going to open a brewery.

[WooTeck]

I decided I fucking hate my job so ive started looking in to opening a brewery. I found out from a local brewer that he started off commercially from a third floor flat in the centre of town. I believed he ran in to some snags and has since moved (getting 50l kegs up and down 3 flights of steep steps). im starting this with the idea that it will be used for some international market research.

[Bushman]

I have a good friend that runs a nano-brewery. He has kept his day job but every Saturday he is open for business out of his garage. He has a pretty good following an there are a few taverns/pubs that carry his beer. He also sells it for events such as weddings.

[skow69]

I decided I fucking hate my job so ive started looking in to opening a brewery.

Is there a man on the planet who hasn't solemnly and sincerely uttered this fateful phrase at sometime in his life?

Best of luck, Eck. I hope it works for you.

[skow69]

Consider a brewpub. New ones pop up here like dandylions in spring. You can sell $12 hamburgers all day long and fill growlers by the dozen if you've got some good beers on tap.

[WooTeck]

I have a good friend that runs a nano-brewery. He has kept his day job but every Saturday he is open for business out of his garage. He has a pretty good following an there are a few taverns/pubs that carry his beer. He also sells it for events such as weddings.

pretty much my plan start really small(build a 200l sytem and run it once a week). ive worked in pubs and clubs for 6 years and know many managers/bar owners. also have a good repour with the bar folk in the local craft bars and owners/staff bottle shops. as long as i can work out the business side and come up with some bitchen recipies i wont have a problem selling the stuff.

Consider a brewpub. New ones pop up here like dandylions in spring. You can sell $12 hamburgers all day long and fill growlers by the dozen if you've got some good beers on tap.

yeh ive thought about that but thats a huge investment not just finatual but time aswell. have far to little of both at the moment.

the dream is start a brewery and let it grow. bulid up capital from it. open a bar with a conjoined bottle shop. let the welth acumulate and eventually open distillary (using the brewery to produice the wash). then when thats all done invest in and start up small distilarys across the world with local help. then sit back and relax somewhere beutifull.
big dreams for one man

may also mean that i will probably be spending time away from HD for a while.

[Bushman]

Going to send you a PM with a link as I don't want to post it on the open forum. Check out his webpage.

[WooTeck]

*retracted

[MichiganCornhusker]

Best of luck, WooTeck, if you choose to try this. If you have the opportunity to give it a go on a small scale with the potential to build it, I say go for it. The endeavor will suck time and money out of you in ways you can't imagine yet, but it will also change your life. Could be very rewarding if you stick with it. Please keep us posted from time to time, at least, if you run away to join the beer circus!

[DeepSouth]

heres a question would carbon steel be suitable for boiling in?

Seriously?

[WooTeck]

heres a question would carbon steel be suitable for boiling in?

Seriously?

brain wasn't functioning earlier have since removed question

[WooTeck]

Best of luck, WooTeck, if you choose to try this. If you have the opportunity to give it a go on a small scale with the potential to build it, I say go for it. The endeavor will suck time and money out of you in ways you can't imagine yet, but it will also change your life. Could be very rewarding if you stick with it. Please keep us posted from time to time, at least, if you run away to join the beer circus!

on the time side i totally agree, ive spent most of the last 2 weeks putting in every thing ive got. on the money side read the following if your interested.

ive done a rough mock up of equipment needed.
as long as i can get more of the blue drums for free/£20 and strip out the epoxy resin inside i should be able to build a 200l system for about £600.
8x 200l fermenters with carts for moving around and a jack to elevate them to fill kegs for about £350.
so realistically id put aside £1500-£2000 for the build.
kegs are a big cost but i think i would rent them at the start until i have the money to buy them out right.
kegs would cost £2500 inc VAT

ive found a fairly cheap source of grain & yeast(high p&p-ish £48 for a pallet) £15 per 25kg of crashed grains £60 500g of yeast that should last a while if i start and keep a strong colony of starters. no price listed for hops but they are about £100 for 5kg for the top end expensive/popular ones else where.

as im planning to set this up in my house that cuts down on the rent side but puts the set up, up a bit as id need to water proof the room. but it dose take a chunk out of the living side(electricity, water, gas etc.) because some of it can be a business expense .

alcohol duty is -50% if you class as a small brewery (no more than 60,000 hectoliters brewed per year, im planning to start off brewing 120 hectoliters per year) works out to be about £93.7 for 200l of 5% ale. .

lets run them numbers
system build -£2000
Kegs -£2500
register name -£ 150 ish
ingredients -£ 350 ish one month supply
total -£5000
so lets say double that for safety and backing. id need £10,000 to happily cover me for initial set up.

id also plan on stay in partial employment aiming to work 2/3 days untill its no longer necessary. spending 1 day brewing, 1 bottle/kegging + supply and 1 day marketing/business stuff .

and if you've read to this point congrats

[Odin]

Congrats Wooteck! Sounds like a great plan!

Regards, Odin.

[moosemilk]

You forgot to factor in the cost of all us here at HD getting our free sample...and to properly sample that's at least a sixer each lol.

Best of luck!

[MichiganCornhusker]

Anybody can open a brewery with a couple million up front, going into it shoestring style will require some creativity. Which you have plenty of! You, too, would hit snags, but just fix what's not working and press on. I really like the idea. If you make a good beer, you will have a following, then you just need to be able to harness the business end of it. Could be quite an adventure for you. If you are up and running this time next year, I will come belly up and order something at the bar!

[WooTeck]

You forgot to factor in the cost of all us here at HD getting our free sample...and to properly sample that's at least a sixer each lol.

Best of luck!

if you come to Scotland you'll be able to have as many samples as you like. id brew up a batch of home brew to the same recipe . a good 40 odd pints .

Anybody can open a brewery with a couple million up front, going into it shoestring style will require some creativity. Which you have plenty of! You, too, would hit snags, but just fix what's not working and press on. I really like the idea. If you make a good beer, you will have a following, then you just need to be able to harness the business end of it. Could be quite an adventure for you. If you are up and running this time next year, I will come belly up and order something at the bar!

i hear you. in the craft world you have to have a good product for the knowledgeable drinkers. i will strive for greatness and plan on spending the next 2 months working out a brilliant American styled IPA, stout and a lager.

fortunately i know a lot about the market here and general marketing. already have had offers to work with a local music promoter which will spread the name round a couple hundred folk. have contacts to a few big-ish local bands, and media types that will be able to help.

shit as long as its better than Budweiser then i should be able to shift it. got my eyes around brew dog, Mikkeller, dogfish head, rogue quality booze. its not worth selling if you want to sell it all . just finding it hard to stand out in my head/business plan. as what im planing to produce is a hopped up fruity number like those that have come before me

[WooTeck]

had the first sips of my new recipe during a rack not quite bitter enough but a good base point

[MichiganCornhusker]

Keep at it Wooteck, it'd be awesome if this works out.
I ran across a bottle of Brew Dog "Psycho Cocoa" last week, it was one of the best beers I've ever tasted.

[WooTeck]

brew dog are good but there a bunch of dicks. that said as a share holder.

heres a question would carbon steel be suitable for boiling in?

Seriously?

discovered today that carbon steel isnt good enough to build a boiler out of so ive had to revisit the cost of set up. it has sky rocketed but on the good side it'll all be stainless .
on the flip side i may have landed a near perfect location, do have another potential brewer to contend with. they are further ahead than me but the have bigger dreams than what i aim to start with.

[rad14701]

Don't be offended but are you really ready to go commercial if you weren't even aware about the whole carbon steel issue...??? That raises question as to what else there is that still remains unknown that should have been known before even entertaining such an idea... Whether a brewery, winery, or distillery, you need to know what you're getting into and have done enough research to be successful from the get go... We've had more than a few new members come here with aspirations of starting a craft distillery without so much as having made a jug of wine, let alone distilled and/or aged spirits...

Just posting this as a cautionary tale for any novices entertaining heading down a similar path...

[WooTeck]

Don't be offended but are you really ready to go commercial if you weren't even aware about the whole carbon steel issue...??? That raises question as to what else there is that still remains unknown that should have been known before even entertaining such an idea... Whether a brewery, winery, or distillery, you need to know what you're getting into and have done enough research to be successful from the get go... We've had more than a few new members come here with aspirations of starting a craft distillery without so much as having made a jug of wine, let alone distilled and/or aged spirits...

Just posting this as a cautionary tale for any novices entertaining heading down a similar path...

no. im very well aware of it as-well. i know that i have a lot to learn and will allways have more, no matter how much i think i know. at the moment im in R&D mode reading as much as i can making beer and planning. have a library of about 15 books to read and re-read,Yeast by Jamil Zainasheff has been very highly recomended along with American Sour Beers by Michael Tonsmeire . there's allso brilliant guys from the home brew shop that i toss ideas at and they ether agree with them or tares them to shreds and explain why. kinda reminds me of here .

i will have to disagree on the "should have been known before even entertaining such an idea" with out the idea id be happy enough to just stay on the same rig as i use now. probably wouldn't be doing much further reading well other than things i need to know here and now. i wouldn't be seeking out help and advice from local brewers, beer journalists, the home brew staff, bar staff and off-license owners . there is a reason before you can go in to business there's a research and development phase.

there is a sea of information out there and i hope to learn as much as i can.

[woodshed]

Know your regulations inside and out wooteck. Critical part of r&d as I am sure you know.
We have had quite a few show up here wanting to open up shop. At one time I considered writing up a tutorial but realized I would just be repeating what can be found online with a little research at the agency that regulates it. I am speaking of the U.S. of course. I know in this country many throw on the brakes dealing with the GOV. But you have to sooner or later in this pursuit so might as well start the journey on the right foot. Our TTB agency here has been nothing but very helpful throughout the process.

[WooTeck]

things may have escalated. details are a bit scarce at the moment but there is a local nano thats shutting down operations because the brewer and owner got his gf pregnant and is moving to england. myself and 4 other home brewers are looking in to renting the brewery. ive been quoted £250($381) a month. we are plaing a meet and going to talk it all through and get the full specs of the brewery.

[bearriver]

There is something to be said about working for yourself. Good and bad. I hope you are successful WooTeck!

My choices at 18 was the military, a union job, or to work for myself. Unions appeared to be full of Neanderthals and the military would have messed up the recreational activities I was into at the time... Been happily self employed ever since.

[Bushman]

If your serious about this I can get you in contact with a few micro and a nano brewery locally where I live that might be able to answer questions for you. Also BaxterDad here on the forum would probably be a great person to contact.

[WooTeck]

i have acsess to discuss it with 4 or 5 local brewers and the guy renting the brewery used to be business manager and knows all the tricks.

the only problem i face is i am not happy with the quality of my beer at the moment but 2 of the 4 are very good brewers and im likely to learn a lot from them quickly. next step is to get to reading and practice. at very least i could defiantly produce quality single malt single hop showcase beers and work on my recipe development.

im super excited as it would be a turn key opportunity i can easily handle marketing and sales aslong as the product is top of the line. ive contacted the previous brewer for info now ive just got to wait.

[BaxtersDad]

As Bushman suggested, please feel free to PM or email me, I took the plunge 18 years ago, and it is still going. For discretion, no info that would identify the brewery!

[WooTeck]

Sounds good. I'll keep that in mind. I'm still waiting to find out if it's a 60l Pico brew or a 2bbl rig. It's more of a hobby business and training for when I want to break out on my own. Have the name allready just need to do some market research and see how well it will go down.

There was a biology professor on here for a while offering me unique yeast hopefully ill be able to get something interesting of him when I finish Mike whites yeast book

[WooTeck]

its been a while since i did a AG batch but im back on it. should be botteling sunday. what ive tasted of it its not up to par.

tomorrow i go to pick up a 100l brewing system. closer to getting the brewery up and running

[Odin]

Great to hear you are back in the saddle and working on your distillery, Wooteck!

Regards, Odin.

[WooTeck]

heres a photo of my new pre-polished s.s.

got to play with the mash tun with my newly moded 30l pots i missed my volume by 1l and my s.g. by 1.001. feeling good

Great to hear you are back in the saddle and working on your distillery, Wooteck!

Regards, Odin.

yeah im on my way. the big step is getting water and electricity sorted out the system draws 14kw in total.then drainage. theres alot of work to do but to get this system up and running im going to have to start soon.