Not Fishing Relate- Great Attibutes of a Brewery

[dtown]

First off, this is not a spam or any sort of troll post…looking for honest responses (and a few smartass one’s to keep me honest).

I decided to post this here because the responses are much more respectable than other pieces of the forum and to be honest, this is the only forum I post on. So, a few friends and I are on the verge of starting a brewery in a small-ish town in the Midwest and I wanted to get anyone’s thougths on the best aspects of any brewery you’ve ever visited. The town is about 75K people, no current brewery with a few higher end restaraunts. None of us live there, we all live in different parts of the Rocky Mtns and Cascades, but this is the home town of one of us and the alma mater of a few of us and we see an opportunity. It is also home to a college of about 14k students and an Air Force Base of about 20k folks not too far away. Here’s what I’m thinking:

A brewery/ restaurant, the type of place that:
 Offers enough beers to fill up a big chalk board, many being seasonal
 Carries boutique whiskey
 Sells a winter ale and homemade chicken pot pie in little cast iron pots in the winter, pizzas all year long and an awesome soft pretzel- all of which we have cooked beforeand not limited to those...that's just the type of menu
 Has bands play on a periodic basis
 Sponsors local races- runs, triathlons, x-country or snow shoe (no hills here) and biking (mtn and road)
 Sponsors the TGR films to come to town- hopefully
 Has plenty of tv’s to watch everyone’s favorite college hockey team


We have plenty of capital, the knowledge and capabilities to brew the beer and the knowledge of starting and running restaurants, just was wondering everyone’s thoughts….to give you an idea of what we’d like to accomplish, something between Golden City Brewery in Golden, CO and Full Sail Brewery (on a small scale) in Hood River, OR.

[Name Redacted]

My first post in the fishing forum.

Do it! Sounds like you have a pretty good start. Focus on your branding. Anyone can brew decent beer that college kids will drink. Your brand is what will bring people in and breed loyalty.

BEER: Seasonal and specialty beers are great and keeping things changing is important but don't skimp on your year-round beers. Building a loyal following of a few different styles can be the key to a good local crowd that shows up everywhere. You still have to brew to your customer's tastes which might not exactly line up with yours (being in the midwest, you might have a few different wheat styles that are popular). Use your seasonal/specialty beers to expand peoples horizons. Also, find a good source for whiskey and wine barrels, that's what is hot right now.

Don't be afraid to bring in some "guest beers" when you are getting started. Get people who are enthusiastic about beer coming in and drinking great beers. You won't make as much off those beers, but it'll give you more variety while you are dialing in your own brews.

Brewing: Go big on your brew system. Nothing smaller than a 15bbl brew system with 15 or 30 barrel fermenters. If you think you are going to start small and grow, you'll get to a point where you will need to replace a 7 bbl system. Owning your building is also important. Look to the future and plan on having to expand. Don't open up in a strip mall and think you'll lease your spot. You'll end up having to move.

Sounds like you guys have a group who knows what they are doing, but just in case, from being in and around the industry, I can recommend a few things that you probably already know:
DON"T GROW TOO FAST. I've seen breweries that have had millions of dollars invested and over expanded and failed.
Don't have too many owners. The fewer the better. Nobody will agree and it takes forever for progress to happen. Having the right mix of people who have the same vision is important. (I'm going through this right now)
You don't have to give to every charity that knocks on your door and attend every brewfest. The first year, you might have to spend a lot of time and money getting your name out there but choose wisely which events you will attend and what advertising avenues you will use. Some breweries come out of nowhere and go crazy sponsoring every event, brewfest, race, charity, bar mitzvah, ect ect... You don't have to do it all and keep it classy.

Edit to add:

FOOD: Keep it simple but good and high quality. Beer food =bread, bacon, butter, beef, cheese. Pizza is an awesome idea because it's easy and you can have a million options. I think cheesesteaks are also awesome. It's tough balancing food costs and quality and being able to offer low enough prices to the consumer that won't scare them away. Mac and cheese! I assume you are from Denver probably. Go to the Rackhouse at stranahan's and eat their mac and cheese and steal or copy that recipe!


If you are in the CO area and want to come check out a business model very similar to what you are considering, PM me.

[schwerty]

FWIW I was in the brewing biz for a while and helped start two brewing companies. Tough biz but it can be fun and rewarding too.

Please don't feel like I am discounting your groups brewing knowledge but you absolutely must have intricate knowledge of brewing systems and installation in order to have an efficient platform. There are consultants out there if that expertise is something within your start up group.

Buy used tanks! There is a very good supply of commercial gear in the market right now, from what I hear.

Beer Developement:
While most of your potential customer base does not and will never know the first thing about high quality craft beer, they still will demand a consistent product that of course, tastes good.
I have witnessed a number of breweries go under due to trying to do too much. Focusing on 3-4 staple beers with an occasional surprise seems to be about he limit of start up breweries. Having a restaurant/bar gives you slightly more leeway here but I wouldn't push it until you have some time under your belt.

The most successful breweries I have been involved with or have friends involved in have perfected these few staple products and blossomed from there. Developing yeast strains, precise malt characteristics, temperatures in the brewing process, timing, filtering style....you likely know the rest of the list...are essential for consistent beers. Once you have one down to exactly where you want it, start the next project. People will be super excited to have the "next" beer coming out if the one before it is a solid product that. You can almost develops a type of cult. Lead customers down the path, slowly. They will continue to show up and be loyal.

I could ramble for a long time on this! Fun stuff! Keep us posted with progress. Good luck!

[Tye 1on]

The hops market is pretty screwy right now. Start researching that end of things.

As a consumer, one aspect that I look for is a vibrant 'mug club'. I'm in my sixth year at the best sportsbar in town, second year at my favorite brewpub [where i just got beer drinker of the year and now have a liter stein poured for me every time] and am about to have a mug at the ski hill's bar. Take care of your mug clubbers, they will recommend you a lot of business, and provide a welcoming atmosphere when people walk in for the first time...

[Mathematics]

I'd search HBT tons of threads on this there.

Seems like the failure rate is really really high, financially I guess I'd just make sure to minimize debt/risk as much as possible. Start slow and make sure the local market is there. I like the guest beer idea to bring the beer "connoisseurs" in...getting intertwined with the local beer scene (homebrewers club, homebrew stores, beerfests, etc) seems like a cheap & easy way to get the word out and start building a brand.

Theres a brewpub in Anchorage (Mooses Tooth) that seems pretty close to what youre thinking. They have some so-so beers and some award winning beers, but I think where they win over the non-beer scene folks is their apple ale (more like a cider but less sweet)...super accessible beer, nothing like it anywhere else in town, ladies love it, etc...the only beer they hit their license limit with for off-site sales this year. I guess what I'm saying is catering to the beeries is good but you've got to be able to offer something more accessible to their significant others/friends/family/the masses. And assuming the pilsner/wheat/fruit beer automatically fills this niche is a mistake.

Anyways good luck. You're living every homebrewers dream, myself included.

[criscam]

agree w/ mathmatics about having something for the masses that is either simple or different (but drinkable). you'll have a lot of non-connoisseurs who will go cause it's something new or has good food and may not neccessarily care about your oak-aged russian imperial stout (although i certainly would ).
def have at least one seasonal/different brew available at all times. don't go crazy with a huge menu featuring food you can get at every sports bar. if you're gonna do some "standard" type fares (nachos, mozz sticks) put some kind of twist on them.
i like the mug club idea with members getting experimental tastes of upcoming batches or sumthin...

[DeathVan]

These guys have done some things very right.
-phenomenal growth

I'm not saying it's the beers (there are a lot better, especially in Portland), it's more the business model and style of the pubs that I'm recommending you look at.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/

Good Luck

[dtown]

Thanks for all the feedback and all things we’ve considered and are discussing. The great thing is the small group we have come from varied backgrounds so we have a pretty experienced, diverse group.

Shredgnar, not in Denver anymore but still very familiar with most of the places around town. Thanks for your input.

[warthog]

I worked for BJ's in Boulder for a while. Chain, but the brewer was one of their best. He won the GABF that year with his Tatonka Stout aged in Jack Daniels barrels.

One of the best breweries around here (Tampa) is Cigar City. Until they came around in 2009, FL brewers were a joke. They did a lot of things right, and are getting huge props with the beer crowd. Their motto was basically to stay true to the area you brew in. Not sure what that means for the midwest, but here it meant lots of dark cigar type flavors, lots of coffee, cuban spices, etc. It really worked for them. Just another idea.
http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com/

[neckdeep]

I don't know if this is smart ass but it is honest.

In food or beer, never plan to "educate" your market up to the quality and price level of your product. That is a risky strategy. Determine whether there is adequate existing demand for your product in your local marketplace to provide a decent return on capital. Although you can self-finance you need to honestly answer to yourselves the sort of rigorous questions a commercial loan officer would ask. Is there really demand and if so why is there no existing brewery? Are there some successful microbrewers in a comparable regional market? How about failures? Do soldiers have the paycheck and taste for high end beer? How much keg/bottled microbrew is the local liquor distributor already moving in that county? That is all the pie you'll get a slice out of. 14,000 college students sounds great but only 3,500 will be legal, not all of those are drinkers, the girls are mostly conditioned to reflexively order major brand light beer and, when I was in school (in a smallish midwestern city), we definitely had a quantity over quality attitude towards our beers. Cases of Huber and Reinlander longnecks for $6. Point, Special Ex or Leinenkugel if we were splurging. You know that was a while ago if Leinenkugel was still an affordable independent brewery. When I was in school in Wisconsin (85-89), the midwestern regional breweries held off bankruptcy or consolidation by selling BELOW the price point of the majors despite comparable product quality. Granted times have changed but then again there's the issue of timing. 1 in 10 americans are unemployed. Personally, I'd drink 3 or 4 micros a day but in these times the budget dictates Olympia.

[Mr. Mike]

just echoing things others have said, but my go to local brewpub has had a successful approx 20 year run at locations in Memphis and Nashville (not exactly sophisticated drinking towns), and things I've noticed:

1. short beer list of 3-4 regulars and 3-4 seasonals that are rotated approximately quarterly
2. 1 of the regulars (the Flaming Stone) is a light colored approachable easy drinker. I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting at that bar and heard some so something like "I'll have a miller lite". Response: "we just sell our own beer here, but the Flaming Stone is probably the closest thing we have to that." The fact is the Flaming Stone is about as similar to a miller lite as it is to a diet coke, but it is drinkable for someone whose palate is accustomed to mass market light beers. A related tip would be to have your staff educated to give this kind of response rather that giving a beer snob response.
3. Be good to your mug clubbers. Regulars will be a big part of your cash flow because they will both eat and drink.

Google bosco's if you want to learn a little about the place on which I base my reply.

[homebrewd]

Sounds like a legit plan Dtown, I would regular the joint based on what you've proposed. I am definitely with Tye 1on as far as the idea of providing a perks club for the regulars, and your promotional ideas sound spot on (pending the local flare supports it). I am a fellow flatlander (in Iowa), and I can vouch for the success of some of the local bars (Blue Cat, Great River, Front Street in the Quad Cities) that offer a simple variety of food, as well as weekly specials on new brews and sponsor local events as well.

I'd come check it out for sure if it's relatively close

[mushmouth]

My only thought would be to support local artists in all their quirky forms; open mic's, "local artist of the week" wall, etc, etc.

[Tye 1on]

My only thought would be to support local artists in all their quirky forms; open mic's, "local artist of the week" wall, etc, etc.

i've watched five pieces get bought off the walls thanks to the 'local artist of the week' program, just in the last six months. Great stuff.