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

CornyKegs 728
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I wish I could sit back and say, "Oh yeah... we're doing tremedously awesome and it's all because we're super geniuses and have a tremendous game plan".

Reality is.. yes, we are very very proud of what we have accomplished and we think things have been a "success" so far... but it's been a mountain of very hard work (two years worth so far) and we're still on a very small scale. So... it's not like we're a bunch of Jim Koch's driving around in Ferraris. That and while we really like how we have gone about things, we've also had a few significant things fall into our laps out of just pure dumb luck.

The perfect example is our tap room. We started the brewery (production) in January of 2013 and, at the time, didn't really have a tap room on our radar screen as it was illegal in Mass for breweries to have "full pour tap rooms" (customers can come in, sit at the bar and have a pint).

Out of no where and completely unexpected to us, the State changed the law in, I think, mid 2013 allowing existing license holders to suddenly have "full pour tap rooms". We actually had the license to legally do it for a couple of months before we even realilzed it.... and that change has been a MASSSSSSIVE difference maker. Having the tap room and having do as well as it has been doing is what is fueling 97% of our growth. We would be slogging through much much longer on our little "no debt" mantra if that hadn't fallen into our laps.

So... I think it has really been a combination of a lot of things that have all fallen nicely into place so far.

Hopefully that string of luck continues.
 
There is no plaque that could ever be produced that would do it justice Sir. Even a jewel encrusted plaque cast in pure platinum would be an insult to the divinity of the space.
 
We put these in there too... (Not sure how I don't have a pic of them in there).

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438093447.065819.jpg

For now we just went with two 15 bbl fermenters that we can double as brites as well.

We wanted to get the entire build out done and paid for and then we'll start lining up more fermenters. We figured two, coupled with our current small little 3bbl set-up should hold us over while we bring additional fermenters on line.
 
We don't let Paul near anything. The handsome guy in the background is F-Dub... My partner. BUSINESS partner.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
Cape Brewing said:
We put these in there too... (Not sure how I don't have a pic of them in there).
Click to expand...
That's a bit bigger :D Nice work!
For now we just went with two 15 bbl fermenters that we can double as brites as well.
Click to expand...
When you say "double as brites" are you fermenting under pressure, or transferring to an empty Fermenter to carbonate?
 
Wow, so the last time you posted, you were still a nano. Now, six months later, you have a 15bbl brewhouse. I'm sure that did not just happen yesterday. Discovering that you could have a real tap room must have been HUGE for your business.


QUOTE=Cape Brewing;7011532]Been a while since I updated this thread and I figured it was time for a quick update.

So...

This happened....

View attachment 292800

30bbl HLT, 15bbl MT and 15 bbl BK. mill and augers set up so no carrying grain up top.[/QUOTE]
 
Business is really busy. We have a million things going on at all times and, frankly, I'm not sure how we're doing it. There are only three of us. We are the owners and the only employees so we are doing everything ourselves. One of us is full-time at the brewery while the other two still have day jobs.

So far so good though and business has been good enough that we were able to afford the expansion we are almost done with now.... which was taking on much more space and upgrading to the new 15bbl brewhouse.

We'll see how the next several months go as it'll be a real indication, we think, of where things are ultimately headed.
 
Wow! Huge Congrats!!! Do you think there will be a time (soon maybe) where the brewery becomes the full time job/career?

There must, by now, be some income from this project, and not just to pay the single FTE of the three of you? What kind of financial benefits have you experienced? Any awesome toys or vacations this has enabled? How are the wives (assuming that there are any) handled or reacted to this all? Just curious how its changed your life, and sort of living a little bit vicariously...

How has the changing beer scene/eruption of microbreweries changed the marketing and distribution? Any new or "seasonal" beers in the lineup?

I've always imagined that brewing was never a pathway to riches, but to happiness, contentment and good beer. Its a lot of friggin work (and time) just homebrewing. I could do it (brew) a lot better if it was something I did everyday and without other concerns from 9-5, but that would probably ruin a great hobby (wondering if "Adult" film stars feel the same about their "jobs"... probably not.)

It is becoming increasingly easy to find great, fresh beer in a variety of styles today. That was not the case when I began homebrewing. I've wondered if there might come a time when I might consider going pro, and then that passed. Then I wondered about quitting, because of all the great beers available now at the store. Then I decided to go electric.

Last question. What city has your beer on tap? I'm thinking Boston, but its been a while since I read through your thread.

Thanks for sharing!


TD
 
In terms of the money side of things... yes, it is looking more and more that it'll become a full time job for all three of us in the not TOO distant future. If we continue on the trajectory we're on (or close to it), it won't make any financial sense for us to keep our day jobs. One of us is there full time now and I would be surprised if at least one more of us wasn't there once the new brewhouse hits its stride.

The financial benefits that we have experienced.... is simply the growth of the business. We have yet to take a penny out of the brewery except for the brewery buying the occasional lunches. None of us draw a salary (that'll change pretty soon for the one partner that is there full time now) and we've reinvested every nickel back into the business. So... no awesome toys unless you count a 15 bbl brewhouse as awesome toy (which I absolutely do).

A huge chunk of the "money stuff" continues to be a result, on the good side and bad side, of us refusing to take out any debt or take on investors. The three of us still own 100% of the business and have zero debt. We started extremely small for a comically small amount of money and have just let it grow from there. We were willing to put in the sweat so we didn't have to put up a ton of cash, take out huge loans, or give up part of the ownership... and even though it has been a bit of time (which has gone by in the blink of an eye), I think all three of us are pretty psyched we went that route. That said.... yeah... this whole not-collecting-a-paycheck deal is gettin' kinda old.

All three of us are married and all three have two relatively young children. That's been a difficult part simply given the amount of time we spend on the business... and again, for two of us, that is on top of our full-time day jobs. That said, our wives have been incredibly supportive. Given how much we are gone, they have to pick up a ton of slack and have done that in a huge way. At first there was a bit of a "this is a lot of time for a hobby" attitude but once they started seeing the bank statements and the growth/expanding we have done... it quickly turned into "yeah... You guys should keep doing that".

The "changing beer scene" has only been a huge benefit to us. Ya gotta remember, BMC still owns about 85% of the domestic beer market in terms of volume. Any expansion of craft beer only benefits us. By the way, that fact, along with a bunch of others, makes me believe that the whole "craft beer bubble" is a pile of bullshti. I don't buy the "over saturation" argument at all.... but that's a topic for a whole different thread.

We're on tap in a very short list of places... our little town, Boston, and a few neighboring towns. The reason is simply that we can't make enough beer (yet) to be on at more places. We have a wait-list that is dramatically longer than the list of tap accounts we currently have. Our tap room is only open 12 hours a week (weds 4-9 and Sat 10-5) because we can't be open more than that as we run out of beer. When we fire up the new brewhouse... that should all change.
 
This is so cool. I recently brewed a batch for a friend's wedding and it was an awesome experience. I'm sure tons of homebrewers have thoughts of going pro one day, but after that and all of the great feedback, and just being able to discuss the process and all that with the guests made for an amazing evening. It made me hope to be able to do it full-time one day. But for now I guess I'll just read along as this thread progresses, and like so many others have said, live vicariously through your experience!
 
Thanks for the detailed update. Super happy for you guys!
You are living the dream that many of share it seems.
I have a great job/career that I like but there are many days when I hate it too. Lots of federal regulations and other BS is a huge part of that combined with a cover your butt mentality to an absurd degree, takes away from what made me choose my career, and it's getting worse year by year. Unfortunately I have essentially zero time to consider doing anything like what you've done, and to make things worse, my state has probably got the ****tiest laws in the land about distribution, tap rooms, and licensure.
Thanks for sharing!

TD
 
I've always been a little skeptical regarding the nano business model. But there are too many now who have successfully gotten into the business with zero to little debt and grown into a real micro. Now I know it can be done and when properly set up with a partner or two, these things can build equity and grow organically just like these guys did. They did it the old fashioned American way with hard work. Congrats.
 
Hi Cape, good to see you guys expanding. If the bubble does "burst", it will be for people leveraged to the hilt and unable to make debt payments, not guys like you who are pay-as-you-go and carry little to no debt.

For your context, I am the Clown Shoes guy from the MA Brewer's event at Nightshift.
 
revelation said:
Hi Cape, good to see you guys expanding. If the bubble does "burst", it will be for people leveraged to the hilt and unable to make debt payments, not guys like you who are pay-as-you-go and carry little to no debt.



For your context, I am the Clown Shoes guy from the MA Brewer's event at Nightshift.
Click to expand...


Oh hey!

Yeah, that was really our thought process as well regarding the bubble and debt. Even though I don't believe a bubble is real, over-leverage is almost a cliche in the industry and it is a classic way for breweries to go under. If there is any material dip in revenue, either "bubble related" or for any other reason, all of a sudden you're chasing debt payments as quickly as possible and it becomes a death spiral for a lot of places.

We want to avoid that in every way possible and set ourselves up to withstand any downturns that may come to the industry as a whole or to us specifically.
 
limulus said:
I've always been a little skeptical regarding the nano business model. But there are too many now who have successfully gotten into the business with zero to little debt and grown into a real micro. Now I know it can be done and when properly set up with a partner or two, these things can build equity and grow organically just like these guys did. They did it the old fashioned American way with hard work. Congrats.
Click to expand...


This is a really common concept that goes through my head.... "What's the definition of success?" And that's a huge part of what you are touching on and its a huge reason why I don't buy the "bubble".

I hear people all the time say, "you can't make any money with a nano". Ok... but what do you mean by 'make money'? What is your definition of success regarding 'making money'? (And I don't mean YOU limulus... Speaking in general terms). If people mean "you can't support a workforce of ten people with salaries that would allow them to buy huge homes and drive Ferraris". Then sure... you can't "make money" with a nano.

But if they mean, "you can't generate enough capital to grow the business into something more meaningful".... then I TOTALLY disagree.

Same with the "bubble". "Oh, the market can't support all these breweries... there are too many of them!" Again... What's your definition of a successful brewery?

If you are saying that the market can't support 3,500 Stones.... or Sierra Nevadas... or Lagunitas... Sure...
I agree. But who said you have to be that big to be successful or be sustainable?

If you google "how many pizza places in US", you'll get an answer of "about 60,000". That doesn't mean there are 60,000 Dominos, or Papa Johns, or Pizza Huts out there. There are tens of thousands of little mom & pop pizza places.... and probably a large chunk are successful enough to provide their owner with a comfortable living.... so why isn't anyone talking about the "pizza parlor bubble"?

Over 45,000 Chinese food restaurants in the US. When is the Chinese food restaurant bubble going to burst?

The definition of success is very different from person to person and from brewery owner to brewery owner. A large chunk have no desire to be Stone. They just want to make beer, something they are passionate about, and make enough money to put food on their table and make their mortgage payments.... and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you have a large amount of those people (which i think the craft beer industry does)..... than I don't think we are remotely close to any bubble bursting.
 
This is an excellent read and I don't want the two hours of my life back I just spent enjoying it.

Do you or any of your partners still homebrew?

Do you have a pilot system to test recipes on or are you confident enough to brew them on your big boy system?

Good luck!
 
Jaybird said:
Glad to see you guys doing well Cape! I want to see picts of the new digs man! What system did you guys go with?

Cheers
Jay
Click to expand...


View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439042274.174582.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439042285.129315.jpg

Tap room about to open in about two min... (Sorry... Kind of a dark pic.

And the new system. It should fire for the first time this upcoming Weds.

We went with O'Neil's out of Ct. 15 bbl MT and BK and 30 bbl HLT. After the experience we had with him, we wouldn't buy a hydrometer off him going forward.
 
beernutz said:
This is an excellent read and I don't want the two hours of my life back I just spent enjoying it.

Do you or any of your partners still homebrew?

Do you have a pilot system to test recipes on or are you confident enough to brew them on your big boy system?

Good luck!
Click to expand...


We all still homebrew. All of our test batches are fun through in tiny scale at our homes and then translated to the brewery.
 
@capebrewing I've been following your thread since I've basically been here...just want to say congratulations on all your success! Next time the Mrs. and I are up your way we will try to stop in! Congrats on the continued success and hope to see you for a pint soon!

:mug:
 
Well put with some nice examples. I think you are spot on when you say the market can't support too many Stones or Sierras. I think what the market wants now is local.

Cape Brewing said:
This is a really common concept that goes through my head.... "What's the definition of success?" And that's a huge part of what you are touching on and its a huge reason why I don't buy the "bubble".

I hear people all the time say, "you can't make any money with a nano". Ok... but what do you mean by 'make money'? What is your definition of success regarding 'making money'? (And I don't mean YOU limulus... Speaking in general terms). If people mean "you can't support a workforce of ten people with salaries that would allow them to buy huge homes and drive Ferraris". Then sure... you can't "make money" with a nano.

But if they mean, "you can't generate enough capital to grow the business into something more meaningful".... then I TOTALLY disagree.

Same with the "bubble". "Oh, the market can't support all these breweries... there are too many of them!" Again... What's your definition of a successful brewery?

If you are saying that the market can't support 3,500 Stones.... or Sierra Nevadas... or Lagunitas... Sure...
I agree. But who said you have to be that big to be successful or be sustainable?

If you google "how many pizza places in US", you'll get an answer of "about 60,000". That doesn't mean there are 60,000 Dominos, or Papa Johns, or Pizza Huts out there. There are tens of thousands of little mom & pop pizza places.... and probably a large chunk are successful enough to provide their owner with a comfortable living.... so why isn't anyone talking about the "pizza parlor bubble"?

Over 45,000 Chinese food restaurants in the US. When is the Chinese food restaurant bubble going to burst?

The definition of success is very different from person to person and from brewery owner to brewery owner. A large chunk have no desire to be Stone. They just want to make beer, something they are passionate about, and make enough money to put food on their table and make their mortgage payments.... and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you have a large amount of those people (which i think the craft beer industry does)..... than I don't think we are remotely close to any bubble bursting.
Click to expand...
 
perhaps you'll read this perhaps not. i am a horrible, horrible critic, particularly of "startup breweries", but truly. this is the kind of menu i want to see, its large and i'd agree with 90% of it. nice stuff.
 
Cape very fun read, took me 3 or 4 days. I like the progressive upscale of the brewing system approach. I am one of those lucky guys that is friends with a couple of guys that pulled the trigger on a 15 bbl and have been acting as an "unpaid" help brewer. We have been taking our Homebrew recipes and applying them to the big system. Problem! The pro system is way more efficient and is screwing us up. Have you experienced this yet with your new set up with your recipes?
 
I just re-read the last paragraph describing your experience with the brew house manufacturer. Sorry to hear about your difficulties. You'd think that a "local" manufacturer would treat you better. But word of mouth can be a killer for crappy service. Hopefully the product he delivered is better than their service/communication.
 
Cape Brewing said:
(not conicals since conicals are stupid... but that's a debate for another thread)...
Click to expand...

Cape Brewing said:
We put these in there too... (Not sure how I don't have a pic of them in there).

attachment.php


For now we just went with two 15 bbl fermenters that we can double as brites as well.
Click to expand...

Those are massively stupid!;)

Congrats on the upgrades.
 

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