If you were opening a brewery in your area...

[Weezy]

We could use both around here. LHBS is in Westlake,Brewpub is in North Olmstead. Breweries like Thirsty Dog & Hoppin' Frog are in Akron,2-2.5 hours one way from here. The Dollar Tree moved kitty corner across the intersection from my side. The store in the Giant Eagle plaza is still empty. I'd like to turn it into a brewpub/pit bbq/LHBS. It's certainly just big enough for all 3. I'd do maybe 2 IPA's english & American pale ales,English bitter,maybe a milk stout. That kinda stuff.

big thumbs up for just using Giant Eagle in a post. Heehee

We have a fair number and a few have opened recently. The new ones are very small. Unfortunately, taps are still dominated by larger craft and big brewers. We're also seeing some distilleries opening and at least one is traditionally a beer brewer but feels liquor is a better move. I think we'll see more small brew pubs selling only in-house at their restaurant.

edit: what ktblunden said.

 

[ghosthef]

Your market analysis will help you determine if there is a strong demand for a small brewery in addition to what will work in your area. Fundamental rule though...location location location...if you don't pick it right,...you may struggle. Some markets have seen triple digit growth in the past few years...so there is certainly a demand out there,...especially if, as others have already commented on, you can throw in entertainment and decent food.

 

[unionrdr]

There's a lot of DJ stuff around here for years. Not like when we were young & the local/regional bands were the big draw. I'm quite sure at least the pit bbq/brewpub thing would work. I-90 within a stone's throw,Mike Bass Ford right across the highway. So is Quaker steak & lube with bike nights,& hot rod/muscle/tuner car shows. They get some serious big buck hardware over there. If I could attract them with good beer/ale,etc with pit bbq,it'd be great.

 

[bmckenzie]

My wife and I just returned from Bend Oregon. They have a chamber of commerce promo that is called the ale trail. It consist of 13 breweries in a city of 80,000. One is a large craft brewer (Deschutes) the rest are small ( 5-7 barrel) operations, most serve a pub menu and most seem to making a living, a few look like they may not make it because of bad location, and a couple because of bad beer.
Every brewery seemed to have all the hop head stuff , triples , barrel aged, imperial , high % stuff, but very few had any easy drinking German, Belgian, or session beers
A lot of breweries for a small population` but they were all busy.

 

[pdxal]

I am in Sacramento and actually am opening a Brewery. We have our ABC and TTB approval already. Waiting on bank funding that is supposed to be approved in the next few weeks. We have had our location since Oct. we specialize in Barrel aged beers. We make IPAs, Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, etc. We also have a restaurant going in. Sacramento is the new Portland. You can check us out on Facebook or at www.TwelveRoundsBrewing.com or 12brews.com.

Okay. :fro:

 

[mytommygundont]

In Denver you can do the tap room thing. This is huge because you are treated like the neighborhood bar. Distribution is a step in the process but not the first step.

As for saturation: If I'm looking to go to a brewery that is outside of my "neighborhood", I am much more likely to go to an area that has more than one brewery. There is an entire population of beer hunters here. They would rather drink at several places in a day and taste all of the one off beers. And judging from opening days at several breweries lately (chaos, madness), there is plenty of interest in new breweries entering the market.

In summation-I would say Denver is still a great place to open a brewery.

 

[Mongrel]

I am in Sacramento and actually am opening a Brewery. We have our ABC and TTB approval already. Waiting on bank funding that is supposed to be approved in the next few weeks. We have had our location since Oct. we specialize in Barrel aged beers. We make IPAs, Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, etc. We also have a restaurant going in. Sacramento is the new Portland. You can check us out on Facebook or at www.TwelveRoundsBrewing.com or 12brews.com.

We talked about this (what 2 years ago?) at OBF. Glad it's finally happening. Best of luck!

 

[Dovage]

I think starting a new brewery thinking you'll be able to break into the shelf space market is setting yourself up for failure these days. Although, if your state allows it, a taproom that isn't a brewpub seems to be the easiest and cheapest way to get into the market and realize profit. You get to sell all your beer over your own counter without the massive overhead of operating a restaurant at the same time.

The fist "brewery" here in Fort Myers, is just that, a tap room. The owners still work there 9-5's and are only open on Fridays, and Saturdays. So far the response has far exceeded expectations. They started in an industrial park unit.
Another tap room is opening up this month, the owners also are keeping there 9-5 jobs. I'm assuming both will change things once (or if), they become profitable.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,I'm retired from Ford,so I have the time. Now if I could get the venture capitol?... i've been told by a few people recently that I should open a brewery. My daughter the chef & shop owner is pushing me to open one.

 

[ktblunden]

As for saturation: If I'm looking to go to a brewery that is outside of my "neighborhood", I am much more likely to go to an area that has more than one brewery. There is an entire population of beer hunters here. They would rather drink at several places in a day and taste all of the one off beers. And judging from opening days at several breweries lately (chaos, madness), there is plenty of interest in new breweries entering the market.

That's a very good point. I plan beer trips based on proximity. If there's one brewery all by itself somewhere with no others near it I'm not likely to hit it unless I'll be nearby anyway.