Hey everyone, sorry if this is redundant but I tried searching the forums to learn more about this increasingly popular trend without really finding out what I was looking for. I don't know much on the topic besides that brewer's such as Clown Shoes and Grimm don't have breweries proper and use some other facilities to brew their beer. To start, how does this process work? Do they essentially send a protocol and have some else make the brew or just recent the equipment? A local establishment is almost open, Dorchester Brewing Co., and though I am not entirely sure it looks like the entire brewing company is simply for hire (to "do" contract brewing). Are these facilities the norm for contract brewing? Is this simply a short term solution to meet or gauge demand as this can't possibly be cost effective in the long term? As an aside, what about Omnipollo? Is this a special case that borders on contract brewing but brews with/at the current collab. partner? Cheers, Andy
Contract brewing can take many forms. One situation is where a retailer (e.g., Trader Joe's) wants to sell beer branded with their name on it and a brewery makes them that beer. Perhaps Trader Joe's specifies which styles it want. An alternative situation is that when Sam Adams had their beers contract brewed they had a recipe in hand and requested the contract breweries to brew beers per their recipe and specifications. There is also the case of a "gypsy brewer" where a brewer 'rents' time at a brewery and does all the work to brew the beer utilizing the equipment. Most breweries that contract brew typically also produce their own beer. For example Two Roads Brewing had a business plan to do a lot of contract brewing (mostly contract brew?) but they also brew beers with the Two Roads brand on it. It is my understanding that Omnipollo is a "gypsy brewer". Cheers!
Does the gypsy brewer simply brew at other breweries with recipe in hand? I know this probably doesn't apply to Omnipollo as a lot of the beers are collaborations which I can only assume were generated through the collaborators developing the recipe. Also, you mentioned Two Roads -I had no idea that's cool. Are there more facilities like the one I mentioned above that is established solely for brewing by contract?
Yes, the "gypsy brewer" takes full control of the brewing of the beer. As I mentioned previously, they are essentially 'renting' the brewery to make their beer. The only example I can think of is Brew Hub: http://brewhub.com/ Hopefully other BAs will post in this thread and provide additional insights. Cheers!
I cannot speak directly to the question OP but if you will permit me . . . I love the gypsy brewer and the contract brewer both. The opportunity to brew also can take you to restaruants and brew pubs. Show up at a place with your beer that compliments their chef! I love it! I know it's harder than that but I first heard about this form of brewing from a pal in sweeden. A restarant may want to hire a brewer. it does not mean you own the place it means you have a skill. That is gypsy brewing.
I agree, I just have become slowly more and more nerdy about my alcoholism. The elusive nomadic brewing process intrigues me!
There is a legal difference between the various types of contract-brewing and what is technically called an Alternating Proprietorship, often called "gypsy brewing" (although some object to the use of that derogatory term), based primarily on the ownership of the ingredients and the finished beer: From the 2005 TTB Circular - Alternating Proprietors at Brewery Premises:
theres a good post in the thread below from "Grimm_Artisanal_Ales" which talks about how they go about contract brewing at beltway brewing. its mentioned a couple of times that this is how they do it and he's not sure how other brewery may go about. either way gives a good idea of how on brewery/contract brewery team go about the relationship https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...discussion-thread.391379/page-24#post-4869000
In the Grimm linked discussion there was discussion of "...grimm places all of our ingredient orders with various suppliers to make sure everything is on site and drop shipped to the brewery." I spoke to a brewer who used to have his beers contract brewed at Genesee Brewing Company and he stated that he was restricted to solely brew with the ingredients that Genesee has on site as part of their normal inventory. He was not permitted to brew with any hop. malt, yeast, that he wanted. He had to 'tweak' his recipes accordingly. Every contract brewing relationship will have its own set of unique constraints. Cheers!
