Nano Brewery

[kraftykegger]

Hi guys, great blog site. Please move if im in the wrong catagory. I am a long time beer tapper and line cleaner , home brewer. I am looking to move slowly into my new shop with the equipment i need to move from the home brewing into the level that could be sold to the stores. Like I said I have time, its just a hobby that Id like to be able to ramp up and get permits in a year or so to sell something amazing.
My question to all of you is what equipment would you recommend for a nano brewery . I dont have steam and im sure electric would be ok as long as it wasnt 3ph. If you have had some luck in the past , what you wish you knew before you got your stuff ect.
Any info big or small would be helpfull. Pictures would be fantastic with your descriptions.

Look fwd to chatting with every one.
Krafty Kegger

 

[Subdivisions]

Hi Krafty,

This is a forum. This ---> http://www.brulosophy.com/ is a blog. There may be a couple people on here that could answer your questions but maybe they would best be asked in http://www.probrewer.com/

Good luck with your brewery.
http://brulosophy.com/

 

[SanPancho]

Better yet, go to your states alcohol licensing agency and ask them about the requirements for their smallest brewing license. If there is a minimum system size like 3bbl or 5bbl, then you can research the system size and its demands for power, gas, water, etc.

If it looks doable in terms of utilities, brew house cost, etc then you'd need to figure out where to do it- will the agency let you do it in your garage? Will your city or county permit that too? Need to rent a commercial space?

Once that's sorted, you run it by the TTB - which is federal permits for alcohol manufacturers, part of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms agency. Gotta get federally licensed so you can pay your taxes. Background checks. Fingerprints, etc.

If you forgo this stuff and just start up in your garage, you likely will be under the radar. But if you get caught its some serious business- tax evasion. Federal excise tax, federal income tax, state excise taxes, state income taxes, and local sales taxes, if any. The Feds can put liens on anything you own and garnish your wages to get their taxes from you.

Just be sure you are making an informed decision. The probability of the Feds tracking down a wildcat brewer is low, but the consequences are severe.

 

[Roadliner]

Welcome to the forum.. Here's a thread from a member who did exactly what you are wanting to do with going nano.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=386476

 

[bobeer]

starting with the ttb and your state/city/county authorities would be a good place to start. That way you can see what situation would best fit what you want to do.
Can you self distribute in your state? Do you plan on selling pints or just bottling and getting your beer in stores, restaurants, bars, etc? Do you have to sell out of the same address in which you brew? Check how the area is zoned you plan to brew in.

The probrewer.com link is a good place to do some research too. You can also check out the American brewers association website and see what free information they have there. It's $250 a year or something like that to join to get more in-depth information. They're a pretty good resource to have.