When you first said “I want to open a brewery”, you have no problem. But there are some doubts that you will only know after you open the brewery and get it up and running. If your friend is going to open a brewery, you will tell him about your experience. So, Micet Craft has consulted many craft brewery owners for you, hoping to help you.
Before starting your brewery, what do you wish you knew?
Plan to expand from the start
One of the most common responses we get is to plan for expansion from the beginning, which is a very critical issue. People love their beer too much, especially when the craft beer industry is developing so fast. In the beginning, it may not dare to carry out larger-scale beer production because of capital or lack of understanding of the industry. But you need to make a longer-term plan for your craft beer production.
80% of craft brewers have underestimated the market’s demand for craft beer. If you want to use effective equipment to produce more beer, you can only expand by increasing working hours. If the production requirements cannot be completed in time, then this may be a continuous fierce competition. This puts a lot of pressure on the team, especially for those teams that see the potential for continued growth.
Before starting a craft brewery, you need to make a comprehensive plan on paper and set up a relatively long-term plan. The location of each storage tank, storage, cooler, brewhouse, etc. needs to be planned in advance. Of course, when designing a brewery, you have to leave room for expansion for your expansion plan, such as the placement and placement of more fermentation tanks.
The cost and time of running a brewery will exceed your plan
Do you know your budget for opening a brewery and the time you think must be invested? Before the brewery project starts, a lot of research is needed on the expectations of the industry’s experienced self-recognition. Then, plan the cost and time based on the recommendations of professional winemakers. Normally, you may expand your cost and time by 2-3 times. In this way, you can complete expansion and small-scale expansion in a short period of time.
Working with a brewery consultant before opening the brewery will prepare you a lot. They will help you determine what type of craft beer to launch and whether you need to provide a menu for customers. Also, professional brewery consultants will also help you understand the complexity of the three-tier distribution system, allowing you to better understand the chain network. After adding the distribution system, your capacity requirements will increase rapidly in a short period of time, and the money you can earn will also increase rapidly. If you have enough brewing ability at the beginning, you can choose to cooperate with first-class brewers to produce beer.
Licensing and other legal issues are complex and take time
Although the craft brewing industry is developing very rapidly, it is highly regulated by the federal government, which has caused many obstacles to the process of opening a brewery. Many city inspectors or officials do not know or do not know about craft breweries. They don’t know what a craft brewery is, let alone how to run and operate the brewery equipment, which caused a lot of trouble for the review of relevant information.
The process of applying for a brewery license under the supervision of the federal and state governments is very complicated. Applying for a brewery license can be said to be paperwork, or it can be said to be dealing with representatives of both parties. Even if your information is very complete, the related review work is very lengthy and beyond your control. Opening a brewery requires patience, you have to wait. If you want to make the brewery successful, you need plenty of time to prepare.
Opening a brewery is not only to brew beer but also to prepare for administrative work
Opening a brewery does not mean that you can immerse yourself in the fun of brewing beer all day. You also need to do some administrative work.
You need to know how to recruit employees, and how many employees you need to know to make the brewery equipment operate normally. Excellent talents can help you complete a lot of complex tasks, you just need to make a plan and lead them to complete it together.
You also need to find local professionals to assist in the installation. You must teach yourself in certain areas to tell them what they must do and why. Also, you also need a dedicated maintenance staff to ease the early detection of problems before the brewery equipment fails. Professional maintenance personnel can help you avoid bankruptcy caused by equipment failure.
Learn about restaurant management
Want to open a brewpub? When you want to open a restaurant and brew your own beer on-site, it is very important to conduct a lot of research on restaurant management. You need to understand the operating mode of a busy restaurant in advance because winemaker and brewpub are two completely different professions.
Although running a brewery is more difficult than simply brewing beer, it will be one of the best times in your life. Not only do you have to take care of your customers’ evaluations of the restaurant, but you also need to have a comprehensive understanding of the staff’s situation. Also, you may have to take time to meet with city officials. Friends, running a successful brewery will allow you to learn how to become a better business owner.
Talk to and conduct research with other winemakers in your area
Unlike practitioners in other industries, members of the craft beer community are very generous in sharing their suggestions on how to succeed. Talk to every practitioner as much as possible and be prepared to take notes. Every practitioner in the craft brewing industry will provide you with advice based on his own situation.
Scott from Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co believes that the most important thing is to know the brewery equipment manufacturer from which you purchased the equipment. You need to make sure you can trust them and they can make your equipment better. You need to ensure that they can provide you with solutions in a time when the equipment fails. Equipment is the most important part of the brewery, don’t save money on this aspect of the cost.
Nate from Justice Brewing believes that using more efficient water heating methods and providing greater electrical capacity are the most important aspects of operating beer. You need to choose the most suitable heating method for your brewery equipment, which helps reduce the maintenance cost of the brewery. Also, the choice of beer bottle suppliers is also very important. The price fluctuations of different suppliers are also very large, you need to choose a stable supplier with reasonable prices.
Do these suggestions make reference to your brewery plan? We would love to hear your comments on this question: What do you wish to know before starting your brewery? If you are considering opening a brewery, what is your biggest concern?
Get a turnkey solution for the brewery
Now that you understand what you need to know before opening a brewery, you can start planning for your brewery. Micet Craft will provide you with a complete brewery turnkey solution, and we will also help you complete the brewery planning. Of course, when designing the brewery, we fully consider your brewing needs and expansion plans to provide you with the most suitable brewing equipment. Of course, if you have an expansion plan for the brewery, you can also contact us directly. Micet Craft will provide you with a complete expansion plan, equipment list, and prices. Micet Group is looking forward to cooperating with you!