Brewery Construction Steps to System Construction Brewery Construction Guide The following is a step-by-step guide to the construction of a complete home brewery system. Designed with burner heat shielding and built-in plumbing for mash, cooling and cleaning water re-circulation. The guide includes plans for both an immersion chiller and my own counter-flow heat exchanger design. The pump is setup for quick replacement.
The electrical plan has been designed to allow the heater to activate only when the pump is operating and includes an optional manual backup in the event of heating control system failure.
If you are into home brewing then you have likely heard of ' created and run by a fellow named Kal. If you haven't then get over there and read up. This is the best homebrew setup out there, well thought out, well designed and effectively open source. It uses electric hot water heater elements, a three-kettle two-pump setup, and a process control panel to bring your home brewing to a new level of awesome and easy. Kal has designed a top-notch, no-compromises system that is safe, enjoyable and easy to use.
However, it is expensive. Also, Kal is an engineer by training, and as a fellow engineer I cannot possibly leave well enough alone and must change his design. This is job security which is bred into all engineering types.
You can substitute fittings and pots and pumps to reduce system cost, but the heart of the 'Electric Brewery' system and one of the costliest is the control panel. Here I will show you how I redesigned Kal's control panel with cost in mind, bringing the cost down from around $1500 to $250 without compromising safety and with only a few compromises in function. I can attest to the fact that this control panel works and makes great beer. If that sounds good to you, then read on! Step 1: Bill of Materials.
The key to designing this kind of control system on the cheap is flexibility and availability. If you stick to the recipe strictly you may find that you cannot source the specified part locally or economically. Also, depending on your system you may be able to substitute a lower cost lesser performing part safely.
So here I am going to present the parts that I used and you can use them as a guide for sourcing your own. In some cases the parts are from the internet and anyone can get them while others are local surplus and you might need to sub. I'll go into detail on what you should look for when choosing parts as needed.
A number of features are eliminated from the control panel presented here as compared to the one designed on the Electric Brewery. The purpose being to simplify the design and reduce cost. The cheap design eliminates the safe start interlock, the alarm buzzer, the alarm light, the alarm reset button, the power on light, the voltage panel meter, the current panel meter, the process timer, the alarm selectors, the pump lights, and the metal enclosure.
None of these changes significantly impact system safety but substantially reduce component count and wiring complexity. That said, a number of additional system changes could be made to further reduce cost. For example, in actual operation, the only temperature of consequence is the HLT (hot liquor tank) temperature. Similarly, this is the only temperature that requires control. As a result we can eliminate the temperature probes, the XLR sockets, the PID controllers for the mash tun and boil kettle. The boil kettle will still need some control to allow increasing or decreasing heat input. This can be accomplished with a basic PWM (pulse width modulation) circuit that is adjustable in duty cycle via a simple potentiometer.
This would directly drive the boil SSR. Step 3: PID Modifications. The selected PID controllers are quite inexpensive but they do not have the correct output to drive the SSR. As purchased the PID will have a relay output meaning that a signal generated by the PID will energize the coil on a 120VAC relay while we want to activate the SSR with a DC voltage. The good news is that the signal generated by the PID to energize the relay coil is a 12VDC signal and we can simply route that 12VDC signal out of the PID to directly drive the SSR. See the attached photos for details.
The first step is to open the case which is fairly easy, the front bezel and PCBs slide out once you depress the locking tab. Next locate the output relay using the connection diagram printed on the outside of the case or the user manual. Then desolder the 120VAC relay.
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Lastly we shunt the 12VDC trace to the output lugs so that we can access this signal outside of the housing. We then wire the output terminals on the PID to the SSR as if the PID was always SSR compatible. One final note is that you will need to configure the PID controller to reduce the cycle time to around 2 seconds which is often the minimum on relay output PIDs since rapid cycling of the mechanical relay will quickly cause it to fail.
Having removed the mechanical relay and now driving an SSR with no moving parts we want the system to respond more rapidly. If you select an alternate PID, you need to ensure your can drive the SSR or modify the controller to drive the SSR. Step 4: Component Substitutions. The following are guidelines when selecting components: Burner Lights: The burner lights illuminate when the SSR and contacting relay are active.
Meaning that the burner select switch is enabled to either the HLT or Boil and the PID controller is energizing the SSR. When this happens, the lights will have 240VAC across them so you need a light rated for 240VAC and they will illuminate.
A 120VAC light will draw twice its design current and burn out quickly. Neon, incandescent, and LED lights for this duty are available. I recommend you head to your nearest electronics surplus store or pull from salvage equipment. Nothing fancy is needed.
You could eliminate these but since it is handy to know when the big heaters are being made hot the lights are a nice to have. Keyswitch: A keyed switch isn't really needed, but it adds a cool factor especially if you need to turn two keys in unison to arm the system. Also a keyed switch will keep random passers-by from firing up your brewery, as long as you hide the keys somewhere. If you hide the keys somewhere you are sure to forget where you put them because hey, we're brewing beer here and you can't brew beer without making room in kegs for that beer by drinking beer. Make sure you have a second key made. Any keyswitch rated for 120VAC will work. No real current handling capacity is needed since the keyswitch just enables the main relay.
Burner enable switch: The important spec on this switch is that it have an off and two separate on states and be rated for 120VAC. An on-off-on toggle is a good cheap choice and is what I used.
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Download cheat gta san andreas pc tamat 100 no misi. Heater element receptacles: You will need to be sure that the plugs on the end of your heater element wires are compatible with the receptacles you have on your control panel but as long as everything is rated for 240VAC and 30A you can choose what you like. I went with locking receptacles to prevent pull out, but those are a little pricey. As you can see from the pictures I used 4-wire plugs and receptacles but only 3-wire is needed (2 hots and a ground). However I had the 4-wire parts lying around so. PIDs: Go for it. You can do it.
If you find a cheaper PID or have some sitting around you can likely mod them to work. SSR output preferred. The specifics will be up to you, feel the burn. Pump Switch: All you need is on-off and capable of handling the voltage and current of the pumps. The pumps are not a big load nominally but since they are motors their start up current can be large. So oversize the switches here. Rate them the same as your pump receptacles for peace of mind.
120VAC and 15A on-off toggles are not that expensive. Pump outlet receptacles: Just use whatever household 120VAC 15A double outlet you have sitting around. Failing that, buy the cheapest at your local big box store. Nothing fancy here.
Temperature probe sockets: Use a socket that matches the cables on your temperature probes. Anything will work, no current capacity or special voltage requirements needed. XLR is used here to match the probes specified by Kal at Step 5: Designing the Enclosure. The pictured control panel uses laser-cut 1/8' plywood as the primary construction material. Holes for the PID controllers, the switches, lights, plugs, receptacles, and other penetrations are also cut with the laser. The laser-cut pieces comprise the front, top and bottom of the housing, with scrap plywood screwed to an internal frame to form the sides and back.
The sides and back are thicker wood and are screwed together such that they form one U-shaped piece and the frame with laser-cut panels form the main piece that slides into the sides and back. See the exploded CAD view. Screws hold the two halves together and allow the box to be disassembled in the event that additional changes, repairs or work needs to be performed on the electronics within. The thicker sides and back are cut slightly larger than the laser-cut panels and frame to allow overhang to somewhat protect the thinner wood panels from damage. You will need to modify the attached laser cut files (PDFs) to match the components you choose.
Particularly, the cutouts for the lights, switches, and receptacles may need to be changed. The final step is to wire everything up. This is where attention to detail, a steady hand, and a ready supply of curse words can come in handy. Make sure everything is unpowered when you are wiring, be safe, and understand what you are doing. Releasing the magic smoke from inside electronic components is not a good way to reduce system cost.
A lot of the wire in the control panel is heavy duty to carry large currents and is thus hard to work with. When using terminal strips you may find that it helps to tin the stripped ends of the wires.
Crimping on ring and spade lugs will be required so pick up a crimp tool when you buy your lugs. The attached pseudo-schematic gives you an idea of what you want to do.
In the schematic, thick fat wires are heavy duty 10 gauge for the 30A heaters. The rest are drawn with thin lines and can use smaller wire like 20 or 22 gauge since no appreciable current will be carried. However, the wires for the pump switches and outlets are drawn in medium weight because they should be 14 gauge since the outlets are rated to 15A and you may be plugging things into these outlets such as pumps, fans or the occasional vacuum cleaner that may draw a significant current.
The terminal strips were converted into 'Bus' strips by using short sections of solid copper wire that short the terminals together as you can see in the photo of the interior wiring. Be sure to use a heavy duty wire, in this case 10 gauge for the hot bus and might as well use 10 for the neutral bus. Another method to cut down on the number of wires running around your enclosure is to use the ring or spade terminals to accept more than one wire to allow you to avoid running a single wire for each need. In the case of the PID controllers you can see in the wiring photo that I've daisy chained the hot and neutral wires at the spade lugs to cut down on wires. Be sure to have a good single point ground for the heaters and the outlets.
If your enclosure is metal, ground it too. Also grounding the housings of metal components such as the key switch or the toggle switches is a good idea. Bring these grounds to a single point, which in my case was a bolt that I put all the ground ring terminals on and tightened them together. You can see this bolt in the lower right of the interior photo. Step 7: Final Thoughts.
One additional detail that is different than the is that the pictured setup uses a GFCI outlet rather than a copier cord with built in GFCI capability. More accurately, the pictured setup uses a 240VAC 30A GFCI breaker installed at the service panel to make the 4-wire dryer outlet that the control panel dryer cord plugs into GFCI safe. This GFCI breaker is an expensive item but vital to making the whole brewery safe. Do not skimp on this!
Be sure to double check all your wiring before powering up the system. When everything is checked and double checked, you should leave the control panel unplugged from the wall but plug all the components such as the heaters and pumps and temperature probes into the control panel and check to be sure that your kettles and other items are not accidentally shorted to the hot or neutral leads with a multimeter. With that checked, you can arm the system and do some testing and then some brewing.
Complete Guide Building Your Home Brewery Pdf Files
Slowly collecting the parts and pieces to begin phase 1 of this build (BK control only). Wondering about the wood enclosure. Seemed reasonable to me, but have been seeing conflicting opinions about safety.
Considering your rig looks worn and you're still answering questions about this post, I'd have to guess you have had no heat/fire/carstrophic failure issues. Any comments about your experience with heat generation of the SSRs and damage/impact to the wood enclosure?
Great post and guide! The wood enclosure does soak up spills and splatter, so gets more worn with use but otherwise has been fine. Keep it clear of the messy processes and you should be ok, it certainly isn't water tight. In terms of safety, definitely a good GFI breaker is needed with proper grounding where applicable.
Never had a problem myself. Also, the heatsinks for the SSRs are outside the wood case and never get very hot in my experience.
The failure mode we've had is with the PID controllers. All the original units have failed and we are now using a better quality unit only on the HLT with a simple PWM controller on the boil. Great, thanks for the info. I opted to just go with Auber's SSR regulator as I'm just an extract brewer at the moment. Building your enclosure so that I can expand at a later date. My last question relates to the SSR/heat sink mounting.
The heat sink I have is basically the same dimensions as the SSR; maybe a 1/16' excess on the long sides of the SSR. Curious to know how yours are mounted. I see the mounting holes on either end of the SSR cut out; does your sink or SSR have 'ears' to use for the mounting screws? My current plan is to get a thin piece of copper sheet and make a plate to sandwich between the two pieces and leave it long and use that excess to tap some holes for mounting screws. There's a lot in there; hope it makes some sense. Thanks again.
First off, this is so awesome. I've sourced most my parts, just waiting on the PIDs to get here. I'm doing a HERMS as well, and I see beerrab's issue. In need 1 PID and SSR for the Boil kettle. I need to keep the HLT at a certain temperature, with another PID and SSR. Then you have the Mash PID, according to the diagram and the part list, there isn't an SSR for it.
It's just sitting there in the diagram, relaying the temperature of the Mash. So, if I'm reading this right, if I added 1 more (for a total of 3 SSRs) I could wire the SSR output to the hot leg of the 120V pump outlet.
Does that sound right? What kind of SSR would I get since it's powering just a 120 pump? Do I need to go through a relay for that or can I go directly from this new SSR to the hot leg of pump? Thanks so much. My opinion is that you don't need to control the mash pump.
You want as much recirc as you can get through the mash, and as you correctly state the mash will not exceed the HLT temp. I just leave the mash pump on and meter it down with a valve to prevent pulling too hard on the filter bed. The temp of the mash is shown to inform you when the mash has reached the temp desired as the settling time is much longer than that of the HLT. Meaning that if the HLT has just reached 77C the mash may take an additional 20-30 minutes to stabilize depending on the mash volume and pump flow rate. In practice, my HLT PID failed recently and I swapped in the mash PID rather than buy another so I only have display of the HLT temperature.
I just give a cushion to all brew times to allow the mash to reach temperature after the HLT has. I was wondering what components would have to be switched out, and what to replace them with if I wanted to go with a 50amp service from my range top.
I live in an apartment and don't have a dryer outlet. Is it as simple as switching out all the parts here that are rated for 30amp for those rated at 50amp? This would also allow me to use two elements at the same time.
Would I end up having to wire it differently to operate both elements at the same time? If you have time to address these questions it would be much appreciated. Unless you plan to brew very large batches (two elements in one big kettle) or two batches back to back, meaning you will be boiling one while mashing another, I don't think there is much utility in going to 50A.
If you have a 50 amp service in your apartment for the electric range, just change out the plug on the brewery controller to match whatever you have for your range and build the rest of the system as shown. Realtek ac 97 audio driver download windows 7. I wouldn't try it at all unless the breaker for the range is GFCI.
To answer your question though, you would have to change the system significantly to operate both elements at once. The on-off-on setup currently specced does not allow both to be on and a pair of independent toggles would be needed along with changing out the main contactor and all shared wiring to handle 50A. Not too difficult but if it isn't clear to you then probably not something you want to jump into. I built a 50 amp setup (2 4500 watt elements) and don't do back to back batches or batches greater than 10 gallons. What I like about it is that it lets me get my brew session going much more quickly.
I can heat up the mash water in the boil kettle while heating up the HLT at the same time. If I want to brew after work then I will fill the HTL and boil keggles to the right volume the night before and set the temperatures on the PIDs. When I get home from work I flip the switch, get changed, take the dog for a walk, and by the time I'm done with that I'm ready to pump the water from the boil kettle over to the mash tun and mash in. The only thing I wish I had done differently was put a 5500 watt element in the boil kettle, as my volumes are 6.5 gallons for sparge, while the mash requires 6.5 + grain absorption for mash, and the temperature needs to be significantly higher to account for heat losses to the grain and to the mash keggle.
I batch sparge, aiming for equal volumes from the batch and the sparge, so I get 13 into the boil kettle, 12 post boil, 11 into the fermenter, and 10 into 2 corny kegs. I don't worry about grain to water ratio, just aim to have 6.5 in the boil kettle after the mash, and it's worked for me. The cost of the control panel was only slightly more expensive (1 extra switch).
The real cost was that 6 gauge wire is expensive to run from the breaker to the outlet, and that I needed to use 3/4' conduit which is much more of a pain in the ass. On the flip side, it's an extra $60 for wire. 50 amp spa panels are cheaper than 30 amp CFGI breakers. Download novel 5 cm pdf full. If you're already going to these lengths then just bite the bullet. I prefer batch sparging anyway, that's why I do it, but if cost is a concern, I'd build a 50 amp setup with only one pump and batch sparge until I could afford to get a second pump for fly sparging. My beer tastes great and I get great efficiency, so I'll stick to batch sparging.
The setup only powers one element at a time. The on-off-on switch only allows one element relay to be energized at a time. Replacing the on-off-on switch with two independent toggle switches would allow both element relays to be on. However you would need to alter the internal wiring and components to handle the load of both elements being on at the same time.
A fault in the 30A system would still trip the 50A breaker, but not before potentially damaging the 30A components and wiring. With a 30A breaker and components specced for 30A, theoretically a fault would not result in damage (melted stuff). Trying to troubleshoot my build of this.
I checked the output of each heater receptacle. When the PID activates the SSR I get around 240 volts on each one. If the PID has not activated the SSR, I get just under 50 volts on one and around 75 volts on the other. As this is happening, the lights that indicate the heater receptacles are active are bright when the PID activates the SSR, and dim when not. So there is always some voltage unless the toggle switch if OFF. So this causes the heating coil to continually fire albeit at low voltage when the SSR is not activated. This causes the temperature to creep steadily past the set point.
Any ideas why? Did you ever get this resolved? Are you sure the heater is actually on/hot when the SSR is not enabled? SSR's, by their standard operation, will leak voltage across the AC terminals but not much current. I had the same issue you did, I was seeing almost the exact same voltages you were reading and a dim lit light.
The leak through current is likely enough to power a small light as it probably only requires milliamps to illuminate. I had a scrap desktop fan I wired in to simulate a load on the SSR and the voltage leak went away, there also wasn't enough current to turn the fan. So in short, as soon as there is a load on the SSR, you should get the correct readings. Thanks for your reply. I am scratching my head here.
I have wired the panel per your schematic. I used the relays you have listed, the PIDs and SSRs from Auberins that The Electric Brewery folks use as well as the LED lamps they use. Not sure how there is the low voltage when the PID turns the SSR off, and full, proper voltage when the SSR is on (the little red LED on the SSR is on too, only when the PID turns the SSR on.) So when the PID sees it hits the target temp, it turns the SSR off (red LED light on SSR goes off).
But measuring voltage in the heater receptacle reveals around 50 V on one and around 75 V on the other receptacle (SSR LED is not lit), which is why I the temperature continues to rise in the kettle, albeit slowly. When the toggle switch is in the OFF position, there is no voltage measured from either heater receptacle. Thanks for your help! It is much appreciated. Just to let you know, some of us are not engineers!;), some of us are electronix illiterates! So what does it mean here?
'Lastly we shunt the 12VDC trace to the output lugs so that we can access this signal outside of the housing. We then wire the output terminals on the PID to the SSR as if the PID was always SSR compatible.' It's a foreign language to me, although I'd like to be able to understand what you're getting.
Is there a possibility that a PID and SSR are available that I could use instead of trying to do something I know absolutely nothing about? I would just like to build a simple control box with a couple of switched 20A outlets, and a switched 240v 4500W temperature controlled heating element for the HLT.
The reason I want everything switched is in case of a malfunction - such as a hose slipping off the barb and spraying hot water all over creation! A great big thanks to jmengel and the folks out at the electric brewery for putting this instruct-able together. I made a hybrid of their two models and sprung for some extra bells and whistles but completed the project and its working fantastic. I elected to have a PID for the HLT and the MASH. The boil is controlled by a pot that runs an SSR.
I figured that that's all that is needed for the boil and the pot and SSR are only about 36.00 on Auber Instruments web page. I also purchased the housing for the control panel at that page and painted it hammered copper.
Again Kudos to jmengel and the electric brewery. I learned a ton about the properties of electricty. Its been a blast to put together.
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Planing Department: this is where you gotta go to make sure you can actually open up a brewery at your desired location. If not you’ll have to appeal to the government and get Conditional Use Permit. Department of Environmental Health: If you are going to have a tasting room you’ll have to deal with your local DEH. Make sure you get someone that knows what they are talking about. State Board of Equalization: You need to have a seller’s permit which is a local/county run deal.
Business License: A license to actually do business in your city. Building Permit: If you are doing any serious construction this will be needed. Sometimes even for smaller jobs too. State Government: Department of Health: if you are opening up a wholesale food processing facility, which is the category a microbrewery falls into, they will need to approve you facility. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board: This is the basic license application. We have a type-23 license. We have all the same rights as a type-01 license holder except the fee is considerably less.
Paperwork you’ll have to file: Personal Affidavit, Additional Affidavits, Personnel Questionnaire, Corporate Questionnaire (if you are an LLC/ Corp), Diagram of Brewing Facility, Zoning Paperwork, Consideration Point (i.e. Schools, churches, etc.), Residence (i.e. If you are close to non-commercial buildings), Signature Sheet (for LLC/Corp), and Tied-House Restriction Paperwork. All in all about 22 pages of paperwork. Excise Tax Division of BOE: An excise tax permit is required as well.
They require a bond as collateral. LLC or Corporate Articles of Incorporation: Done through a lawyer and usually a yearly fee associated with this as well ($800-1000 per year). IRS Employee ID Number: This is just to keep track of your business taxes. Easy to obtain, just a few pages of paperwork. I think it can be done through their website.: They require a collateral bond for taxes and you need to pay taxes on every barrel of beer you produce and sell.
Minimum of $1,000 bond is needed as collateral. Paperwork you’ll have to file: Brewer’s Notice, Brewer’s Bond, Personnel Questionnaire, Power of Attorney (for LLC/Corp.), Pay.Gov User Agreement, Environmental Information, Quarterly Excise Tax Payment Procedures Checklist, Supplimental Water Quality Information, Signing Authority (for LLC/Corp.), Legal Description of the Brewery, Description of Security, and a Diagram of the Facility. I hope this is insightful for anyone looking to get in the.
The Homebrewery Welcome traveler from an antique land. Please sit and tell us of what you have seen. The unheard of monsters, who slither and bite.
Tell us of the wondrous items and and artifacts you have found, their mysteries yet to be unlocked. Of the vexing vocations and surprising skills you have seen. Homebrew D&D made easy The Homebrewery makes the creation and sharing of authentic looking Fifth-Edition homebrews easy.
It uses with a little CSS magic to make your brews come to life. Simply edit the text on the left and watch it update live on the right. Editing and Sharing When you create your own homebrew you will be given a edit url and a share url. Any changes you make will be automatically saved to the database within a few seconds. Anyone with the edit url will be able to make edits to your homebrew.
So be careful about who you share it with. Anyone with the share url will be able to access a read-only version of your homebrew.
Helping out Like this tool? Want to buy me a beer?
To help me keep the servers running. This tool will always be free, never have ads, and I will never offer any 'premium' features or whatever.
PDF Exporting PDF Printing works best in Chrome. If you are having quality/consistency issues, try using Chrome to print instead. After clicking the 'Print' item in the navbar a new page will open and a print dialog will pop-up.
Set the Destination to 'Save as PDF'. Set Paper Size to 'Letter'. If you are printing on A4 paper, make sure to have the 'A4 page size snippet' in your brew. In Options make sure 'Background Images' is selected.
Hit print and enjoy! If you want to save ink or have a monochrome printer, add the Ink Friendly snippet to your brew before you print Big things coming in v3.0.0 With the next major release of Homebrewery, v3.0.0, this tool will no longer support raw HTML input for brew code. All brews made previous to the release of v3.0.0 will still render normally. New Things All The Time!
What's new in the latest update? Check out the full changelog Bugs, Issues, Suggestions? Have an idea of how to make The Homebrewery better?
Or did you find something that wasn't quite right? Head and let me know! Legal Junk The Homebrewery is licensed using the. Which means you are free to use The Homebrewery is any way that you want, except for claiming that you made it yourself. If you wish to sell or in some way gain profit for what's created on this site, it's your responsibility to ensure you have the proper licenses/rights for any images or resources used.
More Resources If you are looking for more 5e Homebrew resources check out and their list of useful resources. Appendix Not quite Markdown Although the Homebrewery uses Markdown, to get all the styling features from the PHB, we had to get a little creative. Some base HTML elements are not used as expected and I've had to include a few new keywords. Horizontal Rules are generally used to modify existing elements into a different style.
For example, a horizontal rule before a blockquote will give it the style of a Monster Stat Block instead of a note. New Pages are controlled by the author. It's impossible for the site to detect when the end of a page is reached, so indicate you'd like to start a new page, use the new page snippet to get the syntax. Code Blocks are used only to indicate column breaks. Since they don't allow for styling within them, they weren't that useful to use. HTML can be used to get just the right look for your homebrew.
I've included some examples in the snippet icons above the editor. Images Images must be hosted online somewhere, like imgur.
You use the address to that image to reference it in your brew. Images can be included 'inline' with the text using Markdown-style images. However for background images more control is needed. Background images should be included as HTML-style img tags. Using inline CSS you can precisely position your image where you'd like it to be. I have added both a inflow image snippet and a background image snippet to give you exmaples of how to do it. Crediting Me If you'd like to credit The Homebrewery in your brew, I'd be flattered!
Just reference that you made it with The Homebrewery.
As of November 2015, there were 4,144 breweries in the U.S.—more than the historic high of 4,131 breweries in 1873,. In such a crowded market, making good beer and opening the doors isn’t enough anymore. But, the good news is, if all these people could start a brewery, then you can too—as long as you know what you’re getting into and have a for your brewery. From running coolant pipes to navigating regulations, starting a brewery is no easy task.
It’s a messy, convoluted job full of twists, turns, delays, setbacks, and surprises—but it’s also one heck of a ride. In this guide to starting a brewery, we’re going to talk with brewers who’ve been-there-done-that, and we’ll get insights from experts in supporting industries such as insurance and finance, as well as discuss regulatory issues. While it may be your dream to brew great beer, this guide will help you identify the aspects of the business side of the process that you have to get right, in order to make it possible for you to brew your dream beer day in and day out. This guide will cover the seven essential steps to starting a brewery:. Step 1: Planning a brewery No matter its size or age, every brewery was once a startup.
For Dan Hughes, Director of Operations at startup brewery, he and his brother have been hard at work on business development and recipe formulation, navigating bureaucracy, and enduring the inevitable delays that come with brewery construction, equipment delivery, and regulatory approval. Nonetheless, their 10-barrel brewery came online in December 2015, and they began pouring beer locally and in their tasting room in early 2016. “We began to get serious about starting our brewery four years ago, and we were still working out details as we prepared to open our doors,” says Dan, discussing the process of starting a microbrewery. While working out additional details as they worked every day to bring their vision to reality, the Hughes brothers also developed a solid plan and built a core team.
Backed by a team of private local investors, ColdFire gained access to additional. The ColdFire Brewing team In addition to Dan Hughes heading up operations, his brother Stephen is head brewer, and they have a director of finance and a brand director.
Having a key financial person in place has aided cash flow and monitoring of financial status and needs, says Dan Hughes. By focusing on branding even before construction had begun on the brewery, ColdFire has been building a local following through social media and building buzz for their grand opening. Dan Hughes offers this advice for others looking into starting a brewery: 1.
The most important detail is defining a clear vision. “We know what kind of brewery we want to create and we have tried to let that vision drive all of our decisions.” 2. There has to be a commitment to the craft. “We find this opportunity to open a brewery a privilege, and we certainly aren’t doing this for the money.
In fact, we’re taking a significant pay cut to have the privilege to open a brewery. We do so with a vision toward creating a quality brewery that honors the traditions of those that have gone before us.” 3. Every relationship is important. “When you build a few good relationships, suddenly they open the door for more relationships, and that pattern has only continued to hold true. Our bank had heard of us before we ever met them, and our landlord had been approached by other breweries in the past. Fortunately we have always found it important to treat people well and listen to good people who have good advice.
That has ended up serving us well.” 4. Every license and regulation has been a challenge.
“They take time—so much time—to file, follow through, and gain approval. Having been planning this for so long, we kind of knew what we were getting into and have thus far been able to get through most of these challenges to-date. But they all take so much time. With that said, the federal license, or permit, was the longest and most arduous. The more complex the operating structure of a business, the more information and time required.”. See Also: Free sample brewery plans Download one of our free sample brewery plans to learn more about formatting a business plan for a brewery. Sedibeng Breweries is a medium-scale brewery located in the growing industrial center of Selebi Phikwe, Botswana. Initial plans are to produce three main lines of beer. These products will be distributed to remote, yet extremely viable areas where the market is appreciative of readily-available, good-quality brew.
Located in Medford, Oregon, Martin Cove Brewing Company has been a successful microbrewery for the past three years. This year, Martin Cove Brewing Company, will gross $520,000 in sales. With this money, they plan to expand its distribution to selected metro areas within the state of Oregon. In addition, they will introduce a new product, a traditional German Marzen style lager. Step 2: Finding a brewery location From land use to public taste, where you plan on opening a brewery will present you with crucial decisions. Generally, brewers want to set up shop in their own backyard.
When it comes to where you plan on opening a brewery, here are some questions to consider:. What are the relevant local and state laws affecting breweries? (And there will be plenty—brewing is one of the most regulated industries in the country.). Where in your area will you find land or a building with the right zoning, size, facilities, and access for bringing in raw materials, attracting customers, and/or shipping out finished beer for distribution?. What local favorites will you need on tap to appeal to the market, and where can you innovate to stand out?. Will you only brew ales, or will you also make space for lagers, a barrel-aging program, and so on?. What type of brewery will you be: production brewery or brewpub?.
How wide do you want to grow production and distribution, or do you want to focus on selling over your own bar?. Do you want to scale to multiple locations?. What construction will be needed to get the doors open on your first location? All these questions and more will influence the right space for your brewery.
However, the main thing is to start with the right space—and one that will be bigger than what you think you will need, says Jason Jordan of. “I cannot tell you how many brewers I have talked to in year two to three in business,” he says, “and they all said their biggest regret was not getting a bigger space that they could grow into.” However, brewers also need to be willing to take a hard look at where they want to locate and do their homework to make sure they can establish a successful brewery there. When it comes to starting a microbrewery, word of mouth is no substitute for market research, says Ben Price, co-founder of, a small brewpub in its second year of operation. “The single biggest mistake I have made was locating my business in a town that could not care less about craft beer,” says Ben. He recommends brewers use data firms such as to see where and how people spend their money in an area.
“You’re looking for a number of 70 precent or more within five miles of the zip code you desire,” says Ben. “I made the mistake of trusting word of mouth. You want locally oriented people, people who want a good product, made local.”. Tending the Step 3: Choosing brewery equipment Your initial system will likely be seven to 15 barrels. A new system might be subject to delays, especially if demand from other breweries is high, but you’ll be able to design to your needs and specifications, and you’ll have support when issues arise (and they will).
A used system might be through the door quicker and might save you money up front, but make sure you’ve thoroughly reviewed the system and seller—and remember that when you have problems, you’ll likely be on your own to fix them. “You’ll probably start with a seven-barrel system, spend anywhere between $130,000-$175,000 new,” says Patrick McCarthy, who works in the financial sector and aids breweries with capital and business planning. “Used systems are almost as expensive, so you’re really not saving anything, but you might get it sooner than ordering new. Some folks cut corners by ordering equipment made offshore.
Many brewers avoid that due to perceived qualitative differences.” began in 2006 on a 15-barrel system and produced 1,650 barrels., in 2014 Ninkasi was the thirty-sixth largest brewery in the U.S., and the fourth largest in its home state of Oregon, after powerhouse brands such as Deschutes, Rogue, and Full Sail. Co-founders Jamie Floyd and Nikos Ridge leased their startup system from a family running a German restaurant out of a former brewpub. While brewing and self-distributing their beer, Floyd and Ridge purchased property where they could relocate and expand operations. They moved into their current location with a 20-bbl brew system, three 60-bbl fermenters, and one 20-bbl fermenter.
A year later they replaced the 20-bbl brew system with a 30-bbl system, followed by another expansion a year and a half later to 50 barrels. Today they use an 80-100-bbl brew system, but the 50-bbl is still online for special brewing projects and research-and-development beers. In 2015, Ninkasi brewed 105,000 barrels. “We continually made beer while switching out new systems and adding capacity and infrastructure. One of our greatest strengths was our ability to work around the construction we were doing.” “We continually planned for growth and capacity, catching up the entire first seven years of being open,” says Jamie.
“In a way it’s easy to build out in this way, as you always need something, so it becomes more about the funding and the logistics. We continually made beer while switching out new systems and adding capacity and infrastructure. One of our greatest strengths was our ability to work around the construction we were doing. Now we are growing based on the projections our wholesale partners give us annually in sales. We have lots of extra infrastructure now and can grow capacity when it is warranted.”. Today, has some serious brewing facilities. Step 4: Building relationships with vendors and the local community Starting a microbrewery and brewing great beer is not a solo endeavor.
It is a constantly coordinated, ongoing set of relationships with customers, government officials, craftspeople, and your internal people. “The number one piece of advice I give new brewery clients that are in startup stages is to engage your main business vendors early on in the process and find the right people to serve your needs,” says Jason Jordan. “You need trusted advisors that are proven in the beverage industry and have a decent portfolio of brewery clients. This would be the architect, business lawyer, intellectual property attorney, banker, insurance broker, real estate agent, label maker, hop grower, malt supplier, tank fabricator, and accountant.”.
See Also: Relationships and keeping an ear to the ground are key not only to establishing your brewery, but in how and when you grow. Jason Carriere, owner of and co-founder of, has gone through many twists and turns since Falling Sky opened its first Eugene, Oregon brewpub location in 2012. Since then they’ve opened a second location, a pourhouse that focuses on food production. A third location, a pub and pizzeria, is scheduled to open on the University of Oregon campus in 2016. “I’d been running the homebrew shop for a while,” says Jason. “I’d already seen several of my best employees move on to become brewers around town, so I thought I’d look seriously at making that expansion ourselves, keep the team together, make it so homebrewers who worked at the shop could have a way internally to go pro.”. The new even opens up onto a garden.
In their first year of production, Falling Sky produced 800 barrels, and they produced 1,300 in 2015—and that’s while getting underway on construction for their third location, moving the homebrew shop, and expanding their current brewhouse. In 2011, Falling Sky employed 20-25 people in the restaurant, brewery, and homebrew shop, and in 2015 that had grown to 45-55 employees.
Jason believes strongly in “knowing who your customers are and what they want,” balanced with skill and consistent craftsmanship instead of novelty. “I’m not a big believer in recipes, or special combinations of hops no one has thought of,” he explains. “Breweries don’t really win customers with one beer, but they can lose customers with one beer.” “Breweries don’t really win customers with one beer, but they can lose customers with one beer.” When it comes to growth, Jason advises a thorough understanding of the brewery’s production numbers and financials, balanced with an on-the-ground understanding of daily operations. That then informs your instincts and intuition. And all this must be tied together with ongoing communications with staff, business partners, vendors, and other key people affecting your business. “You wouldn’t want to expand if your brewery is at 60 percent capacity and you have empty tanks sitting around,” Jason says. “You also have to have your pulse in the community and the industry to know whether or not you’re saturating certain things, or if you hear about people wanting your beer but not getting it.
But it’s all about how we’re going to expand. Just because someone in a market wants your beer, doesn’t mean it’s part of your strategy.”. See Also: You also have to be aware of opportunities that arise, though, even if it’s unexpected—and that brings intuition, opportunity, and relationships back in play. “We had no five-year plan to open a third restaurant, but when we got approached by the University of Oregon, we listened,” says Jason. “It was one of those things where we didn’t really want to expand, but it was far enough in the future that we could plan it through without a rush.
Our second location was more rushed. We were busting at the seams at the brewpub, especially with the kitchen, so the deli expansion was more to let the pub do more of what it needed to do again. The second location had the bigger kitchen, cold storage, etc., to handle making fries and ketchup.
It was a combination of good opportunity and vision.” But that doesn’t mean it was easy. “It was scary, I’m not gonna lie,” says Jason. “When we first did the deli, it looked like a very bad idea for a few months. But it turned around.” Jason and his team are not prone to regrets or second-guessing. Not that everything has always been easy or rosy, but he credits solid planning and teamwork with being able to make key moves without looking back and wondering. For Falling Sky, that includes a strategic decision to focus on location sales instead of wider distribution. “I’m not a big second-guesser.
When I make a decision, it’s because I feel confident about that decision, and I’ve thought through the consequences and I’ve come to terms with the consequences of choosing one option over another,” says Jason. “I’m confident in our decision to focus on selling beer over our bar versus the shelf wars and SKU wars.” Step 5: Funding a brewery Sure, at its heart beer is made from water, malt, yeast, and hops—but there’s an invisible yet crucial fifth ingredient: money. “You’ll need sufficient funding to get the doors open, but also enough reserves to ensure cash flow until your beer flow brings the finances into the black.” Raising capital for any business startup can be a difficult process, and breweries are no exception. In his various roles in the financial industry, Patrick McCarthy has most recently worked as Vice President Commercial Relationship Manager with, which has 35 companies from the craft beverage industry as customers.
Over the years institutions he’s worked with have directly banked six breweries, a cidery, and a kombucha producer, and Patrick has also advised dozens of startup breweries, from reviewing business plans to helping prospective brewers network with key people. Patrick sees his role not just as analyzing a business plan or crunching numbers.
“You want to be helpful and move the whole business along,” he says. “If a business comes into the bank that’s wonderful, but at the least you’ve made some friends.” Here is Patrick’s overall advice for startups to make sure they’re not only brewing quality beer, but keeping solid books: Banks are not consistent sources of startup capital A new brewery is probably not going to a bank for a startup loan (banks usually come into play for capital to fund growth once a brewery is more established). Friends and family are the most common backers, and many startups bootstrap. Some cities, such as Portland, OR, also have what Patrick calls “beer angels,” private individuals who understand the beer business and invest in select breweries and cideries. Can also be a good avenue, but “bank to bank the SBA program is used differently,” says Patrick.
“Some bankers have a great deal of interest, knowledge, and depth, and can be a champion for a startup brewery via an SBA loan. But a lot of banks look at breweries as restaurants and avoid them, or want to see them in business three to four years before they invest.” When Patrick looks at a startup, here are some of the things he looks for to inform his sense of the brewery’s chance of success:. Do they know how to make good beer?
Have they made good beer elsewhere?. What is their brewing experience? If someone’s been a garage brewer for five years, that’s different from someone who’s been brewing at an established brewery for the past 15 years. Do they have good credit?
If not, why not?. How much skin do they have in the game financially? Will they be able to handle delays?
Do they have access to contingency capital? There’s no one model—or one business plan—for breweries Each brewery will have its own unique model and plan. Before opening a brewery, prospective brewers have to figure out the right business model for their plans, location, interests, startup resources, and long-term vision. Typical models include taphouses, production breweries, and full brewpubs. There’s also a new phenomenon called an “alternating proprietorship,” says Patrick, where brewers brew part-time on someone else’s system. “Merely making good beer isn’t enough anymore.
There’s way too much good beer out there to stand out immediately.” Within any model, there are things breweries can focus on to stand out and increase revenue. “Some brewers emphasize food in part because the food dollar can translate into more dollars profit for beer,” says Patrick. “Managing your own distribution is ideal. There are overhead tradeoffs, but I’m seeing it more and more.” Exports are becoming another component, he observes, with international markets such as Japan becoming thirstier and thirstier for American craft beer. “Everyone’s trying to find what they can afford, what works,” he explains.
“Merely making good beer isn’t enough anymore. There’s way too much good beer out there to stand out immediately.” Cash must be available to cover costs and offset delays On an industry-wide basis, for small to medium-sized breweries, the ratio between sales and fixed assets is typically for every $6 of sales, a brewery has $1 of fixed assets. A startup brewery’s biggest costs tend to be the brewing system (e.g., $130,000–$175,000 for a new seven-barrel system) and tenant improvements to property (which in Patrick’s experience in Oregon, including Portland markets, has typically ranged $200,000–$350,000). “It’s expensive to alter a commercial space that doesn’t have drains, certain water lines, the required electrical, ventilation, etc.,” he explains. “Many also put in a back bar, seating, etc.” Costs vary by scope, location, and market. “Problems with licensing or permitting with the city that cause delay of opening can be extremely expensive,” says Patrick.
“Every day they can’t pour their own beer is catastrophic financially. That’s the biggest risk I’ve seen in startup stages: timing.” Delays are a reality in startup breweries. Brew system fabrication and delivery can take longer than the agreed timetable. Regulatory or permit approvals can drag on for months.
Construction can hit unexpected snags. Make sure your financial reserves can handle delays and extra costs. “Seasonality matters too,” explains Patrick. “You want to have the doors open when beer-drinking season gets started. Winter months are usually the slowest for a brewery. You want to be open by April or May. Ideally, that’s not always in your control due to startup delays, but starting with April to May you want to operate during those busier months.” Treat your accounting with as much respect as your brewing “I’ve passed on a brewer that didn’t respect the accounting process,” says Patrick.
“The brewers are focused on their first love, which is making delicious beer. Accounting isn’t necessarily the top and foremost in everyone’s mind, but in this situation, it was irresponsibly ignored. You can’t let the accounting take a distant back seat.” Just as quality control is essential for good beer, you have to make sure the books are balanced and the financials are being tracked well. “Accounting keeps you out of trouble,” says Patrick. “It helps you plan, helps you get return, and ultimately helps you generate revenue.” Metrics: Know your numbers Okay, so is important, but what do you need to track in order to understand the financial health of your brewery? Here are the numbers, metrics, and other indicators Patrick says brewers should monitor:.
Breweries should typically break even or generate a small profit by the first six to 12 months of operation. “They’re at least breaking even, but they’re not paying themselves much yet.”. Between 12-18 months, there should be a 10-15 percent bottom-line profitability. “If I’m used to seeing all models being profitable two years out by at least 10-15 percent,” says Patrick, “then if you’re not, I need to understand why or how you’re going to get there.”. Beyond that, examine year-round profitability on a quarterly basis, with a focus on being profitable annually, and at least breaking even quarterly. If food is part of the business, are food costs (food-cost-percent and food labor) being contained at 20-25 percent of food revenues?.
Are you at capacity or will you be at capacity soon? What do you need for equipment for the next six months to keep up with demand?. What is your financial liquidity, especially at the end of each quarter and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, given that winter is often a slower season?. What is your leverage, the ratio between total liabilities and net worth? “There’s no magic number,” says Patrick, “but the greater the leverage the greater the risk in the business model. If someone is exceeding three-to-one, two-to-one, I have to take a harder look at it. Sometimes that can be a fleeting ratio and adjusts.
If the leverage is pushed out, I need to understand why. Is it losses? Is it mismanagement?”. Is it time to scale? If the balance sheet is showing that you have $7-8 sales for every $1 assets (and $6 sales for every $1 assets is typical), Patrick says it’s time to examine scaling. As you find your stride in a profitable bottom line, you’ll also examine increasing efficiency. For example, as production volume increases, breweries typically purchase a grain silo.
“They can buy in bulk, easily cut grain expense by two-thirds,” says Patrick. “Grain silos tend to pencil out quickly. It’s an exciting step up.” The same thinking applies across the brewery. “At some point when you get larger, you’ve got more money to squeeze that remaining five percent profit out of your beer.” Step 6: Obtaining insurance before opening a brewery Breweries need various insurance, just like any other business. A brewery with a large employee roster and a fleet of self-distribution vehicles will have different needs from a three-person production-only startup. Find an insurance agent you can trust who preferably has experience working with breweries or wineries.
No, insurance is not as sexy as deciding which new “it” hop is going to be the feature of your new IPA, but if a brewery doesn’t keep current on their insurance needs, says Jason Jordan at Propel Insurance, then they are asking for trouble. Note: Insurance and bond requirements vary by state, locality, and type of brewery, so make sure you’re talking with your insurance agent for what’s right for your operation and where you’re planning on starting a brewery.
The biggest concern is the lease contract with the landlord, says Jordan. See Also: Step 7: Keeping regulations in mind when starting a brewery Of course, there are the laws and regulations—and brewing is a highly regulated industry.
Your brewery will need approvals and compliance with relevant local, state, and federal authorities, such as your state’s alcohol oversight organization and the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB. In Oregon, for example, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) mandates a producer carry a $300,000 limit for liquor liability. At the federal level, the TTB requires all new breweries that want to offer beer for sale to submit a Brewer’s Notice. The TTB has a outlining what you’ll need to do when starting a brewery to have the proper federal approvals. “No matter how much you think you know you will have more to learn,” says Jamie Floyd, co-founder of Ninkasi Brewing. “It changes and evolves and you have to know the people who are making the changes and you have to be ready to change as a company.
If the FDA decides we need to put nutritional info on our bottles you have to do it. It’s the law. You will have to figure it out and pay for it.” Jamie also recommends getting to know your legislators at all levels of government, and working with trade groups that try to update and influence state and federal policies related to the regulation and taxation of beer.
The growth of the industry is also leading to regulations being modified state to state, says Patrick, “if not to encourage craft beverages then to make it a more viable business model.” In the meantime, compliance is not necessarily easy or fast. “Some of it is more the tediousness of the paperwork. Make one small change, file everything over again,” says Jason Carriere, co-founder of Falling Sky Brewing. “TTB is known for a lack of timely responses. We submitted our application for the third expansion nearly two months ago, and we’re not even supposed to call and check status for ninety days. Then when you do call, you sit on hold for two hours to find out where your application is in someone’s stack.” Breweries also need the Brewer’s Notice. “That’s a brewery’s permission from the federal government to brew commercially,” says Jason.
“It involves taxes, a bond you have to pay that serves as insurance for paying beer taxes. You complete an environmental impact statement for water and environment.
It’s permission to make an alcoholic beverage and pay the taxes on it in the US.” While starting a brewery requires lots of dedication, capital, vision, and red-tape navigation, it is also a booming industry and brewers who have a solid plan and stay their course have a solid chance of success. “The numbers are proving themselves: Craft beverages are here to say,” says Patrick. “There’s bound to be a slowdown eventually, but there’s one to two breweries a day opening across the country. People want it, and if people want it, people will supply it.” And that someone could be you.
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