How To Start Your Own Microbrewery: A 5-Step Guide
Working at a brewery was formerly virtually difficult and unreachable unless you were ready to risk your goals and travel to Dublin, Prague, or another beer brewing city in the hopes of being offered a shot by one of the industry’s titans. Nowadays, beer-related occupations are considerably simpler to come by, and if you would like to work in a brewery, why not start one yourself?
Even if you’re ready to launch a microbrewery, you’re bound to have questions. Here are the five steps you must follow to start your own microbrewery.
What Exactly Is A Microbrewery?
A microbrewery, as the name implies, is a small brewery that often specializes in a limited number of brews and craft beers. Unlike major breweries that focus on mass production, microbreweries focus on the whole craft of their goods.
Beers from these micro brewers are typically designed to have a special flavor or to be produced in a certain way to make it significantly different from the normal pull-a-pint, not least in their labels and packaging, which is frequently inventive or controversial. While manufacturing only small quantities of craft beer may have appeared like a guaranteed way to fail a few decades earlier, the millennial market has made it a crucial selling point for many.
Make A Business Strategy
Undoubtedly, even the most interesting microbreweries must begin with the creation of a business plan. Establishing a microbrewery and becoming your own boss may be one of the most exciting professional routes you’ve ever walked, but every journey requires a map, and your strategic planning is that map. An effective microbrewery business plan should have the following elements:
- Summary of the company;
- Description of your product/market analysis;
- Detailed analysis of the competition;
- The product line;
- Strategy for sales;
- Management strategy;
- Money considerations.
Sort Out Your Legal Responsibilities
When making big decisions, such as launching a business, we always recommend consulting with an expert legal adviser. Nevertheless, there are a few things to consider in this regard.
Whenever it comes to selling alcohol, each state has its own set of rules, and you’ll need to be sure you’re following all of them. Here are just a few of the laws you’ll need to be aware of before starting your business:
- Beer duty refers to all commercially manufactured beer with a level of 1.2% of alcohol or more; to sell it, you must register as a manufacturer and become state-certified. Microbrewers can benefit from lower charges owing to the Small Breweries Relief scheme, so check into how you can make use of this.
- If you want to offer beer straight to the people as part of a tap room, a premises permit will be necessary, and individual licenses will be required for the workers who will be serving it.
- You will need planning clearance to begin construction on a brewery; you cannot simply install your brewing setup at any location.
Determine Your Expenses
You’ll need to do this for your business plan, so be sure you’ve thoroughly considered the financial investments required to get your venture off the ground. You should seek an independent financial counselor for appropriate advice. However, included below are some of the fees to consider when starting. Brewery startup expenses may include but are not limited to location, marketing, equipment, interior design, and labor.
A Microbrewery’s Initial Equipment
The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune on the best equipment on this list when you’re just starting. You may get many of these goods secondhand and at lower rates than new ones if you search online.
- Malt milling;
- Mash tun;
- Technology for filtration;
- Exchanger of heat;
- Fermenter for beer;
- Hydrometer;
- Brite tank;
- Pumps;
- Valves;
- Cellar accessories;
- Dispensing apparatus;
- Kegs;
- Brewhouse.
Find The Perfect Location
Breweries are often located in places with the largest available space for manufacturing; however, this is not the case with microbreweries. In reality, the nearer you are to the crowd, the greater your chances are.
If you want to have a bar as part of your brewing company, you’ll need to attract customers, but even if you plan to be a closed brewery, you’ll want to be near the bars that will be your sell your beer, and most craft-beer-championing establishments are in the trendiest districts.
Even if you discover a fantastic location near a lively center of bars, you’ll have to keep planning approval in mind. It’s off-limits if you don’t have the authorization to build a brewery there.
Final Words
If you follow this guide, you’ll have all the tools needed to start your own microbrewery. It might be an intimidating prospect, but if it does end up working out for you, it could easily turn into a business venture that will last for years to come.
