What keeps you from going pro?

[sweet_corn]

I figure if I were to go pro, I would want to create the brewery and then sell it for 3-4 million so I can retire. The problem is I don't have the 7-8 million necessary to turn it into 3-4 million.

I have seen many people follow their passion into a career. Many of them want nothing to do with that passion outside of work hours. I am glad I am different, as I love coming home to sit in my cubicle...

 

[The Pol]

Title said:

If you have so many recipes, why don't you sell your beer?

Because I would take a huge pay cut... and work more hours.

The hobby is just fine.

 

[The Pol]

My original plan was brewpub but I figure if I can have a beer that is outstanding, that everyone loves, why not brew it and sell it??

BMC does this more efficiently than anyone can already.

 

[rking]

Just $$$

 

[rico567]

1. An absolute disinclination to brew beer for sale. Even if I had $500K to invest in a brewpub, there's too much work involved, and regulated by government at every level. There appear to be plenty of people willing to go into this type of business, I'll leave it to them.

2. As has been mentioned previously, a hobby or pastime ≠an occupation or profession. I enjoy brewing far too much as a hobby to ever "have" to do it.

 

[Six_O_Turbo]

A local restaurant owner offered to finance our nanobrewery, but we just arent as consistent as I would like, plus I don't want to owe somebody.

Much like several of the previous posters, I love brewing, but as soon as it becomes a job, I know from past experience I will like it less.

 

[mackinskor]

Thanks for the responses! I was out of town and vowed to not bring my laptop so that I could actually relax! There seems to be common occurrences of money, time, hobby-->job, being main factors. I'm not overly concerned on the money aspect, and if this takes off then I won't have to worry about time since I would quit my job I have now, naturally.

The hobby into a job... I've been brewing to be a professional, and although I do enjoy it for hobby-life purposes, I'm not brewing just to brew. I have a focus and intent, and although I love beer as much as the next poster on these boards, and I love the taste of my homebrew, I'm not brewing for hobby purposes.

Hopefully within the next few months I can report back with great news!

 

[TokyoRoad]

Read "Beer School" to hear the story of Brooklyn Brewing's start then ask if you are ready it.

IMO you need to have money ($500k + to start), a great support network, business skills, determination, and several years to dedicate to the venture. The beer brewing part is the easiest part to learn which is why so many people romantically dream of starting a brewery.
Anyone can brew good beer, building and growing a successful business is the hard part. If you can secure funding and have the right team go for it.

 

[ReeseAllen]

It's something I would definitely like to do at some point in my life if circumstances allow. I unfortunately don't see a niche to be filled where I live. The Seattle area (and the Northwest in general) has a huge amount of local breweries already, so the market is fairly well saturated with different kinds of local beer. Brewpubs are widespread, too. My local grocery store has a vast selection of local beers sold by the bottle and I still haven't tried most of them.

It'd be a really good life experience and I would imagine that I'd enjoy my job a lot more, but I don't think I could pursue that dream successfully at this time and in this part of the world. For now it's just something fun to think about and keep on the back burner for a few years.

 

[boredatwork]

I guess I will never understand why you wouldn't want to have a job doing what you love. I think another way of stating that point is to say if you get a job doing something you hate, then you will be happier when you are not working? I don't know - its a really weird point.

Having said that, theoretically I would love to go pro so I can do a job I love, but the job I don't love pays me too much and it would be a lifestyle adjustment that I am just not willing to accept at this point in my life. It is a sad reality that has pulled the plug on a lot of career paths that I wish I could pursue.

Also, living in Silicon Valley I know of way too many stories of startups that failed, including beverage companies, to have any inkling of taking those kinds of risks in an industry that yields little profit and has extreme failure rates.

 

[jmo88]

Not sure if this has been posted already, but there is an interesting sounding book that just came out on the subject. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter published their book "Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery". It looks pretty good as they discuss the influence of their trials with homebrew.

 

[ChrisS68]

Thanks for the responses! I was out of town and vowed to not bring my laptop so that I could actually relax! There seems to be common occurrences of money, time, hobby-->job, being main factors. I'm not overly concerned on the money aspect, and if this takes off then I won't have to worry about time since I would quit my job I have now, naturally.

The hobby into a job... I've been brewing to be a professional, and although I do enjoy it for hobby-life purposes, I'm not brewing just to brew. I have a focus and intent, and although I love beer as much as the next poster on these boards, and I love the taste of my homebrew, I'm not brewing for hobby purposes.

Hopefully within the next few months I can report back with great news!

Well, if you've got money to burn, then by all means...
You'll forgive me if I don't hold my breath

 

[Doc Robinson]

I don't go pro because when I was 7 years old, my mom told me that I'm a no-talent loser who will never amount to anything and that no matter what I do, I will always fail. That's why I don't go pro.

 

[Brewin06111]

I don't go pro because when I was 7 years old, my mom told me that I'm a no-talent loser who will never amount to anything and that no matter what I do, I will always fail. That's why I don't go pro.

hahaha

close this thread... this is the winning response.

 

[craigd]

I guess I will never understand why you wouldn't want to have a job doing what you love. I think another way of stating that point is to say if you get a job doing something you hate, then you will be happier when you are not working? I don't know - its a really weird point.

Probably a better way to restate my point is that the hobby and the business are not the same. What a homebrewer does and a pro brewer do are not the same thing so I wouldn't be "doing what I love" if I went pro. As a homebrewer I just brew what seems like a good idea at the time and I do it when it seems like the time to do it and I almost never repeat anything. Production line brewing would be a totally different thing and would be, well "work." I said that I turned a computer hobby into a career and don't love it but I probably would if I could get someone to pay me good money to do whatever the hell I wanted to with the computers. Unfortunately businesses are about making money and refuse to pay me to f&*% around with my computer. Same with a beer company - whether I owned it or not it would have to be about making a consistent product instead of about playing around with flavors.

 

[HickoryMike]

Before you go pro, you have to be certain that there is a need for a start-up brewery in your town.

For example:

I have friends with money and management sense that have already pushed me to develop a business plan. The main problem is my town (population of 55k) is home to a very successful regional brewery that OWNS the two biggest bars in town (and there aren't many bars in Hickory). In order to really get off the ground, you have to find local watering holes that will buy kegs of your beer and this would be nearly impossible where I live.

If I lived in a mid-size city that didn't have a local brewery I would jump at the chance to go pro. Unfortunately, The Olde Hickory Brewery (great brewery by the way) beat me to the punch.

Just trying to add another thought to the conversation...

 

[Cheaton]

Before you go pro, you have to be certain that there is a need for a start-up brewery in your town.

For example:

I have friends with money and management sense that have already pushed me to develop a business plan. The main problem is my town (population of 55k) is home to a very successful regional brewery that OWNS the two biggest bars in town (and there aren't many bars in Hickory). In order to really get off the ground, you have to find local watering holes that will buy kegs of your beer and this would be nearly impossible where I live.

If I lived in a mid-size city that didn't have a local brewery I would jump at the chance to go pro. Unfortunately, The Olde Hickory Brewery (great brewery by the way) beat me to the punch.

Just trying to add another thought to the conversation...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who mentioned competition as a reason. Man is the beer market ever flooded right now. I can't begin to see how you can make money brewing beer as a startup right now unless you have a niche or no local competition.

 

[LTownGarageBrewery]

Thanks for the responses! I was out of town and vowed to not bring my laptop so that I could actually relax! There seems to be common occurrences of money, time, hobby-->job, being main factors. I'm not overly concerned on the money aspect, and if this takes off then I won't have to worry about time since I would quit my job I have now, naturally.

The hobby into a job... I've been brewing to be a professional, and although I do enjoy it for hobby-life purposes, I'm not brewing just to brew. I have a focus and intent, and although I love beer as much as the next poster on these boards, and I love the taste of my homebrew, I'm not brewing for hobby purposes.

Hopefully within the next few months I can report back with great news!

I think you said you've been brewing for 2 months now. Does this mean that you just started homebrewing 2 months ago, or that you've been immersed in some commercial-sized brewing venture (i.e. like a brewmaster's apprentice) for 2 months?

If you've just been homebrewing, I have a hard time believing that you have any sort of perspective on what it will actually take to be successful on a larger scale. I've been brewing for a few years now, and with each batch I learn more about how much more there is to learn.

If you've been immersed in something more commercial, then maybe you do have a better perspective. Even so, 2 months is not much time at all.

You said you don't brew for hobby purposes, that you're focusing on this more as a business venture. Assuming a decent business plan, do you know how much time it will take to break even? Years, if ever. Brewing beer doesn't make many millionaires. People tend to get into it because they love beer and brewing, not because they're looking for a great ROI. There are much smarter investments to be made if you've got cash burning a hole in your pocket.

It would be worth your time to give yourself a reality check, just to make sure your perspective is on the mark. Go to a local, somewhat successful microbrewery and talk with the brewmaster and/or owner (usually not the same person, in my experience). Find out what it took for them to achieve commercial success and see if it jives with your own thinking.

 

[Weezknight]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who mentioned competition as a reason. Man is the beer market ever flooded right now. I can't begin to see how you can make money brewing beer as a startup right now unless you have a niche or no local competition.

I agree about competition. I could never compete in my area right now (aside from the obvious inexperience/noobish-ness in homebrewing). There are 3-5 microbrew/brewpubs I can name in my area right now without putting much thought into it.

Beyond that all of the main watering holes in my area don't even consider putting craft brews into their taps. They're pretty much the same pubs that have been around for decades, and their clientele drink BMC. That's the reason most microbreweries have opened their own exclusive brewpubs.

Distributors near me do carry a lot of good microbrews, but, again, they now take up about 1/3 of the floorspace. I can't even imagine how to break through into that area, now.

Good luck to the OP, though.

 

[jdc2]

Title said:

If you have so many recipes, why don't you sell your beer?

Question: Hey dude, if you think you're so smart, how come you
aren't a billionaire like Donald Trump?

Answer: Because my dad didn't die and leave me $10 million and
a real estate company.

Jim

 

[boredatwork]

The fact that other local breweries exist in your area shouldn't be an impediment to you. This is a common objection, but it is not true in practice. Every place has multiple restaurants, doctors, deli's, supermarkets, car dealerships, etc. Just because more than one of each type exists doesn't mean that any of them are any less successful.

 

[HickoryMike]

The fact that other local breweries exist in your area shouldn't be an impediment to you. This is a common objection, but it is not true in practice. Every place has multiple restaurants, doctors, deli's, supermarkets, car dealerships, etc. Just because more than one of each type exists doesn't mean that any of them are any less successful.

True, but this largely depends on the size of your town and the proliferation of any local breweries. As stated above, my town (of 50k) has only 2 main watering holes, and the local brewery owns both of them. These are very successful establishments and I simply don't see a niche for a second brewery.

Every town is different though...

 

[NorJerseyHomebro]

I'm broke. I've only brewed two batches. But I'm a dreamer. And I often dream running a brew pub would be really amazing. Pairing really good beer with really good food. It would make a killing here in Oslo, but I think that there is probably many, many laws prohibiting such things because I don't believe such a place exists here. There is one brew pub in this city, that's it, and it doesn't serve any food besides beernuts and popcorn.

 

[winstonofbeer]

When i was younger i was a asst. in a computer shop. It got to the point where i would come in to "help" and "learn" and would be there for 6 hours working. Got a little pay...Nothing big. My teacher at the time moved from one computer store to anouther and I became a "tech" in training. Basicly doing the work for little pay...but getting the experince...Worked out great.... Problem is the area allready had 3 computer stores and the demand was busy one day, slow the next 3 days.
I started my own little computer buisness, And did allright by it. Made a little profit out of it, But in the long run i couldnt quit my day job to be a full time tech. Basicly if i wanted it to be my life...Apply at Microsoft. YAY work in a cubical " not that there is anything wrong with that" But not my cup of tea.
What i am getting at here, Is it depends on your area...If there isnt a Local micro brewery in your area, or maybe even 1 close by, you might have a chance of going pro and doing really well.
But i think it really depends on your area and location.
As for food, I know there is some brewery's that have just a "tasteing room" and all they serve is peanuts in the shell or popcorn, or basicly just "snack food from a bag. No health codes from peanuts or popcorn.

I have volunteer'ed at a brewery, And i can tell you it is fun...But its ALLOT differnt that homebrewing. With homebrewing i can do whatever i want with a recipe...If you have a buisness, You have a style of beer and if it goes over really well, Changing it isnt going to go over very well, Even if it is a small hop changes to see if it is better. So making the same exact beer over and over and over again can loose its apeal really quick.

And i dont know about you, But taking a hobby and making a job out of it, Takes allot of the fun out of it. I brew when i want, and enjoy that. I cant see myself going o.k today i have to make beer and dreading it. It would take all the fun out of it and make it no differnt than the job i currently have. It sucks...but i owe i owe off to work i go... with razor blades and hand gernades HI Ho Hi Ho
Yes...I do tell myself that when i am driving to work...and yes i do work with razor blades all day long. And no i am not a drug dealer :cross:

Just something to think about before taking a hobby and making it a job...It could be fun at first but fun can become dread real fast.

 

[Wade E]

The fact that I dont know 1/2 of what 3/4 of you guys know!

 

[Dr_Gordon_Freeman]

Unbelievably stupid government laws designed to assist large entrenched brewers and kill their competition appear to be the real barriers to entry.

So much for the land of the free, eh?

 

[TokyoRoad]

Not sure if this has been posted already, but there is an interesting sounding book that just came out on the subject. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter published their book "Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery". It looks pretty good as they discuss the influence of their trials with homebrew.

Beat you by 3 posts with that book. I've read it, it's a good airplane book.