And I'm more of the "ISA is new-fangled" generation
nothing relevant as usual, but, lol....
back on topic...Is anyone else concerned all the slots in both the grain feed, and exit would clog?
For small and nano breweries this would amount to just a cute toy. The mills they actually use would dwarf this one both in physical size and throughput...
Yeah, I ceased to be amazed at the crappy quality you get from some so-called craft breweries a long time ago. Some are just glorified homebrewers and not even particularly good either...
Not necessarily true. Ive spent a lot of time visiting nanos before opening my own and speaking with owners about equipment. (many do buy premilled with an agreement with a local maltster so it doesn sit long this way)
only if you choose to buy from the most expensive american made mill supplier around... If your comparing chinese made mills like we are here with the SS mill, then the 3 roller kegco for $150 shipped which is superior in design to the mm3 with its cheap bushings would be the obvious choice. (the comparable ball bearing pro upgrade mill from MM is even more astronomical in price) Also the savings would be more along the lines of $4-500..
Ok well 17 bbl brewery systems are normally found in "Micro" breweries.
this is the mill we use. (comes up as $134 now with a black base for buckets mine did not have)
I dont have the photo handy but I posted pics on the motorized mill thread.
This is only partly tongue-in-cheek but according to my experience anything smaller belongs in the category "soon to be bankrupt nano-brewery attempt". You really can't survive with such small production volumes, not if you solely rely on beer sales to some distributor(s) instead of bundling your beer with other services such as food and/or entertainment, but that would make you a brewpub which is a completely different animal deriving its appeal (and a good portion of the revenue) from other factors, as you yourself have pointed out.
Ok, as someone who owns a 3bbl brewery and has done the research I can say you actually have it backwards. food or not, Its the only sector of the craft brewing market which has still been growing in the last few years and doing well IS the local Nano.. not a distribution model at this size which I agree makes no sense, but one with a tap/tasting room. Usually these local breweries are in the 2-7bbl range and some end up growing and distributing. There is more customer loyalty and It is far more profitable to sell your beer in your own taproom than to distribute it as larger breweries all do for much much smaller profits.. Also larger breweries with established brand names cannot be a spontaneous with brewing choice. They have much more product to market and unload which takes time. A recipe change is not as easy. Will you get rich? NO but if you do things correctly you will be profitable and have no worries of bankruptcy either.
If you have a sound business model with realistic expectations they can be much more profitable than any bar. The problem is many owners judge their success by having thier beer on tap at other bars and in other stores without actually understanding the numbers. To a point it can be good for advertising but can also hurt your taproom sales... Some smart brewery owners get that having their own taprooms are far more profitable and that why here anyway you see more breweries opening multiple locations often with food and other spirits operating as a brewpub but marketing as a brewery.
