Mcbrew? No experience needed?

[madscientist451]

Maybe it's been around for a while, but I just noticed it, anyone can open a brewery or brew pub, you dont need any brewing experience.
A company will sell you the equipment and then supply high gravity pre-hopped wort, you add water, yeast and dry hops, voila! You're now running a brewery.
Is this a good thing? A recipe for a ton of crappy beer or a market changer as more producers enter the market?
It looks like the owner would save money by not having to hire an experienced brewer, but then would have higher costs for the wort and hops. I'm not including the name of the company so theres no idea that this thread is some kind of advertising. Just asking what others think about it?
Edit: got some more info, they are saying you need to be able to sell minimum 30 kegs a month and financing starts at $1500/month.

 

[Qhrumphf]

There are "brewpub" chains that use this model. Wort and/or extract trucked in from some central location.

 

[Qhrumphf]

In these setups they're usually true unitanks where the beer ends up being served from the same tank it's fermented in.

In addition not actually needing a brewer (though you'd still need a cellar operator), you'd save greatly on equipment costs, less real estate needed, and streamlined supply chain.

At, of course, the expense of variety for certain. And in all likelihood quality. In the chains I'm aware of, quality certainly suffers.

 

[Kickass]

Interesting. Pros and cons to it, I suppose. I certainly wouldn’t want to run/be part of an operation like this. Additionally, I’ve never heard of this business model. What are some of the chains? I ask, not to bash but because I wonder if its more prevalent than I realize?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Granite City is the one that immediately comes to mind.

 

[bracconiere]

grocery stores do similar all the time.

 

[Kickass]

After thinking on it, I wondered if Granite City was one of them. I remember drinking a good bit of beer there when I was “21” then going back a few years later and wondering what had happened. I more good beer I tasted, the less of theirs I wanted.

Is BJ’s Brewhouse another that represents this business model.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I know Granite City filed for Chapter 11 and closed a bunch of locations, local one included.

Not sure about BJs. Can't say I recall going in one. I know Gordon Biersch brews onsite at each location (but they've also closed a lot).

Granite City was the big one, the others I can recall were smaller local-regional chains I've come across travelling, but I don't remember names. One was particularly bad but I don't remember for sure where it was. Tennessee maybe?

 

[Bobby_M]

You CAN do a lot of things. You can also open a completely respectable and legitimate brewery that uses typical raw materials without being a brewer. You just hire a brewer to do everything including spec out the brewhouse.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Gordon Biersch has a good model. Each location brews onsite, and while there's a number of core beers with ordained recipes, apart from that brewers are permitted to local exclusives. Some of the local GB brewers had some fantastic beers of their own only available at that particular spot. Rock Bottom was similar, though I'm not sure if they're around at all any more.

There was a point where the chain brewpub was viable. I don't think that's the case any more.

 

[Broothru]

In these setups they're usually true unitanks where the beer ends up being served from the same tank it's fermented in.

In addition not actually needing a brewer (though you'd still need a cellar operator), you'd save greatly on equipment costs, less real estate needed, and streamlined supply chain.

At, of course, the expense of variety for certain. And in all likelihood quality. In the chains I'm aware of, quality certainly suffers.

Curious if you might be referring to B.J.'s. It's a chain with acceptable food and drink that seems to have a lot of in-house branded beers of many varieties. Kind of like a Karl Strauss restaurant that you see many of west of the Rockies. O.K. beer, nothing particularly stands out, though.

Brooo Brother

 

[Qhrumphf]

Curious if you might be referring to B.J.'s. It's a chain with acceptable food and drink that seems to have a lot of in-house branded beers of many varieties. Kind of like a Karl Strauss restaurant that you see many of west of the Rockies. O.K. beer, nothing particularly stands out, though.

Brooo Brother

See above. No idea about BJs. Granite City is the big one I am aware of.

 

[Coookies58]

BJs used to brew some on site but for a while now, all beer is brewed corporately at a few breweries across the country. Finished beer is shipped to the restaurants. Zero brewing or fermenting on site.