Would like to start-up a brewbup

[alvarezheidi]

I'm a student at NMSU. We have no bar on campus and attempts at getting one have failed. I have an idea to open a brewpub which offers internship employment to students (i.e. marketing, finance, chemists, engineers - everything that goes into running a successful business). I think the board of regents might accept this. Can you give me ideas on what to research, what I need for a successful business plan, etc. Any information you could give me on getting started would be helpful (example - how to build the equipment--I anticipate having mechanical engineers build the equipment).

Thanks

[newportstorm]

I wish you well man. But getting a university to jump on board anything that has to do with alcohol will be tough, imo. I'm no expert so take this for what it's worth. First off, you'll need plenty of capital ($$) to get off the ground. Brewing systems can be bought from other not-so-fortunate breweries/brewpubs that failed and are selling off equipment. Many small breweries buy equipment from other industries (dairy, food manufacturing, etc.) and adapt it to fit. The mech. engineers will be handy here.

Most importantly, though, is you want a competent brewer with mechanical knowledge on staff. I wouldn't use students who may move on in six months and have little invested in the brewery's success. Brewing can be a very time consuming, labor intensive job and many students might not understand what they are getting into. Hence, high turnover, poor quality control, etc.

I feel your pain. A lack of quality beer can drive a person mad. Again, I wish you well, but this project is going to face even more scrutiny and challenges than your average brewpub. Just food for thought.

Cheers!

[brewmonkey]

I would go over and ask this question at www.probrewer.com

[sallad]

a good place to start might be at the state's alcohol control laws. that will help you understand some of the tax/legal/health code implications.

[unkle bik]

Start with a lawyer to save yourself some headaches with the legalities.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by unkle bik
Start with a lawyer to save yourself some headaches with the legalities.

Actually a beter choice would be a brewery consultant. A lot of the lawyers still do not know all the inner workings of what it takes to start one. You have local (City/County), State and Federal issues to deal with. A good brewery consultant will have worked on several startups at a minimum and will have negotiated the course.

[unkle bik]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
Actually a beter choice would be a brewery consultant. A lot of the lawyers still do not know all the inner workings of what it takes to start one. You have local (City/County), State and Federal issues to deal with. A good brewery consultant will have worked on several startups at a minimum and will have negotiated the course.

How does one find a "brewery consultant"?

[brewmonkey]

Check over at www.probrewer.com (post looking for one) or check with some of the professional associations like the Institute for Brewing Studies (Part of the AOB), The Brewers Association of America (BAA) or the Master Brewers Association of America (MBAA).

You could also check with other brewers in the area, most of us know one or two off the top of our heads.

Another thing would be to hit the AOB's site at www.beertown.org and look into attending the Craft Brewers Conference (coming up soon in San Diego this year). The event is attended by a good majority of the industry as well there are classes and discussions on almost everything involved in the industry.

[unkle bik]

Anybody know the success rate for starting a brewpub?

[Jughead]

I was just browsing the liquor license requirements for a brew pub in my area. It mentions that to get the license, you need an annual production capacity of 5000 hectoliters (roughly 879876 British pints). To take advantage of this capacity, you would have to serve around 2400 pints per day (every day). To keep up you would need to pour 100 pints an hour (if you were open 24 hours a day).

No wonder there are not many brew pubs around here.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by Jughead
I was just browsing the liquor license requirements for a brew pub in my area. It mentions that to get the license, you need an annual production capacity of 5000 hectoliters (roughly 879876 British pints). To take advantage of this capacity, you would have to serve around 2400 pints per day (every day). To keep up you would need to pour 100 pints an hour (if you were open 24 hours a day).

No wonder there are not many brew pubs around here.

Must capacity directly relate to production ? That rationale just doesn't make sense to me. And is brewing well under capacity make sense profit-wise? I know of no brewpub locally that could keep up that pace.

Cheers!

[Jughead]

Ooops, just ignore my previous post. I was looking under the Class E licence requirements rather than the Class E (Brew Pub) requirements. I guess one recommendation for someone starting a brew pub would be read the fine print.

Anyway, a class E brew pub license only requires a weekly capacity of 10 hectoliters in my neck o' the woods.

Just as soon as I get laid off from my regular job, I'm going to look into this much closer. :D