My adventure of opening a brewery in Chicago

[Demon]

500lbs of grain and 150gal of water won't change temp much, but we do have a grant on a burner to raise temps if necessary.

 

[Demon]

Last week I built our keg washer. Since we are on a tight budget, funds aren't there for an $8k manual washer, let alone a $20k+ automatic washer. This still needs a couple parts and should be done tomorrow.

This can wash, sanitize and pressurize two kegs in about 4 minutes. One basin for acid/PBW/caustic and one for sanitizer. One pump for each so chemicals don't mix. Also will have a heating element to keep the cleaning solution 140*+.




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[SavoryChef]

Looks like a FrankenBrew

 

[Demon]

That's where I got the concept from. This is an expanded version. It's the same as his except 2 kegs and can switch between chemicals.


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[SavoryChef]

I like yours better. Good job

 

[levtbeas]

Really cool. Congrats, I'm very happy for you. I've read several threads like this and it always seems like other local breweries are there to help. The first one had me thinking they were just in a good area for that, and then I came to realize that brewing is just an awesome business to be a part of. From what I've read, no one is a stone-cold competitor. That's awesome.

 

[Demon]

Some updates:

Things have been going very well and the expansion continues. Two more 15bbl tanks are on the way. We also signed distribution agreements with Burke Beverage and Chicago Beverage. Two more distributors will be added 7/1 to cover the west and south suburbs as well.

The homebuilt keg washer has been awesome. We are cleaning 100 kegs a week on it and its doing great. For a manual washer its great. Not sure why someone would spend $8k on a manual washer when they could build something like this for $1k.

Next month I am transforming our glycol chillers into a larger unit that has a 100gal glycol bath and can run 10 tanks simultaneously. I'll post pictures when I get it up and running.

 

[JohnSand]

Thanks for the update. I just read the whole thread and enjoyed it. Small business is the life-blood of our economy.

 

[Jcmccoy]

What kind of pump are those? Where is the inlet to the keg? What size if the manifold 1''? I am trying to build one myself. Trying to figure out how to get from sink>> pump. And what Pumps to get. Also what kind of tubing to use to go from sink>pump>manifold.

Currently we have 1/2'' tubing and 3.5gpm pound pumps but I don't think they will have the pressure to fill our 1-1/2'' manifold and spray the sanke spear.

 

[Demon]

They are 1hp pumps from Tractor Supply. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/countylinereg;-stainless-steel-transfer-utility-pump-1-hp

The keg is inverted and a 1/2" braided line goes from the manifold to the coupler and in the liquid side of the coupler.

Manifold is 1", there is no need to make it any larger than that.

For sink to pump, just screw a hose barb into the bottom of the sink, then hose to the pump.

The hoses from the sink to the pump and pump to the manifold are 1".

 

[Paradigm]

What does bbl mean?

 

[Demon]

BBL is the abbreviation for barrel. A barrel is 31 gallons and is the standard measurement for beer production. Most common kegs are 1/2bbl (15.5 gallons) and 1/6bbl (5.16 gallons).

 

[WissahickonBrew]

You sir are the epitome of unselfishness, true grit, ingenuity and old fashioned determination to succeed!

Thank you for your generosity of sharing information and answering every question put forth! I so wish I could try your beer!

I have my own question: Did you seek out distributors or did they come to you? What does the deal look like for the distributors and you? Do they take a percentage? Do they pick up your beer and bring back the empties (kegs)? Does the distributor handle all of the salesmanship work introducing your products to the new bars?

ps. LOVE that keg washer!

 

[bsandman66]

Congrats on the success! Always good to see somebody take the leap and succeed and then share their success stories.

Question for you about your glycol chiller on your previous setup. Did you have a pump per fermenter, or did you run multiple fermenters off one pump? How did you control temperature to each fermenter?

 

[orangehero]

Have you run into any problems with the pumps? It says they are for pumping water only, not chemicals, and with a maximum liquid temperature of 120°F.

 

[Demon]

You sir are the epitome of unselfishness, true grit, ingenuity and old fashioned determination to succeed!

Thank you for your generosity of sharing information and answering every question put forth! I so wish I could try your beer!

I have my own question: Did you seek out distributors or did they come to you? What does the deal look like for the distributors and you? Do they take a percentage? Do they pick up your beer and bring back the empties (kegs)? Does the distributor handle all of the salesmanship work introducing your products to the new bars?

ps. LOVE that keg washer!

Happy to post about the journey and help others that want to do the same.

Distributors was a little of both. Ultimately the distributors we chose were one's that we sought out.

They don't take a percentage, they make about 28% margin though. Meaning I sell them the beer for $x, they mark it up their 28% and sell it to the bars/stores for $y. I did my pricing by working backwards. I knew what prices I wanted my beer to hit the bars at, so I worked backwards to see if I could make money at that price.

As for kegs, we use Keg Craft. I send them a forecast for the year, broken down in 2 week increments. They then send me the number of kegs I requested every 2 weeks. We wash them and fill them. Once they are sold to our distributors, we are no longer responsible for them. I send a report twice a month to Keg Craft letting them know how many kegs I sold and to what distributor. I then pay them ~$9 for each keg we used. This is how most breweries operate. We don't need to lay out the capital to buy a keg fleet and we don't ever have to worry about stolen kegs.

Distributors have sales staffs, and they do sell, but no one can sell a beer more passionately and as hard as the brewery themselves. I have one dedicated sales guy that all he does is visit accounts. I have a mantra I stick to, "Distributors deliver my beer, I sell my beer"

 

[Demon]

Congrats on the success! Always good to see somebody take the leap and succeed and then share their success stories.

Question for you about your glycol chiller on your previous setup. Did you have a pump per fermenter, or did you run multiple fermenters off one pump? How did you control temperature to each fermenter?

Each fermenter has it's own pump mounted to the chiller. The pump is activated by a Johnson Temp controller mounted to each fermenter.

 

[Demon]

Have you run into any problems with the pumps? It says they are for pumping water only, not chemicals, and with a maximum liquid temperature of 120°F.

They have held up fine. They are stainless and we have cleaned hundreds of kegs so far. If they break down we can quickly replace one for another $160.

 

[Demon]

Pictures are fun, so here's me in the brewery last week. It looks the same now except we added a fermenter.


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[aStoutObserver]

That looks pretty awesome. Wish that was local

 

[bsandman66]

Thanks for the answer. I think I need to get my hands on one of these line chillers and see how the temperature control would hook into it. I think a brewery here in Indy uses these to control the temp, but I'm pretty sure he controls it at the chiller itself.

Would love to check out your setup sometime. You ever allow visitors?

 

[Demon]

Sure, someone is here everyday. Shoot me message whenever you want to come by.

 

[WissahickonBrew]

So you decided to NOT go the brewpub route. I was under the impression you make more if you sell beer directly by the glass. But then you have the extra work and licensing (in PA) of operating a brewery + restaurant!

Are you considering bottling? (maybe THEN I will find your brews on the East Coast!)

 

[Demon]

You make a ton more money selling by the glass. We still may do a taproom eventually. Right now our priorities are adding more fermenters to increase capacity and we'll start canning next month, finally.

 

[jaydog2314]

You make a ton more money selling by the glass. We still may do a taproom eventually. Right now our priorities are adding more fermenters to increase capacity and we'll start canning next month, finally.

Glad to hear it will be canned soon, some damn good beers! I loved McLaughlin’s RedEye at the Summer Solstice beer fest! Keep em coming!

 

[BrewCityBeerBuffs]

As everyone has said before thanks for sharing all of this information. There is so much out there that it's easy to get sucked into the I need a million dollars to open a brewery. I'm a big fan of starting small and letting organic growth grow your business. I do have two questions

1. Did you guys just do an LLC or did you do a S Corp?
2. Did you guys have your physical location before you got TTB approved?

 

[Demon]

As everyone has said before thanks for sharing all of this information. There is so much out there that it's easy to get sucked into the I need a million dollars to open a brewery. I'm a big fan of starting small and letting organic growth grow your business. I do have two questions

1. Did you guys just do an LLC or did you do a S Corp?
2. Did you guys have your physical location before you got TTB approved?

We are an LLC.

We had our building before applying with TTB. TTB requires a copy of the lease in your application and it has to specifically state the building will be used for a brewery/brewpub/etc. If the lease isn't there they will send the packet back.

That is one of the more stressful parts of the process. Paying rent on a building that you can't use. The day you get the lease, apply. Do the buildout while licensing is pending.

 

[Demon]

Glad to hear it will be canned soon, some damn good beers! I loved McLaughlin’s RedEye at the Summer Solstice beer fest! Keep em coming!

Thanks. We did 15bbl of that beer for Chicago Craft Beer Week as something unique to have at all the events. People loved it, so it replaced our regular porter in the lineup.

 

[Demon]

Time for some not so uplifting news. We had the circuits controlling the glycol system blow over the weekend for an unknown reason. Actively fermenting beer went up to 82*. Result? 1,120 gallons of beer heading down the drain tomorrow.

I need a beer.

 

[jsledd]

Sorry about the glycol!

Thanks for posting all this info!