Tavern and Dog Fish Head ale house just to name a couple... There's 2 Sweet Water Taverns and they're always jammed packed. Don't get me started on how packed the DFH ale house is...
I think if you have good food, decent beer, and a good atmosphere you can easily make it in the right area. This northern Va area has a ton of expendable income which is why everywhere is mobbed all the time. The wife and I were out while the kids were at the grandparents one night and we went to 3 different places in 2 different towns and couldn't walk-in and grab a table anywhere. It was after 8pm too...

Like I said before... I think if you have a good product, good marketing, and you're in the right area, you can easily open a successful brew pub or brewery. (after all the red tape is behind you that is Any successful business is a ton of hard work and long hours but at the end of the day, if it's what you love, I think you'll come out on top.

 

[madscientist451]

Here's a guy in Queens NY, started out homebrewing, then a commercial nano brewery in a 150 sq/ft garage, now has a tap room pen 3 days a week. No fancy equipment, no menu, probably pretty steep rent, good reviews on yelp. The video talks about 11-14 hr work days. Also talks about sense of community and why he's happy to be there.

Edit: The film , below, shows how he used discarded materials to get his low budget start up going while he worked full time elsewhere. His new (repurposed) rig is 10bbl. He also talks about how his garage brewery helped to prove his brewing/marketing skills.
Consultants and experts are saying just skip this step and drop $500K+ into a 7bbl setup, that a Nano is not profitable. The grunge low budget concept isn't going to work everywhere, but this guy shows that it actually can work if all the pieces come together.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_VBzZfPJoA[/ame]


Also featured in 8 minute short film:


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GcNJUidy_A[/ame]

 

[Kharnynb]

I don't think i really ever want to mess around with Finlands alcohol legislation as a owner/brewer, thanks all the same.....It's bad enough as an bartender, let alone all the supply/brewing stuff.

 

[LandoLincoln]

http://www.beer-simple.com/beer/201...-open-a-brewery-and-maybe-you-shouldnt-either

I couldn't agree with this article more. Thoughts?

I think that the blog writer ran out of things to write about, so took an idea that could have been explained in a couple of sentences and stretched it out to 30+ paragraphs.

If someone says to you, "man, you should open a brewery" and you already looked into the idea and decided it wasn't for you, then you should just say, "thanks, but I don't want to take something I like doing for fun and turn it into a job."

 

[mesooohoppy]

I think that the blog writer ran out of things to write about, so took an idea that could have been explained in a couple of sentences and stretched it out to 30+ paragraphs.

If someone says to you, "man, you should open a brewery" and you already looked into the idea and decided it wasn't for you, then you should just say, "thanks, but I don't want to take something I like doing for fun and turn it into a job."

+1. I only got through a couple of paragraphs and couldnt stand to read anymoe. We get you you don't want to open a brewery.

Maybe it was the way I read it, but the tone where he shut down his friend for the prize 'brewer for a day' was dismissive and mean. Yeah its a lot of work, but it would be a great learning experience for a home brewer. Knowledge is power!

 

[brewcat]

Any startup business is going to be hard work and long hours. If I were to open a brewery I would hire a skilled brewmaster and run the business. It would be tough to make sales and brew beer.

It would be interesting to do a brewery within a bed and breakfast/hospitality type business. The size would basically be what a lot homebrewers do anyway. That would keep the fun of brewing and sharing your beer with new people without have to necessarily make large sales on the beer. Or do a winery type thing with a hop farm.

 

[woo_pig]

I really enjoy everyone's view on this subject. I can agree on both sides. I would love to have the time and money to try to pursue building a brew pub nano maybe micro .Just enough to make it worth it .

 

[beernbourbon]

Any startup business is going to be hard work and long hours. If I were to open a brewery I would hire a skilled brewmaster and run the business. It would be tough to make sales and brew beer.

It would be interesting to do a brewery within a bed and breakfast/hospitality type business. The size would basically be what a lot homebrewers do anyway. That would keep the fun of brewing and sharing your beer with new people without have to necessarily make large sales on the beer. Or do a winery type thing with a hop farm.

Now THIS is a cool idea.

 

[BuglessDuster]

I sometimes fantasize about opening a brewery that sells baked goods - a beerkery. I make awesome carrot cakes, pond cakes, zucchini bread, etc. My beer's pretty good too.

 

[Kharnynb]

If I were living in a country with less ridiculous alcohol selling and making laws, i might do it, but from the people I know that do have breweries here in Finland, You basically have to either be in one of the 3 big cities or have it as a side business/attraction to your main restaurant/hotel etc.

Friend of mine owns the local brewpub/restaurant/musicstage, he would love to bottle and sell, making his production year round and much easier to stabilise, but the hoops he'd have to jump through are just making it hard to make extra cash instead of losing it.

 

[Spartan1979]

Any startup business is going to be hard work and long hours. If I were to open a brewery I would hire a skilled brewmaster and run the business. It would be tough to make sales and brew beer.

It would be interesting to do a brewery within a bed and breakfast/hospitality type business. The size would basically be what a lot homebrewers do anyway. That would keep the fun of brewing and sharing your beer with new people without have to necessarily make large sales on the beer. Or do a winery type thing with a hop farm.

This is fairly common in Germany. http://www.braugasthoefe.de/en/

 

[pepindavid]

Or do a winery type thing with a hop farm.

That's actually my dream early-retirement plan : buy land in my "native" region (la Petite-Nation, somewhere in the vicinity of Montebello), build a hop farm, and have a small brewery on location. Not sure how that would fit with the current laws, though.

Oh, a few things, though: I'm only on my fifth batch of homebrew, and I have yet to grow hops. Since I am probably 20-25 years away from retirement, I still have time to learn..!

 

[fourfarthing]

It would be interesting to do a brewery within a bed and breakfast/hospitality type business. The size would basically be what a lot homebrewers do anyway. That would keep the fun of brewing and sharing your beer with new people without have to necessarily make large sales on the beer. Or do a winery type thing with a hop farm.

I would like to do this like an old common room/inn establishment. A bed and dinner and beer instead of a bed and breakfast. Being in a business role, I think I could blend my hobby and the rest... once I don't need the money to live on.

 

[QuadConPana]

Honestly I think the best way to get into the brewing business right now is supply. There's been a few articles about malt houses opening and local breweries embracing them with open arms. Everyone wants to make the beer, not everyone sees the many ways you can make money in the overall business.

I couldn't have said it better. I remember back in the '70's watching the show Wall Street Week on PBS where they were interviewing the manager of a growth stock mutual fund who didn't buy stocks in computer companies at a time when the computer industry was exploding. He bought stocks in companies that supplied the computer industry with disk drives and components, etc. The industry was cutthroat with big winners and even bigger losers. But, the component manufacturers didn't care who won.

 

[drainbamage]

I'm torn on the idea of going pro.

I have a couple of lifelong friends who have been urging me/us to start a brewery for a while now. Problem is, they have fairly little technical brewing knowledge, and don't have much of a business plan beyond Step 1: Make beer, Step 2: ???, Step 3: Profit! Plus, they don't really have the patience to sit through a brew day even now, much less commercial-scale and all the cleaning that goes along with it. I've been telling them that if I ruined a perfectly good hobby by making it my job, I'd never forgive myself.

On the other side, I've been approached by my BIL and a friend of his. They came to me with a very clear vision for a brewpub project, instead of a distribution brewery. Unlike my friends, both of them are also active homebrewers, and the one guy has years of kitchen experience at a highly-rated local restaurant. We also have our own unique specialties and brewing styles that I think would be complementary. I still have my reservations about going pro (and I'm definitely not ready to quit my day job yet), but if I was to do so, I think those guys would be the way to go.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I'm torn on the idea of going pro.

I have a couple of lifelong friends who have been urging me/us to start a brewery for a while now. Problem is, they have fairly little technical brewing knowledge, and don't have much of a business plan beyond Step 1: Make beer, Step 2: ???, Step 3: Profit! Plus, they don't really have the patience to sit through a brew day even now, much less commercial-scale and all the cleaning that goes along with it. I've been telling them that if I ruined a perfectly good hobby by making it my job, I'd never forgive myself.

On the other side, I've been approached by my BIL and a friend of his. They came to me with a very clear vision for a brewpub project, instead of a distribution brewery. Unlike my friends, both of them are also active homebrewers, and the one guy has years of kitchen experience at a highly-rated local restaurant. We also have our own unique specialties and brewing styles that I think would be complementary. I still have my reservations about going pro (and I'm definitely not ready to quit my day job yet), but if I was to do so, I think those guys would be the way to go.

Find a local brewery and ask them if you and your friends can come over during a brew day and clean out their mash tun for them. That should shut your friends up pretty quick about wanting to open up a brewery.

 

[krackin]

Business is tough and extremely demanding of time and dedication to succeed. It takes a lot of self sacrifice and never ending commitment. It is a hell of a rush if you have the guts to put it all on the line and go for broke. Most fail.

Don't go partners with family or friends. Best not to go partners at all. Don't hire family or friends either. Sometimes, those you hire, when you can afford it, will become like family and friends, if you are lucky. Sometimes not at all.