Start a brewery
According to theBrewers UnionIn 2017, there were 6,372 breweries in the United States, of which 3,812 (about 60%) were microbreweries. A standard brewery produces beer in large quantities, typically more than 15,000 barrels per year. A microbrewery, also known as a craft brewery, is a smaller business that produces less than 15,000 barrels per year. Microbreweries are mostly privately owned due to their small size. Microbrewery owners produce beer with special flavors and use a different technique than traditional breweries.
Although microbreweries are smaller than traditional breweries, they still require a significant amount of planning and money to get started. Entering the brewing industry requires heavy investment as the beer industry is heavily taxed. However, there was oneNew tax law gives American brewers two years of tax breaks. Creating your first brewery business plan is essential to increasing the chances of success for your brewery or microbrewery. Your initial brewery business plan is a useful tool to help you secure financing and efficiently run your brewery or microbrewery.
Download a sample brewery business plan below to get started:
Before creating your first brewery business plan, here are some initial steps you should take:
Find out more about the brewing industry by reading all the information you can find. Case studies, books and articles provide helpful tips for running a brewery business.
Network with other brewers who run successful breweries and ask as many questions as you can. There is nothing like learning first hand about the pitfalls to avoid when starting your brewing business.
Think of names for your beers and research whether the names are trademarked. This step is important to avoid wasting money on marketing and promotional materials only to find out that you are not allowed to use the name.
Most brewers have a passion for making beer. However, this passion cannot be conducive to a thriving business unless they have prepared for every possibility of starting and running a brewery or microbrewery.The following questions will help clarify your vision if you are planning to start a brewery, microbrewery or craft brewery:
- Do you want to know all the federal and state laws in the very heavily regulated brewing industry?
- Choose a production brewery or onebrewery?
- How will you differentiate your brewery from all the others?
- What types of potions will you brew? Do you only focus on ales or do you include other drinks such as lagers?
- Thinking about opening more than one location?
- What do your sales network and sales channels look like?
- Are you focused on selling your drinks yourself?Bar?
Create your first brewery business plan
You can start your brewery or microbrewery business plan from scratch or download this example below:
Sample brewery business plan to download
The following sections should be included in yoursBusiness planWhether you are starting a traditional brewery, a microbrewery or planning to sell craft beer:
A summary -The summary of your First Brewery Business Plan is an overview that summarizes the main points mentioned in the rest of the document.
Objectives and Objectives –The Objectives section informs the reader of where you want to go with your brewery business and your goals indicate how you will achieve your goals.
Corporate overview -In this part of your brewery business plan, you need to provide details about your brewery business. The business summary should include your story and what makes you unique. It should also highlight the achievements and awards your beers have received.
Company property –It is useful for investors to know as much as possible about the person or persons behind the brewery company. Use this section to describe your experience and qualifications for running a brewery. Be sure to focus on each co-owner's strengths and how they use their expertise to ensure the success of the brewery.
market analysis -Give the reader an overview of the brewing industry in this section of your brewing business plan. You must provide facts and figures about growthpopularityof beers on a national and local level. In addition, you must provide information about the demographics of the area where you intend to sell your beer. Finally, you must explain the reasons for the increase in beer sales and demonstrate that this trend will continue in the future.
Strategy and Implementation –This section will explain how to grow your brewery business. Provide advice on your sales strategy, stating the number of salespeople you employ and the commission you pay. This section should also include information about whether you plan to offer discounts to wholesale customers.
Sales Forecasts - You must provide information about your sales forecasts for a minimum of three years. Investors should have an idea of how they will get their money back. In this section you will find details about how you think your brewery will develop.Control -This part of your brewery business plan details the staff required to run your brewery. You must list all members of the management and non-management team, including the salary you plan to pay. At the end of this section, list the total amount you expect to spendpayroll.
Finance –Offinancial aspectYour brewery business plan will detail theimportant figuresinvestors will assess to make a decision on whether or not to finance your brewery. The financial portion of your brewery business plan should include a break-even analysis.Profit and loss forecastand expected cash flow.
Appendix -Use the appendix of your brewery's business plan for additional information that cannot be explained in the body of the document. For example, you can add a full summary of your personal plan and the general assumptions you made regarding certain financial projections.
How do you start a brewery?
After you have researched and spent time developing your brewery or microbrewery business plan and secured the right financing, follow the steps below to start your business:
- Find a location
- Choose your equipment
- receive funding
- Renovate your property
- Get insurance
1. Find a location
Choose a locationfor your brewery or microbrewery is one of the most important decisions you have to make. The ideal scenario is to set up your brewery or microbrewery business in the area you want to serve. You should consider whether the area you choose has adequate space, proper zoning, access to resources and customer access.
2. Choose your equipment
The type of equipment you use can make or break your brewery or microbrewery. You can opt for a new customizable system to make your craft beer. However, this can take a lot of time and delay the opening of your brewery. Alternatively, you can also buy a used system. However, problems can arise if the system goes down and the seller does not provide support. Following are some necessary equipment for running a brewery or microbrewery:
- A mash system– If you produce at least 1000 liters of beer per batch, you will need a mashing system with an electric steam generator, a mash tank, etc.louder, malt mill, heat exchanger and a wort pump.
- Fermentation System –You'll need a fermentation tank, a cooling pump, and equipment to add yeast as part of the fermentation process.
- Filter system –To remove sediment you need a filter pump and a diamond tank, which also improves the quality of your beer.
- A cooling system –To keep your beer cool and prevent bacterial growth, you need a chiller and a large liquid tank.
- The control -Your refrigerator needs controls, and you also need a master control board for your pumps and all the electronics to keep your microbrewery safe.
- Cleaning and hygiene –Your sterilization solution requires an alkaline tank, a wash pump and a large tank. This equipment should be used to sterilize your microbrewery equipment.
- One bottle/barrel tap –You need a pump to fill your beer and a bottling machine if you want to bottle your beer.
3. Get financing
You should have already estimated your brewery or microbrewery start-up costs during the business planning process. There are several ways you can choose to finance your brewery or microbrewery, including a traditional bank loan, private investors or aSmall business administration(SBA) loan. Correspondingwinstabelventure.comYour brewery or microbrewery startup costs should include:
- Business Registration Fee - $750.
- Legal fees for obtaining licenses and permits - $1,300.
- Marketingand advertising costs for thebig opening– 3.580$.
- Managementadvies - $ 2.500.
- Permits, Insurance and Licenses - $5,000.
- Build or renovate your microbrewery - $200,000.
- Brewery equipment - $150,000.
- Office equipment - $15,000.
- Website – 700 $.
- Anders - $ 5.000.
Start-up costs for a medium-sized brewery are about $750,000.This number includes workers' compensation for the first three months of your business.The cost of starting a microbrewery ranges from $250,000 to $500,000.A large brewery needs about $2.5 million in seed capital. Due to the significant investment required to start breweries and microbreweries, it is important to understand your finances so that you can get a realistic forecast of when you will break even and start making a profit.
4. Renovate your property
Running an efficient brewery or microbrewery requires expert contractors to renovate your premises. Whether you've bought or rented real estate, you need people with the right experience and skills to ensure that your brewery or microbrewery:
- Good ventilation to collect the large amount of vapor that is released when making your beer.
- Good drainage for effective processing of thousands of liters of beer.
- Quality floors that are resistant to wear and tear and can withstand the high acidity of spilled beer.
5. Take out insurance
Like any other business, your brewery or microbrewery should be covered by various types of insurance. The different types of insurance you need to protect your brewery or microbrewery include:
- Equipment failure coverage.
- Coverage of product recalls.
- crime report.
- Market valuation coverage.
- work allowance.
Time to start brewing!
Building your first brewery business plan takes a lot of time. However, this process is necessary so that you can decide if you want to turn your passion into a business that sells beer that people love.
Once your business is up and running, Try Deputy to take care of all your scheduling, tasking, time tracking, and internal communications needs. To learn more about workforce management software and how it can benefit your business, click the button below to start your free trial:
Important note
The information in this article is of a general nature and you should consider whether the information meets your needs. Legal and other matters referred to in this article are of a general nature only and are based on the alternate's interpretation of applicable law and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice. Deputy is not responsible for the content of any third-party websites that may be linked from this article, and we make no warranty as to the suitability, accuracy, or timeliness of the content of any website that may be linked from this article. Deputy disclaims all liability (other than liability which cannot be excluded by law) for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions in the information contained in this article, or for any loss or damage suffered directly or indirectly from anyone's reliance on this information.
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