I went "pro" - What it actually takes to do so

[FoCobrewguy]

Thanks that does help. Do you know by chance if having to make a sell would mean having to sell a beer (which obviously I could not do without going through the whole process) or just selling something with my logo on it would be enough, like a T-shirt or something?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Thanks that does help. Do you know by chance if having to make a sell would mean having to sell a beer (which obviously I could not do without going through the whole process) or just selling something with my logo on it would be enough, like a T-shirt or something?

I'm just going off intuition here and truthfully that's a question you want answered by the right sources to make sure you were protecting the name.
I would think that if you have trademarked the name and are using it then you could technically sell your ownership rights to that name to your brewery down the road. Trademarks being sold is nothing new your just selling it to another business you happen to partially own. If your in for a read and really want to protect your trademark this is a good start... http://www.idearights.com/trdmrk.htm

 

[MedicMang]

.


Sent from Under MORE FREAKIN SNOW.

 

[Demon]

Thanks that does help. Do you know by chance if having to make a sell would mean having to sell a beer (which obviously I could not do without going through the whole process) or just selling something with my logo on it would be enough, like a T-shirt or something?

Need to actually sell the product the trademark represents. So in this case, you'd need to sell beer. You can file intent to use and keep extending up to a maximum of 3 years, plus the six months that it'll take them to process the original trademark.

It's an expensive endeavor, but necessary to protect your business. We were granted the trademark for my brewery last year and it was pretty pain free, lawyers handled it all.

 

[FoCobrewguy]

Good info thanks guys.. I will check out the link when I have some down time. Thanks for your time I appreciate the help.

kf

 

[Cape Brewing]

Been a long time since I've done any updating...

Things continue to go really well. One of the three of us started full-time at the brewery on May 1st. Our taproom (still very small) should be open within about a month and we are waiting to get a few last finishing details on the space finished up and are waiting for our new Pourer's License to show up from the state. We have been licensed to sell pints... just like a bar... for a while but we haven't had the space. This new taproom will give us a nice chunk of space for folks to come in, hang out at the bar, have a few pints, fill growlers, etc. (I've gotta get a couple pics).

Other than that... fermentation space is being expanded pretty dramatically (by our standards) and we're just chugging along.

We have the American Craft Beer Fest coming up at the end of May which we're pretty excited about and we have three new beers we're debuting (a IIPA, a Rye Saison, and a "Belgian/American ale").

It's been pretty exciting and things are moving really fast.

 

[ajdelange]

What it takes to go pro: Enough passion for brewing that you are willing to put up with all the BS that has been enumerated here and don't care that you are turning the best hobby in the world into a job.

And I guess I should add: another source of income to feed your family.

 

[Cape Brewing]

I think you're underestimating some of the benefits.

If it was that bad... we would have turned off the burners, emptied the fermenters, sold the equip, made all of our money back (and them some) and walked away a long time ago.



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[ajdelange]

I don't think so. I don't have the passion.

But I've known several people who do. Some of them have had successful careers as brewers and other have left the profession for jobs that paid better. Hope you will be in the first group.

 

[day_trippr]

I think you're underestimating some of the benefits.[...]

Please don't let it involve yoga pants...

Cheers!

 

[Cape Brewing]

Please don't let it involve yoga pants...



Cheers!

Oh.... yoga pants are just the icing on the cake.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[shoreman]

Would def like to see Picts once you get the taproom up and running.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[ajdelange]

Impossible as they are long gone but you can see their descendants if you travel to Scotland. Taprooms are a good place to find them.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Not the most flattering as it isn't done. Tiny but we're psyched with it. We've had a lit of customers say they couldn't wait for it to open... so we'll see.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[shoreman]

Nice looks good, if I'm ever in the area I'll stop by


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Cape Brewing]

Little closer to finished. Just trying to get through the last few inspections with the town and are praying to be open next week.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[BrewinHooligan]

That is pure awesome. I love the ceiling

 

[NewWestBrewer]

Little closer to finished. Just trying to get through the last few inspections with the town and are praying to be open next week. View attachment 211923View attachment 211924


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

Looks great...too bad you are a Patriot's fan. Oh well...can't win em all.

Seriously hope everything turns out for you.

:rockin:

 

[revelation]

Brian, had a nice chat with Kinsale about your operation. Well done, you guys certainly are making in roads and keeping people wanting more and more and more.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Thanks. Those guys have been great to us. We've been on tap there, basically, since we opened about 18 months ago. They sell a ton of our IPA.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[FermentusMaximus]

Hey Cape My wife and I are headed to Welfleet on Monday August 25th. Where's the taproom located and what hours will it be open to the public?

 

[Cape Brewing]

Hey Cape My wife and I are headed to Welfleet on Monday August 25th. Where's the taproom located and what hours will it be open to the public?

It is located dead smack in the middle of Norton, Ma (off of 495). 33 W Main St in Norton.

We are likely going to be closed on Mondays though unfortunately.

We haven't set hours in stone yet. We're going to soft-open, figure out how much beer we're going to be going through and then figure out how many hours we can stay open and not be sold outta everything on a constant basis.

That said... we are hoping to get to something... Eventually... Like:

Sunday: closed
Monday: closed
Tues-Thurs: 4-9
Fri: 4-11
Sat: noon-11

Those are ballpark times my partners and I are tossing around but we haven't settled on anything yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[FuriousE]

Very cool thread with great information. Thanks for posting!!

 

[FermentusMaximus]

We are likely going to be closed on Mondays though unfortunately.

If you guys are right off 495 that's a pretty easy trip for us down here in Providence. We head that way all the time on our way to see family in upstate NY. We'll stop in at some point I'm sure.

 

[Cape Brewing]

So far so good. Been open now twice with some nice crowds. Now we focus on expanding the brewhouse.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew because it impresses people

 

[FastAndy]

Cape, if you're ever in the market for a production, 50bbl (13k+ bbl a year) 2 vessel system experienced and ABG educated brewer looking for a smaller work environment with a wife from NE, give me a shout.

 

[day_trippr]

Not seeing any yoga pants.

Fail.

Cheers!

 

[Cape Brewing]

Been a while so I figued I would add a quick update to this necro-thread...

New lease became official a few days ago (on the 1st) and we've essentially multiplied our footprint by five within our building.

General Contractor was in this past Saturday cutting the concrete for the floor drains and new 15 bbl brewhouse ordered and expected in mid-April.

Should be an interesting year.

 

[Bensiff]

Good for you Cape! Best of luck in the land of the stainless debt cycle.

 

[Cape Brewing]

We have yet to take out a penny of debt. (Unless I am missing a different reference).

The initial funding was a very small amount of money between myself and my two partners and 100% of the growth has been organically funded.

We paid cash for the new brewhouse out of sales revenue.

 

[TrickyDick]

Congrats on the success! You and your partners still working day jobs?
Curious what kind of QA/QC you're operating, as well as any plans for a yeast lab. Any dumped batches? How is the keg program doing? I thought you'd bought a bunch of two piece kegs initially and built a Frankenstein washer. Any inventory problems (keg theft)? What's the state limit for self distro?

TD

 

[Cape Brewing]

Wow... that's a lotta specific questions...

We are currently only a 3 bbl brewery so our Qc program is still fairl y basic. We ensure gravities are correct and then we taste each batch but there isn't much more to it than that. Frankly, I'm not 100% sure you truly need much more than that but that's a debate for another thread. Yeast lab... yes... we are def planning on setting up a small lab that would be right-sozed for our new brewhouse. Right now we simply pitch brand new slugs of fresh yeast because, given the batch sizes we're doing, it's not cost prohibitive and it's a ton easier. That said... that approach is not sustainable and we're going to move to yeast brinks for all of our strains (6-7 strains right now). Keg distribution is going great. It gets out name out and does a ton of advertising for us but the real revenue is in the tap room. We'll do more in one day of sales in the tap room than all of our tap accounts combined on a monthly basis.

I would NOT recommend the removable-stem kegs. We haven't had a ton of issues with them but enough that they are a bit of a pain. That and the fact that we have never once taken the damn spear out to clean a keg. We have a DIY keg washer that is all automated (my partner Frank did a killer job setting it up) and it's 10,000 time easier than taking each keg apart. And no, we haven't had a single keg stolen... but... we don't retail ANY kegs. They are all wholesale to a short list of tap accounts.

No state limit on self distribution

 

[TrickyDick]

Well congrats again!
Yeah, I was really curious about that part of the business.
With the larger sized batches you'll be brewing, will you need a new spent grain plan?
You're really lucky to be in a self-distro state. I'm in FL, and as soon as I started learning the three-tier system in place, my dream kinda crushed a little. Then they passed a heinous law that says even tap room sales must go through a distro, plus lots of other pro-middle man zingers for the new start-ups as far as tap rooms. Its a damn shame. Lets not even talk about the ridiculous growler laws, yet they sell liquor in 1.75L bottles. Politics. Least I can live vicariously reading about your success. Keep it up! Next time I'm in MA, I'll have to see where I can find a pint of your brew.

TD

 

[Bensiff]

We have yet to take out a penny of debt. (Unless I am missing a different reference).

The initial funding was a very small amount of money between myself and my two partners and 100% of the growth has been organically funded.

We paid cash for the new brewhouse out of sales revenue.

That's awesome you are able to do that, every brewer I've talked to says at some point they have to borrow money and by the time they pay things off they are borrowing more for another upgrade so I assumed you had hit that point as 15bbl is getting into it pretty good. I'm truly impressed you've done so well, so again my congrats to you and your partners. What do you think has been the best part of success, word of mouth, quality, location, lack of competition, etc?

 

[jbaysurfer]

Hey stranger. Who's your manufacturer for your 15BBL system? What sized fermenters? I know a guy who's got a 15bbl Specific system coming at the end of this month.

Edit: By the way. Congrats on your success and pending expansion. Best of luck!

 

[Cape Brewing]

With the larger sized batches you'll be brewing, will you need a new spent grain plan?


TD

Most likely yeah... We have a local pig farmer who takes our grain but once we move up to the 15 bbl system, it'll be a whole different kettle of fish. We have had a number of farms reach out to us looking for spent grain so we're not too concerned about getting rid of it.

 

[Cape Brewing]

That's awesome you are able to do that, every brewer I've talked to says at some point they have to borrow money and by the time they pay things off they are borrowing more for another upgrade so I assumed you had hit that point as 15bbl is getting into it pretty good. I'm truly impressed you've done so well, so again my congrats to you and your partners. What do you think has been the best part of success, word of mouth, quality, location, lack of competition, etc?

This could be a whole long thread in of itself but... We have had a very specific approach to the business side of this whole deal and we've stuck to it. Luckily it has worked really well for US. Would it be the best solution for another brewery? Maybe, maybe not, but we think it is dead on for us.

We refuse to have a big debt obligation hanging over our heads. If that means dampening back our potential growth rate... so be it. The way we see it, if you take out a ton of debt and grow really fast, then you are simply forking all of that profit margin over in debt service anyway, so the lender is enjoying your growth rate. Then, the real down side is if you take out all of that debt and there is an unexpected blip in revenue for any reason at all... now you're looking at trying to manage a huge debt without the revenue you thought you had.

Nah... We'll march along doing just what we're doing.

There are a ton of very successful breweries that have gone heavy with debt so don't get me wrong... I'm not saying it's a "bad" way. I'm just saying it's not the way we are doing things.

 

[Cape Brewing]

Hey stranger. Who's your manufacturer for your 15BBL system? What sized fermenters? I know a guy who's got a 15bbl Specific system coming at the end of this month.

:

We're using O'Neills out of Conn. They are really close (in relative terms), their equipment comes with very positive reviews, and their lead time is only about 100 days so it was kind of a no brainer.

All 15bbl fermenters. We currently make 13-14 beers and, for our situation, don't see the need to double batch into one fermenter. We are likely going to simply have the carb stones mounted in the fermenters and not bother with dedicated brites.

Congrats on the new equip.

Our GC just started cutting up the floor for our drains a couple days ago.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1420597219.410276.jpg

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ now THAT'S the kind of pictures I like seeing. Nice on ya. Would like to try one of your beers someday....

100 days is impressive. Out west here almost every manufacturer is 120+ days, and few of them ever hit their deadlines spot on....but I think breweries are factoring that in these days. My original delivery date was Jan 7th, but the delay just means there's 3 less weeks I've got to store the things before install.

 

[limulus]

Congratulations on your success. I just read/skimmed this entire thread and have to say I am quite impressed with your business plan and the way it all worked out for you. I have considered a similar approach several times (keeping my day job and sharing brew duty with partners). The big problem here is our laws don't allow self distribution and no on-site sales of pints or growlers via a tasting room if you are not a brewpub.

The last photo of the new drains going in really speaks volumes about your expansion. I know that kind of work does not come cheap so I hope you get everything installed and running ahead of schedule!