Wanting to start a Microbrewery

[DonkeyShoes]

Read the book "Brewing up a business" by the founder of Dogfish Head. It will help a lot.

http://store.dogfish.com/item/Brewi...ck/808/for_your_reading_pleasure/40/index.htm

 

[DiewithBeerinmyHand]

hey, i am 21 as well and have similar aspirations. im trying to figure out to do with my life as well. heres what i think you should do:

give everyone on here the finger, and become the youngest brewmaster/brewery owner ever. sure its gonna be hard, life is hard, but if you have a good work ethic, and above all, if you are doing what you want, you will succeed. to quote New Belgium brewing company - "follow your folly"....yours is beer.

life is about saying f u to people who say no, cant, shouldn't, and why.
now start brewing!!!!

whoa, one more thing, i just saw your profile on here, now that i know you are a lady homebrewer, we should go out sometime.

 

[paul_h]

Go for it!
Anyone saying otherwise is just jealous.
It's my long life goal to own a brew pub. Sure I might be a refrigeration tech, my wife may be a chef, my brother may be in business management, but that's nothing.
Just the will to do it is enough, you don't need experienced people behind the venture, just some experience in beer!
Seriously, I tip my hat at anyone who does it succesfully, it's my lifes long dream. I haven't fixated on it, but I reckon eventually if me, my brother and our wives were running a brew pub, things would go well. I can fix ****, he has the gift of the gab to sell stuff. That's my retirement plan there folks

edit: Small breweries start off very small, just like any small business. It's not possible to earn an income off it for a long time. My plan is only feasible because of the skills that we all have. We plan to move into a small town where our income would be : me as the towns refrigeration mech, my brothers as a mining geotech would get a job in the local mines, my wife as a child care worker and running the hotel, and my brothers wife is a pharmacist.
This maybe an unnecessary edit, but the whole point is you need other incomes to support your business ventures if you are looking at such a large scale expence as a pub brewery.

 

[Laurel]

Hey, if you start a brewery without business OR brewery experience, let me know. I'll contact you every few months to see when you're ready to sell me the equipment at a greatly reduced price.

 

[damrass]

First advice is to flip the bird to the naysayers. Every business venture is a gamble, and yes, only 1 in 7 businesses succeed, but you are 100% sure not to if you don't give it a shot.

Right now, I'm developing a software product for a company my friend and I founded; it's in a niche market but has plenty of potential and hardly any competition. I hope to quit my day job (also software development) within a few years and live off of income from my business.

Eventually I'd like to try my hand at opening a local nanobrewery that distributes to pubs and restaurants in central AR. Before I get serious, I know that I a) need to learn everything I can about beer and brewing and b) have enough startup capital to realize the vision. You remind me of myself, quite headstrong and positive that you will succeed; that's the best attitude to have in business, but don't forget that failure is a real possibility (and a statistical probability). Be prepared to fail, but also be prepared to succeed.

My advice is to stay in college, get that business degree, meanwhile learning everything you can about beer and brewing. Volunteer at a local brewery, like others have suggested, to get a feel for the game and the process. You'll get to the point where you feel it's time to realize your vision, and you'll have the knowledge to do it. You've already got the ambition.

Best of luck!

 

[Brewpastor]

I don't think any of us are saying don't do it, but rather get prepared and do all you can to equip yourself for success. Business degree, brewing school, slave labor. You will be investing a huge amount of time and money, so make it worth it. I mean, if I did it anyone can!

 

[fat x nub]

Go for it!
Anyone saying otherwise is just jealous.

MOD EDIT: NO PERSONAL ATTACKS...we don't wanna see the guy waste his money and a couple years of his life while he could be making real money. He needs to go to brew school...he needs lots of thousands of dollars. You can't just make a some homebrews for a couple years and start a brewery. You need commercial brewing expierence. MOD EDIT: SAME REASON

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Let's keep it civil. Enough with the "give these guys the finger" posts and name calling.

 

[TheFlatline]

give everyone on here the finger, and become the youngest brewmaster/brewery owner ever. sure its gonna be hard, life is hard, but if you have a good work ethic, and above all, if you are doing what you want, you will succeed. to quote New Belgium brewing company - "follow your folly"....yours is beer.

life is about saying f u to people who say no, cant, shouldn't, and why.
now start brewing!!!!

whoa, one more thing, i just saw your profile on here, now that i know you are a lady homebrewer, we should go out sometime.

When advice is asked for, it's considered rude to "give the finger" to those same people.

Besides, if you just jump into it... well, there are people who jump off of buildings and survive. That doesn't mean it's a good idea to take a leap off of one without taking some time to prepare.

 

[MNBugeater]

+1 on the 21yo, 1 year of school, and no experience = not ready

You have PLENTY of time. Get your degree. In Business. Write your business plan as your masters thesis.

I have been preparing myself to POSSIBLY open a brewpub as a retirement venture. I am 35 years old, I have two degrees, several years of brewing experience, and investors with money to loan and I am still not ready.

My business plan went through 3 revisions and really is a dynamic document that changes with location, opportunity, and economics. By the way, this may be the best skill you can have to earn respect of investors. Don't just refer to your business plan. Know it and everything about the market, the numbers, and how you intend to hit them.

I have met with several investors and they will all say the same thing when it comes to brewpub/brewery. What is your "BUSINESS" experience? They have little to no interest in what your beer tastes like or how good you can make it. This was disappointing at first but I kept looking at the big picture. I want to open a business and it happens to be a brewpub.

I keep abreast of the market. I talk to brewpub owners. I get involved with the industry. And if everything lines up to work out, I will pursue it. But I am not naive that this will just be an extension of my hobby. It is a career change and it is a risky business. At your age, make sure you have something else to fall back on.

Good Luck and Keep us posted.

 

[randolphmg]

Thanks again to everyone who posted. I have read all the advice so far and it helps a lot. Brewing beer really isn't a "passion" as I am just interested in it. Therefore, going commercial will not crush any passion of mine. Brewing beer is work to me and will remain that way. Before I ever started brewing I wanted to get into business. So when brewing came along I kind of put each together. I chose a Microbrewery simply because I want to be able to rapidly expand into a large commercial brewery. Hence, expanding locations where my beer would be dominate. But that is a long journey ahead no doubt about it.

So here it is:

Business Administration - BS degree ~ 3 years to go, spend that time planning
Masters Degree ~ not sure if I need it
Brewing experience ~ several pubs where I live, I will try to get work even if I have to volunteer.
Brewing Recipe ~ Try to find beer competitions and win

I live in Palm Beach County, FL. I need to find some beer comps. scheduled 6 months from now.

That is roughly my plan. Add in if you please.

 

[the_bird]

Brewing beer really isn't a "passion" as I am just interested in it. Therefore, going commercial will not crush any passion of mine. Brewing beer is work to me and will remain that way.

Honestly?

If it's not a *passion*, forget about it. The one constant you hear from EVERYONE in the industry is how difficult it is. This isn't a business where you're likely going to make a lot of money. This is a business people get into because they absolutely love it. I've gotten to know a few people around here who have or are giving the commericial side a go; they all have a tremendous passion for what they're doing. The competition is absolutely brutal.

Go to school, talk to people, get some experience in the business if you're interested, but do some internships in other areas as well. If brewing isn't something you absolutely love, something you dream about, something you think about constantly... there are lots of other businesses with better odds of success.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

If you love it...do it! There is no substitute for doing what you love and getting paid for it! If you love the work, then it's just a bonus that you get a check at the end of the month.

I'd recommend a business degree, or at least a business minor. Even just a business minor will involve classes like Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Intro to Marketing, Business Law, Intro to Management, etc. These are all classes that would have something useful for you in starting up a business - any business, not just a microbrewery. You can use this idea for a microbrewery in class projects, and refine your ideas over time. Network with classmates, get people in graphic design to make you some marketing tools (logo, letterhead, menus, labels, etc.).

Many cities have classes put on by the government to inform and help people wanting to start up their own business. These programs will have information on what you need to start up a business, how to formulate a good business plan, and may even have an avenue for you to get some financing through the city itself. On top of all that, you'll probably meet some other people starting their own businesses and you can help each other out.

One more very important thing. Don't do it all yourself! Find quality people you can trust, and who are professionals that know MORE than you do. Ask them questions, and if you can afford it...HIRE THEM. Older people with years of experience in business, brewing, construction have more experience than you will have for many,many years. Don't be afraid to ask for help...and of course having some homebrew to dole out doesn't hurt either. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Draft magazine has an interview with Jim Koch and Sam Caligione in their most recent issue. One of the questions was about people starting breweries.

Jim Koch said something along the lines of (I'm paraphrasing) "Over the last 24 years I've seen a lot of people start businesses in brewing with the sole purpose of making millions of dollars and they've all failed. There have been people that made millions of dollars doing this, but that's not what they set out to do. They do it because they love it and they happened to be successfull"

Sam Caligione said something along the lines of (paraphrasing again) "If you're going to do this for a living you had better love it, because it's where you will spend all of your time. In this business you don't get to leave the office at 5 and go be with your family."

 

[randolphmg]

I agree that having a passion for something gives you motivation and allows you to spend all day doing it. Thing is, I don't have a passion for anything. The main reason I like brewing is seeing the reactions of people who try it. Pleasing so called customers would be the closest thing to a passion of mine. Starting a microbrewery and knowing that people are buying my product and like it(without bias towards me) would push me on. The huge difficulty of succeeding would be my "passion."

I give away my homebrew. I don't brew for me, I brew for others. I suppose one might call that business. If so, then that's what I will have.

We'll see

 

[the_bird]

I don't want this to sound condescending, because that's not how I mean it....

You're young. Don't stress about it. Try different things, take different classes, get some internships. Sounds to me like you're not ready to try and start a company (gotta be honest), and I can't imagine you're in a position to be able to get someone to bankroll you. Stick to school, learn how to write a business plan, learn how to market, learn enough accounting to be able to tell if your book-keeper isn't being forthright with you. You might decide after you graduate that you DO want to start a brewery; in that case, you'll have a much stronger foundation. You might do what I did, take a class on investments and get hooked on that. You might decide that business is a bunch of bollocks and you want to go to grad school for something entirely different.

But really, it sounds like you've still got a lot of crap to figure out for yourself. Don't stress about it, but don't do anything that you might well regret ten years down the line (like dropping out of school to take a $10/hour job cleaning out fermenters, when you're not desperately in love with brewing).

 

[Wicked Daddy]

Passion and common sense. That's all it takes.

Passion: Do what you love and the means to do it will come.

Common Sense: There will be many things along the way that will present themselves to you as challenges, problems, hurdles, walls. An education will help to naviagte these things but it's not totally necessary. You must always be asking yourself; What, Why, How. Well thought out answers will be the foundation of your plan and the plans within the plan. I work with MBAs that can't manage their way out of a crumpled up spreadsheet. I am a high school graduate and I manage a division of our company with a $20M P&L. It was $5M when it was dumped in my lap. My grandfather built a hugely successful plumbing company starting with a toilet plunger and a bicycle. He dropped out of school in the 7th grade. He always focused on a common sense approach. I believe in his example.

That said; much of the advise already given is good advise. You're in school now, you should stay there and accomplish that goal. Continue to brew and get good at it, learn by reading, doing and listening. Develop your signature style and what you want your product to be, how you want it to be received. You need to be consistent. Maybe find a local micro and get a job there doing whatever they would have you do. Be a sponge. You want to know as much as you can. Find out the local distribution laws and licenses to sell beer commercially. Get it done. Find a local pub or bar that sells micros, develop a relationship with the owner and discuss what it would take for them to carry your beer, even if only a couple cases at a time. This is your testing ground and word of mouth will originate here.

Start with the idea of getting one bar to sell your beer and build your plan backwards from there. What does that journey look like? What would be the second to last thing that would have to happen before the day your delivered your first case or keg? What would be the third to last and so on. Think this way and soon you will arrive at what you need to do first, or as it works out... next.

A goal is just a dream with a deadline.

And as the Japanese proverb says:
"A plan without action is a dream. Action without a plan is a nightmare."

 

[TheFlatline]

I agree that having a passion for something gives you motivation and allows you to spend all day doing it. Thing is, I don't have a passion for anything. The main reason I like brewing is seeing the reactions of people who try it. Pleasing so called customers would be the closest thing to a passion of mine. Starting a microbrewery and knowing that people are buying my product and like it(without bias towards me) would push me on. The huge difficulty of succeeding would be my "passion."

I give away my homebrew. I don't brew for me, I brew for others. I suppose one might call that business. If so, then that's what I will have.

We'll see

If you "don't have a passion for anything" then I strongly, STRONGLY suggest that you don't set yourself on rails for this.

At 21, you're going to change your mind about this the way I change socks. I'll bet money in 5 years you'll be interested in something else.

As is, I've owned and run and worked in a small business (3 people, is that small enough?) and the business alone took up 40 hours a week. If you're cool with the idea of 80 hours a week minimum of hard work, and no promise of profit or even stability, then go for it. I'm going to say you're not though, since you're 21 and don't even have a 2 year degree under your belt yet. It takes a HUGE amount of dedication and motivation. If you can't pursue your education with that much zeal, you're setting yourself up for pain and stress like you wouldn't believe with a business.

 

[polarbearbrewing]

Passion and common sense. That's all it takes.

Passion: Do what you love and the means to do it will come.

Common Sense: There will be many things along the way that will present themselves to you as challenges, problems, hurdles, walls. An education will help to naviagte these things but it's not totally necessary. You must always be asking yourself; What, Why, How. Well thought out answers will be the foundation of your plan and the plans within the plan. I work with MBAs that can't manage their way out of a crumpled up spreadsheet. I am a high school graduate and I manage a division of our company with a $20M P&L. It was $5M when it was dumped in my lap. My grandfather built a hugely successful plumbing company starting with a toilet plunger and a bicycle. He dropped out of school in the 7th grade. He always focused on a common sense approach. I believe in his example.

That said; much of the advise already given is good advise. You're in school now, you should stay there and accomplish that goal. Continue to brew and get good at it, learn by reading, doing and listening. Develop your signature style and what you want your product to be, how you want it to be received. You need to be consistent. Maybe find a local micro and get a job there doing whatever they would have you do. Be a sponge. You want to know as much as you can. Find out the local distribution laws and licenses to sell beer commercially. Get it done. Find a local pub or bar that sells micros, develop a relationship with the owner and discuss what it would take for them to carry your beer, even if only a couple cases at a time. This is your testing ground and word of mouth will originate here.

Start with the idea of getting one bar to sell your beer and build your plan backwards from there. What does that journey look like? What would be the second to last thing that would have to happen before the day your delivered your first case or keg? What would be the third to last and so on. Think this way and soon you will arrive at what you need to do first, or as it works out... next.

A goal is just a dream with a deadline.

And as the Japanese proverb says:
"A plan without action is a dream. Action without a plan is a nightmare."

all great advice. however one thing that wasnt mentioned that i think must be stressed is that all of this takes TIME! the amount of time required to establish a quality product (especially with minimal brewing experience) and more importantly, a quality customer base is quite substantial. In this business, the reason most people fail is because they think that they have an amazing beer that will change the way people drink. you may have a great tasting beer, but guess what? so do the other million homebrewers in america. you cant just take some recipe you came up with and take on the cut-throat environment of commercial brewing without the proper planning.

My father has been in the beer business since he graduated from high school starting by slinging beer in warehouses and then moving up to distribution and now he owns a successful carryout which i will take over after his retirement. however, i am going to school to get my degree and be able to comfortably support a family. when the time comes for me to take over, i will, but im not banking on it for my primary income.

although that may not necessarily apply directly to brewing, this is the same market you are hoping to one day be a part of. Ive been around the beer business my whole life and in my opinion, it is foolish to give up on everything else and depend on this to immediately support your lifestyle. my advise is, as many others have said, be a sponge. learn as much as you can, brew as much as you can, sell the beer you brew in your spare time to local bars and carryouts. but most of all STAY IN SCHOOL, start a career and if your brewing ventures take off hey you've accomplished something all of us only dream of. if not, you still have a career to fall back on and a very fun hobby to do on the weekends.

just my two cents

 

[brew hoperator]

I might be repeating some advice posted earlier but here is my take:

~ If you have an interest in business, get a 4 year Business Degree and study hard. This is paramount to anything else!!!! Also mix in electives in Operations, Marketing, Accounting, etc. Getting a 4 year degree will put you in the best position for anything in the future.
~While taking classes, continue to homebrew. 2nd biggest piece of advice because you like it and it is fun.
~Also while taking classes see if you can work for a local brewpub or microbrewery. This will give you an idea if you like it and will give you experience.
~After graduating with your 4 year Business degree, look into continuing your education in Brewing. Like the Masters program at UC Davis/Siebel Institute. I wish I was into brewing at your age and I knew about these programs, I would have explored these options. This plan would put you in the working world at 26/27, which is still very young.

Last piece of advice from me is to disregard the notion that life is about telling the world f u. This only helps if you are in a Punk band and will not help you in the real world.

Good Luck and have fun exploring all ideas.

 

[bobbrewster]

What if one only wanted to market/sell his or her homebrewed beer to local liquior stores and pubs etc.?? What are the laws with the FDA etc. for selling beer made from home? I was thinking of doing this as only a part time thing from home more or less for fun but if it did well then maybe going micro brew etc. Thanks guys.

 

[B-Dub]

Think you want to open a brewery? Get a job in one. It is great fun and you can see if you want your career to be beer.

 

[TheFlatline]

What if one only wanted to market/sell his or her homebrewed beer to local liquior stores and pubs etc.?? What are the laws with the FDA etc. for selling beer made from home? I was thinking of doing this as only a part time thing from home more or less for fun but if it did well then maybe going micro brew etc. Thanks guys.

You still need a license to brew, which means meeting health code. It's not something you can do out of your garage if you ever want to sell it unless you overhauled your garage. The gummint is pretty restrictive on selling alcohol in general, let alone making alcohol that will be sold.

 

[MNBugeater]

What if one only wanted to market/sell his or her homebrewed beer to local liquior stores and pubs etc.?? What are the laws with the FDA etc. for selling beer made from home? I was thinking of doing this as only a part time thing from home more or less for fun but if it did well then maybe going micro brew etc. Thanks guys.

Selling much of anything to be consumed out of ones home is virtually impossible. First is the fact that you need to pass food/health inspection. If all your equipment isnt FDA approved for food, forget it. Especially if its as ugly as BierMunchers .

Second, you can't produce food for consumption in the same kitchen that you LIVE in.

Third, zoning laws. Even if you built a completely separate building on your property you may not be able to commercially sell anything you make if you aren't in a residential/commercial property tax zone.

Oh yeah..and then there is the whole "I'm producing alcohol thing". Thats another bunch of red tape.

 

[MeanGreen]

bump