You pinched every penny. You begged, borrowed, and stole to start your brewery. People are enjoying your beer at the taproom, and now you want to expand your reach. You still don’t have capital to buy a dedicated canning or bottling line. Matt Woempner, from Mobile West Canning, in San Diego, California, explains how mobile canning can work for you.
Mobile Canning West serves San Diego, Arizona and Southern Nevada. Mobile Canning Systems provides training and guidance to all of their affiliates. So if you’re outside of
Mobile West Canning’s area, you can likely find another affiliate who will come to you.
The system is pretty similar throughout.
Contact the mobile canners when you start a new batch of beer. So they’ll have enough time to schedule your job.
This might be the first time that you’re beer in being packaged, so attention short be given to the label. “Artwork, artwork, artwork,” says Matt. TTB has requirements for your label design, and many state alcohol control boards have additional requirements. The mobile canner will help make sure your labels are in compliance.
When the canners arrive, they’ll wheel the machine into your brewery, within several feet of the fermenter or bright tank. They will bring one or 2 people, and they’ll need the help of a few people from your brewery.
At the end of the day, your beer is in 12 oz. or 16 oz. cans, and ready to be sold!
There is a ton of detailed information in this episode—too much to recap here. So listen to the whole episode and see if mobile canning can help you achieve the goals for your brewery.
“This is a tremendous business to be in, and it’s an exciting time to be in that business.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Lester Foldi: Is the Craft Brewers Conference worth the price for a nanobrewery still in the planning phase?
“Compare free quotes from top suppliers within 48 hours.”
Support MicroBrewr
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr048.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2015-01-29 04:00:242015-08-06 00:17:24MicroBrewr 048: Package your beer cheap and easy with mobile canning
If you’re thinking of starting a brewpub, the cooperative business model might be the way to go. Chris Hamje has been at Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery, in Austin, Texas, since shortly after they opened. He explains how the cooperative model plays out for their operation.
Jessica Brook Deahl, an accomplished and self-proclaimed “Beer Artist” at her opening show with head brewer Chris Hamje of Black Star Co-op.
“There’s a lot of precedence for a worker-owned factory model,” explains Chris. “When you look at beer, this is a very high-tech fabrication plant. The model works very well, the precedence is there historically, for this exact operational process. When you take the people who are moving parts of this factory, giving the most creative input in what the product is like, you suddenly have something really special. And that works really well in the craft beer movement.”
There are many ways to organize a brewery co-op. Black Star has 2 member bases.
There are about 3,000 “patrons” worldwide, who pay $150 for a lifetime membership, and gain the right to elect a 9-seat board of directors.
The “workers assembly” has great autonomy as they follow the board policies on a day-to-day basis. Employees must work at the co-op for one year before going before an election to gain a place on the workers assembly. The workers assembly has one meeting each month, and votes on day-to-day operations.
Chris is currently preparing to start a production, package brewery, 4th Tap Brewing Co-op, in Austin that will also be a co-op. He has lots of advice, including:
Look at how your state’s laws treat a co-op.
Choose a location with high visibility.
Take a class in organic chemistry.
Hire an extra staff member.
Last week we talked with Sustainable Economies Law Center to get an overview of the cooperative business model and how it might apply to a brewery. Next week we’ll hear from San Jose Co-op Brew Pub about their plans to start California’s first co-op brewery.
Brewery specs:
Kettle size: 10 BBL.
Size and quantity of fermentation tanks: 4, 10-BBL.
Size and quantity of bright tanks: 5, 10-BBL.
Annual brewing capacity/last year’s production: A little over 700 BBL.
Square footage: Around 900 sq. ft., including a mezzanine.
Years in operation: 4 years (opened 2010).
“Always have that little bit of fear that drives you to learn more.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Zack Chance: Where do you recommend buying ingredients on the West Coast? How do estimate the number of customers in a year?
“Be co-owner in California’s first co-op brewpub.”
Support MicroBrewr
Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.
https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr047.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2015-01-27 04:00:262015-08-14 13:35:53MicroBrewr 047: Proof of concept for a brewpub co-op
The cooperative business model is gaining popularity. Even many craft breweries are forming as co-ops. If you want to form your brewery as a co-op, Janelle Orsi, Executive Director of Sustainable Economies Law Center, in Oakland, California can answer your questions.
The cooperative business model is still relatively unknown. A worker-owned “co-op” is usually democratically organized, so each employee gets a vote on business decisions and elections for the board of directors. Employees earn dividends based on patronage—the amount of time they have invested in the business, rather the amount of money they have invested.
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr046.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2015-01-20 04:00:412015-11-16 21:23:10MicroBrewr 046: Start your brewery as a worker-owned co-op
You’ve spent months working toward opening your brewery, now you’re finally ready for the public. How do you come out with a bang? Henry Thornhill and friends recently opened West Cork Brewing Company in Baltimore, Ireland. They share how to put on a successful opening night.
West Cork is renowned for its high quality food. Now quality craft beer also comes from West Cork.
West Cork Brewing was started in 2014 by three friends, Henry Thornhill, Dominic Casey, and Kevin Waugh, with just €15,000 (approx. US$12,000).
Although it’s a nanobrewery operating in the basement of Casey’s of Baltimore hotel, they knew they had to come out with a bang.
Here’s what they did for their grand opening:
T-shirts with brewery logo
Promotional photos on the wall
Nonstop tours of their brewery
Live music
Food pairings
Media was also a big part of West Cork’s grand opening. They had coverage in local and national newspapers as well as local radio stations. Here’s how you do it:
Send press releases before the event including lots of photos.
Invite media to attend the event.
Blitz social media.
Talk with friends of friends to make connections with media.
Keep up the momentum by leveraging coverage after the event.
Reflecting on the event, Henry has some suggestions for ways they could have improved:
Write a plan for media outreach.
Blitz local radio stations.
Decide on a goal for the evening.
“It’s good to have goals and then to work backwards from goals to see what kind of tactics you need to put in place.”
Brewery specs:
Kettle size: 200 liter (53 gallon)
Size and quantity of fermentation tanks: 1, 200 liter (53 gallon)
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr045.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2015-01-13 04:00:522016-06-04 11:07:32MicroBrewr 045: Launch your brewery with a strong opening night
There are so many stories about breweries in trademark disputes. The last thing you want is to get sued or pay legal fees to protect yourself. Paul Rovella is attorney and partner at L+G, LLP Attorneys at Law in Hollister, California. He tells us all about trademark issues for your brewery.
Although “common law” provides some protection, you are still at risk.
One especially painful story is that of Backshore Brewing Co. The owner, Danny Robinson told us on MicroBrewr Podcast 041 that he had to change the name of his brewery—and he was still sued for $800 thousand and has already racked up $500 thousand in legal fees.
Use the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s search tool to see whether someone else is already using the name you want.
File for a trademark.
Use photos or documentation to prove when you start using your business name and your trademark.
“The importance of trademark registration is actually enforcing,” says Paul, “which could be a time consuming and an expensive endeavor.”
There are other options besides suing to protect your brand.
“I always encourage my clients to try to deal directly with their adversary,” Paul advises. “Because then you’re not paying an attorney to create more paper to send to another attorney.”
From the least strenuous to the most, here are the best options for enforcing your trademark:
Make a polite phone call to the person who is using your trademark.
Send a cease and desist letter.
Get a restraining order or injunction and get a judge to make them stop.
PLEASE NOTE: Nothing on this podcast should be deemed legal advice. If you have any questions about the discussions or subject matter of this podcast, you should consult an attorney.
“Smaller businesses gotta be a little more diplomatic in getting someone to stop using your label.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
If you could ask one question to every brewer or brewery owner, what would you ask? Let me know.
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr044.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2015-01-06 04:00:112015-08-05 23:56:21MicroBrewr 044: What every brewery should know about trademarks
Welcome to MicroBrewr podcast. We talk about everything craft beer related, with a focus for people looking at starting their own microbrewery or wanting to take their existing brewery to the next level.
As usual, I’m Nathan Pierce, the host of MicroBrewr Podcast.
This is going to be just a short review of the past year for MicroBrewr and also an update of my plans to start a brewery, because some people ask about that. Myself wanting to start a brewery, has sort of become the premise of a lot of MicroBrewr, so I’ll talk briefly about that.
MicroBrewr in 2014
Wow, MicroBrewr! What a cool thing. I guess, if you’re listening to this, you agree with me what a cool thing MicroBrewr is, and especially MicroBrewr Podcast.
How often do we get to go behind the scenes in any business? To talk with successful business owners and find out their worst mistakes, their biggest successes, and get advice for doing it better than they did. And we do this every week not just for any business, but for craft breweries!
When I first heard this podcast probably in episode 2 or 3, when Joe Shelerud was doing it, I was neck deep in developing my business plan. The episodes were still just every other week and I couldn’t get enough of them.
Even after Joe interviewed me on episode 5, I was still listening every week, taking notes, getting light-bulb moments, and learning things that I hadn’t thought of, ways to fix my business plan or make it better. It was such a great resource to me at the time.
Then when it was going to end forever, I called up Joe and asked him if I could continue the website and podcast. I just felt that it was a great resource for myself, so I didn’t want it to end.
And I was thinking of others who must be using it too. I’ve heard that more than one brewery per day has opened this year. That’s a lot of people who need this very information.
I happened to be cruising past Medford on a road trip this summer, so I called Opposition, totally last minute, and they let me come in on their day off. They were closed for business but they were there doing other work, and they gave my girlfriend and I tour of their little nanobrewery. They even gave me growler, my very first growler, believe it or not. And it’s pretty cool, too. I like their logo, and the growler is printed with silver, glitter ink. So it’s pretty neat.
MicroBrewr is going to be at it’s best as a resource for you to find information on starting your brewery, or improving your brewery.
I mean there are tons of books about operating a brewery. (Many of them are on the MicroBrewr book list. hehe) You can find this information anywhere, and some of it can be dense.
I’m trying to make this approachable to people just like me. Maybe we don’t know what we’re doing, but we do have a dream.
It’s not unrealistic. I’ve talked to people who didn’t know what they were doing—they didn’t have business experience—but they had a dream. They had passion and desire, and they opened their own brewery. Usually it’s starting small, but they’re doing what they love. They have the reward of working for themselves and doing what they know deep inside that they should be doing. And they’re making profits, they’re paying the bills, they’re still in business.
Planning a brewery in 2014
Maybe I’m crazy, but I’d rather work 60 hours or more at my own brewery, than 40 hours for someone else.
I want to create something new. I want to help other people. I want to inspire others to be great.
And craft beer is so exciting. This is such a neat industry. Who knows how it will be in the future, when there is actually competition and there are so many breweries that everybody, even the little guys, have to compete with each other. But for now, it’s an industry that helps each other. All the breweries are raising each other up. They’re loaning ingredients to their friends across town, or even loaning staff! Or they’re just sharing their knowledge—like on this podcast.
So this is where I want to be.
I’m still learning how to start a brewery, and MicroBrewr has become a huge part of that.
Honestly, Microbrewr has come to take a lot of time. I’ve been investing a ton of time into this. It’s not just recording an interview. It’s many tasks that, collectively, take a lot of time:
Learning how to use WordPress
Learning how to use Garage Band
Getting better at Photoshop
Editing sound
Typing show notes
Scheduling interviews and social media
And more!
So I’ve been neglecting the actual grunt-work of really trying to start an actual, brick-and-mortar business—a brewery. Yet this is, in fact, moving forward on my plans to start a brewery.
I’m updating my resume with the skills and knowledge that I’m picking up through this. When I go get money from the bank or investors, they’ll want to see that I’m knowledgeable, that I’m competent and qualified to make it work and to pay them back.
I’m making connections. I now know 50 or so people who are inside the industry, already doing what I want to do. When it comes time to find mentors, I have a big pool of people to draw from.
Even one person reached out to me about partnering on an actual brewery. We met in person, we talked a couple hours, hopefully we’ll meet again. Who knows where it’s going to go, but it gave me hope that this is still possible. If nothing comes from that, maybe somebody else will find me from MicroBrewr.
People can have a conversation with me every week—myself and the guests of the podcast. So they’ll have a pretty good idea what I’m all about, and they can check my blog nathanpierce.me and learn more about my vision of the brewery that I want to start. Who knows what can happen.
But not enough is happening.
I know the MicroBrewr audience, the “MicroBrewrs,” feel a connection with me. I know how it is, I listen to podcasts, too. I mean, I feel like Pat Flynn is my best friend because I listen to his podcast every week and he helps me so much, but I’ve never met him.
So I’m going to be honest. If you listening to this show, you probably know I go deep. So here’s the deal. You all know I quit my job last year. My savings is running low and my part-time job isn’t cutting it anymore.
I gotta find a real job.
I really want to get a job at a craft brewery. It’s getting kid of dire, so I’m applying everywhere—and there have been some jobs outside the craft beer industry that looked like they could really resonate with me—but I’m really hoping for a job at a craft brewery.
Hopefully in the San Francisco Bay Area because it’s not too far from where I’m living now and it’s not too far from my family. My girlfriend lives in the East Bay and I other friends in the Bay Area.
Then I’ll have some actual, real-world experience under my belt. I can learn what it really takes, day-to-day, to operate a brewery. Experience is crucial.
Man, in a dream world, the brewery who hires me would recognize the intrinsic marketing value that comes with hiring a guy who produces a weekly podcast about craft breweries. They’ll give me time to continue MicroBrewr and I’ll be able to talk about things that happen at the brewery for all of us to learn from.
That would be amazing!
Maybe I’m just dreaming. I don’t know. If you own a brewery in the Bay Area, give me a call, let’s see what we can do.
But realistically, I already have several episodes of MicroBrewr Podcast recorded.
I was thinking ahead to the coming year and I kinda got zealous about the podcast schedule. It’s going to be a little bit different moving forward. There will be sort of themes. There will be series of episodes, a few episodes in a row, all on the same topic.
We’ll see how it goes. Send me message and let me know how that works for you.
Anyway, I’ve recorded several so far. So if I get a job right away and it ends up being just too much to keep this going, at least I have several episodes already recorded. That takes a lot of the work and time off my hands for at least the next few months.
And I think the next few months of MicroBrewr Podcast are going to be pretty cool. I’m excited about the next few months of episodes.
Here’s to 2015
Anyway, I just wanted to give you that recap, and that update. It’s a year-end bonus episode of MicroBrewr Podcast.
This is scheduled to publish on New Year’s Eve, but you might not even be listening to this until 2015. But if you listen to this in time…
I wish you a happy and safe time celebrating in the New Year. Here’s to 2015 and here’s to us, our plans, our dreams, our aspirations.
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr043.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-12-31 04:00:242015-08-05 23:46:59MicroBrewr 043: BONUS Happy New Year
Matt Katase wasn’t yet legal drinking age when he read an autobiography of a brewery owner. Then he and his friend, Asa Foster, toured a large craft brewery and thought, we can do that. At age twenty-three, they opened The Brew Gentlemen Beer Company in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Matt has the following advice:
Don’t do it.
Strategically schedule donations and media interviews throughout the campaign.
Get lots of donations the first day to foster media impressions.
Research for optimum length of time.
I first heard about The Brew Gentlemen from Alexis Irvin, who spoke with us on MicroBrewr Podcast 040. Check out episode 40 to hear about Blood, Sweat, and Beer documentary and to get a coupon code for 20% off the price when your order a digital download of the movie.
Matt’s tips to successfully start a brewery:
Have confidence in yourself, stay true to your mission.
Learn construction from YouTube videos.
Make the women’s restroom really nice.
Care about quality, your customers, and your brand and image.
Brewery specs:
Kettle size: 3.5 BBL.
Size and quantity of fermentation tanks: 4, 7-BBL.
Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.
https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr042.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-12-30 04:00:162015-08-05 23:35:48MicroBrewr 042: Open a microbrewery to revitalize an economy
Danny Robinson had the choice of building a giant brewery in the middle of nowhere, or a tiny brewery right on the beach and boardwalk. He chose the later and made Backshore Brewing Co. in Ocean City, Maryland.
“The plan from the beginning was to have this nanobrewery up on the boardwalk, be the flagship of the brand.”
It seems to be working. In a town whose population fluctuates from 3,000 in the winter to 300,000 in the summer, Backshore has a 1-BBL brewhouse and has beer made under contract to meet demand.
I first heard about Backshore Brewing from Alexis Irvin, who spoke with us on MicroBrewr Podcast 040. Check out episode 40 to hear about Blood, Sweat, and Beer documentary and to get a coupon code for 20% off the price when your order a digital download of the movie.
Some of Danny’s advice to others:
Get really deep with the math.
Get a mentor and find more mentors.
Play to your strengths.
Be honest with yourself, but keep trusting yourself.
Don’t underestimate the power of packaging and marketing.
Brewery specs:
Kettle size: 1 BBL.
Size and quantity of fermentation tanks: 4, 2-BBL fermenters.
Size and quantity of bright tanks: 2, 2-BBL bright tanks, sometimes used as fermenters.
Annual brewing capacity/last year’s production: Brewed 200 BBL last year, contracted 400 BBL for distribution.
Square footage: 600 sq. ft., with 500 sq. ft deck.
Years in operation: 2.5 years (opened May 2012).
“A business is very different from a hobby.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Federico Nussbaum: How can we find out how many beers to have on tap in the start? How can we find out which styles to serve in our local area?
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr041.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-12-23 04:00:242015-08-04 23:22:23MicroBrewr 041: A flagship nanobrewery in a tourist town
Alexis Irvin and her partner Chip Hiden travelled across the country trying to find out what it takes to make a living doing what you love. They interviewed a bunch people in lots of different fields who all had their dream job. And they put it together into a movie and book called, The Dream Share Project.
Then they followed their own dreams, quit their jobs, and started working for themselves. For their next project, Alexis and Chip travelled across the country interviewing people with a dream job in one field—craft beer! They made a beer movie!
Blood, Sweat, and Beer is a feature-length documentary coming out in 2015 that follows 2 startup breweries, one in Braddock, Pennsylvania and another in Ocean City, Maryland.
Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.
https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr040.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-12-16 04:00:002015-11-16 21:21:48MicroBrewr 040: Keep persevering to get to the end
Kyle Roth is just about to finish the brewing apprenticeship through Platform Beer Co.’s incubator program. Soon he, his brother and cousins, partners in Ferndock Brewing Company in Sandusky, Ohio, will venture out on their own.
We heard from Paul Benner, who told us about Platform Beer Co.’s incubator program, in MicroBrewr Podcast episode 026. Kyle is the first person to go through the brewing apprenticeship program and he’s so glad that he did.
The apprenticeship gave Kyle a jumpstart in everything he needs to know to open a brewery.
His advice to a homebrewer who wants to start a commercial brewery:
Start earlier
Make connections
Find a mentor
Talk to brewers
“Best idea so far has been joining Platform Beer Co. and taking this opportunity to go pro.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Jimmy Batte: How do you get your percent cost mark up? Is there a typical 30% you apply to everything? What is the general guideline?
Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.
https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr039.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-12-09 04:00:082015-08-04 23:21:33MicroBrewr 039: Apprenticing in a brewery incubator program
Dan Gordon enjoyed beer from the young age of 15 years. In high school, he lived next door to 2 brewers when he studied in Austria. Then in post-grad, he studied Brewing Engineering and Beverage Technology in Germany. Back home in Palo Alto, he partnered with restaurateur, Dean Biersch, to open a brewpub in Palo Alto, California, which later became Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose, California.
Gordon Biersch went on to open brewpubs throughout the U.S. and abroad. They had to divest, but remain connected. Meanwhile Gordon Biersch Brewing Company was the 49th largest craft brewery in the nation based on 2013 numbers. Their beers won 4 medals in the 2014 Great American Beer Festival.
Dan and Gordon Biersch were part of the famed craft beer class of 1988. He has a wealth of insight. Here are some of his suggestions:
Get industrial experience from a legitimate brewer
Invest in quality equipment
Stay true to your genre
Start bottling sooner rather than later
Hold your breath and wait a little bit
“[Homebrewing] is a foundation and building block for making beer popular these days.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Trina Christensen: What is the most rewarding thing about brewing? Are you tired of cleaning yet?
Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.
https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr038.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-12-02 04:00:382015-08-04 23:21:09MicroBrewr 038: Learn the classics and stay true to your genre
Mark Carpenter wasn’t happy with his job. One day, he took a tour of Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, California, and thought it would be a fun place to work. Over 40 years later, he’s still the brewer.
Shaun O’Sullivan, Founder and Brewer of 21st Amendment Brewery says Anchor Brewing is “the epicenter of craft beer for all of us in this industry.”
Anchor Brewing has been operating in San Francisco under the same name since 1896. The company struggled severely in the mid-1900s. Fritz Maytag loved to drink Anchor Steam Beer on tap, and he bought the company in 1965.
Fritz had to learn to brew, and he invested heavily in brewing equipment and modernizing the processes. It is no wonder he is often called “the father of modern microbreweries.”
And Mark Carpenter, has been there almost the whole time. It was an honor to be able to speak with Mark on-site at the same brewery location where he’s been making beer since 1979.
When Mark started working at Anchor in 1971, they were producing “the only beer in America that really wasn’t just a yellow beer.”
When Anchor Porter was released in 1973, not one porter was being made in England. Most dark beers, were simply the light beer with coloring added.
Liberty Ale, with its Cascade hops, came out in 1975, a time when not many—if any—other breweries were using the Cascade hops as an aroma hop.
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr037.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-11-25 04:00:272016-12-29 16:59:20MicroBrewr 037: A forty-year career at the epicenter of craft beer
Brian Kelly opened Elevation 66 Brewing Company 3 years ago in El Cerrito, California. It was his first business and they paid off their major investor ahead of schedule, just 2 and-a-half years after opening.
Initially, they wanted to have a mill and limit the food offerings to paninis and salads. About halfway into the design process they decided to rework it and plan for a full kitchen. It was more expensive to build, but it was worth it.
“That has turned out to be one of the better ideas for this place,” says Brian. “Our food has really taken off. Without our kitchen, I don’t know if this place would be nearly as successful. Salads and paninis is nothing like the food we put out right now.”
Elevation 66 is still new, but their 7-BBL system can hardly produce enough beer just for their in-house sales. (Elevation 66 doesn’t package any beer for distribution.) They are starting to plan for expansion and have begun developing the brewery business plans for different possibilities.
So I asked Brian how to write a brewery business plan. He said start looking into the red tape.
“These permits that you have to get and all this red tape that you have to go through can be a long and arduous process. You really want to have a solid plan of attack on how you’re going to do all these things.”
Brian’s top 3 resources for writing a brewery business plan:
“Honestly,” says Brian, “I just went online and read other people’s business plans.
He also suggests overestimating costs and underestimating revenues.
“That’s the whole purpose of a business plan to me. It’s like, let’s be realistic. What’s the worst case scenario? If that does happen, can we still make this work? If you can, and you do better than that, then it’s golden.”
“If you have a feeling that this is going to succeed, don’t doubt that.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From Hayden Little: How much trouble did you have coming up with a name? What was the inspiration for the name?
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https://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MicroBrewr036.jpg280750Nathan Piercehttps://microbrewr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Logo3-Copy1.gifNathan Pierce2014-11-18 04:00:352015-08-04 23:20:22MicroBrewr 036: How to write a business plan for a gastropub brewery
21st Amendment Brewery opened their brewpub in 2000. In 2006 they started canning beer. After a long search, 21st Amendment started “partner brewing” with Cold Spring Brewing in Minnesota in 2008. The relationship has benefitted both companies very well.
Shaun O’Sullivan moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1990s and got a job at the storied Triple Rock Brewery. He met Nico Freccia who was writing for Celebrator magazine. But when they later met again in brewing classes at University of California, Davis, they decided to become partners on their own brewery.
And they’re coming home. Their new, hundred thousand-square-foot brewery in San Leandro, California will soon begin production.
Operations will continue in Minnesota. The partnership has been helpful to both companies. Each has learned from the other and each has grown significantly through the partnership.
“We call it partner brewing,” says Shaun. “We don’t like using the word ‘contract.’ We do have people out there. We have a lot of samples that are sent back and forth. It’s a huge amount of information that goes back and forth.”
“We don’t try to hide behind what we’re doing or what we’re not doing.”
With nearly 15 years of experience, Nicco has suggestions for a brewer wanting to start a brewpub:
Raise more money.
Consider your floor plan carefully.
Find someone with business sense.
Don’t stress out; be proud of what you did.
“There is a concern that there’s a bubble that’s going to burst, which I think is crap.” [Tweet This]
P.S. I found who said, “You can’t improve the beer, you can only keep it the same or hurt it. So your goal is to keep it the same when you’re putting it into packaging.” It was Rich Weber, in episode 019. I think it got cut out in post-production, but it was documented in episode 021.
SPECIAL BONUS:
Win a FREE T-shirt from 21st Amendment Brewery
Answer the following question in the comments section below:
What was the first beer from 21st Amendment Brewery that was sold on a Virgin America flight?
Two winners will be selected at random in 3 weeks (December 2, 2014). I’ll get in touch with you. Then Shaun will mail the T-shirt in your size.
Be sure to connect with 21st Amendment Brewery and thank Shaun for being on the show and for giving us 2 free T-shirts.
UPDATE: The winers have been selected! See below for more deets.
Listener question:
From Derrick Hamrick: What is the suggested process in hiring a brewer?
Boulder City, Nevada is between Las Vegas and Hoover Dam. The city was formed to temporarily house workers during the dam’s construction in the 1930s. After the dam was complete, residents incorporated and formed a city. In 2007, Todd Cook opened Boulder Dam Brewing Co.
Today Boulder Dam Brewing provides craft beer in a wide variety of styles. Todd grew up a “military brat” who moved around a lot. In college, a friend had a constant supply of European beers. The offerings from Boulder Dam Brewing reflects this vast geographic influence.
Boulder Dam Brewing also participates heavily in fundraising efforts for disaster preparedness and veterans care.
Although Todd previously ran an advertising business with offices in 2 states, he says business experience isn’t necessary to opening a brewpub. The only restaurant experience he had was working at McDonald’s when he was 16. Instead, Todd learned from Running a Restaurant for Dummies and Guerilla Marketing.
Not too bad for coming up on Boulder Dam Brewing Co.’s “8th annibrewsary” in February 2015.
Some of Todd’s advice in this episode:
It all depends on how bad you want it.
Learn from your mistakes and get back on the saddle.
Running a business requires a lot of time in the office.
Get in front of your customers and talk to them to see what they like.
“I do for a living what I used to pay for.” [Tweet This]
Listener question:
From l.seber: What are the best classes to take to prepare for opening a brewpub?
