Brewery idea would love feedback

Blackwater Draw is a brew pub in the college town 2 of my kids go/went to. I think this was started by some guys that like to brew and they did a good job of it. They have always had a solid IPA, Stout and Kolsch on tap and the do a one off every Saturday. I was there a couple of weeks ago and they had a very solid Berliner Weissbier. What works best about this place is they have a very, and I mean very solid menu (my non beer wife loves this because of the food, so never an argument to go here). It is not extensive, but what they do, they do very well.

I am not sure that I would want to invest money in a setup where I didn't have a primary person that was ultimately responsible for the beer. I know any given time that I go there that their flagships are going to be spot on every single time. The rotators, well who knows, either you like it or you don't like it, I have something to fall back on. So if you want to generate outside interest, then you let you brewer run your flagship, then you can have guest brewers come in and he can assist them with their recipe and when the weekend comes and you tap it, hopefully he brings his whole family and crew of friends. That might work. Whatever you choose, good luck.

 

What I'm hearing is you have no experience as a brewer but want to hire rotating people that you will pay (presumably) very low wages to who will have no vested interest in the success of your business. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

Sounds fun on the surface, but there are a few obstacles with that model. With no master brewer, beers will likely not be good, and people will tire of paying to be guinea pig. If you actually find someone decent, they will leave for a better full time gig, and the consistency of your beer will be awful.
Unfortunately, a lot of small places are already doing this without trying (inexperienced home brewers). Quality suffers and they weed themselves out.
The brewing world offers few shortcuts....experience and hard work are the recipe.

 

There's a place where I live (Chicago Burbs) similar to your outlined plan.

http://www.werkforcebrewing.com/

They brew on site, have a small tap room, AND are a home brew supply house. The place is awesome - you can grab one of their Brews (which, for the most part are outstanding) while you peruse their merchandise. If you like one of their beers, they've got kits so you can make it at home. They're a full blown supply house - they've got anything a home brewer would need and are more than helpful when it comes to sharing knowledge. They offer Brewing Classes on site too.

I wouldn't begin to speculate how they're doing financially, but the place is always busy when I stop in and their beers are starting to make their way into local bottle shops, so I'm assuming they're doing pretty damn good. And rightfully so, it's an awesome joint full of good people.

 

Platform here in Cleveland has an "incubator" program. They select a homebrewer somehow through an application process every few months I believe and for free, they teach them how to brew on a larger scale, how to run the business, etc...

Here is more info on it:

http://platformbeerco.com/our-incubator

 

The way you present the idea sounds sort of like an alt prop tap-room of sorts. It also sort of sounds like your idea is to turn and burn talent through no promise of full time work while they use you as a resume builder. What kind of beer is that sort of scenario going to actually produce? It also sounds like you will have a hot mess waiting to happen because all of these people are going to be ready to make every single brewery mistake all over your taproom.
That kind of savings might work nice on paper because you are selling the beer. But, in reality.
What kind of beer do you want to be selling?

 

Well id support the idea and business, and I'd return if the beer is good enough to warrant frequent trips. That part of the country is loaded with great breweries, I'd think the risk is very real here. There's reasons why certain brewers are famous in and by themselves, they're incredibly talented people with a gift. If it was easy anyone can do it and we all know that's not even close to the case. You would need a very talented Head Brewer to oversee the part time guys or else it just won't work. The bottom line is can you turn out great beer consistently?

 

I agree with a lot of what has been said. I would worry about consistency in quality and product. As a consumer, I would feel lost. If there was one brewer who you had was producing innovative beers and then then next one was not quite as daring, I am not sure I would hang around waiting to see if the next new hire brought back some of that magic...especially when there are other breweries around here that I do like.

 

I would probably pass on this. Im with everyone that say they would worry about consistent quality. If you have different people coming in every week to brew beer, I wold imagine you would be selling a lot of bad beer.

 

Hire someone who knows what they're doing from the get go. Preferably, said person would be a partner rather than an employee. You can easily blow the working capital during the learning curve and also easily alienate your potential customer base. One try is usually all a new business gets. Design it so that the one shot is your best one.

 

I'd probably check it out once or twice just due to the novelty factor, but not sure that I'd keep coming back. It all depends on how consistently good the beer is. There are a few places near me that I don't bother with because it's a crap shoot as to whether I'll get something I like. I'll echo what others are saying about needing someone to develop a few reliable mainstays that can serve as a base for repeat business.

 

I think it would make sense if someone (you?) was an assistant brewer/equipment expert that brewed with each of the assistant brewers. I dunno. I really like the concept I'm just not sure if it would work out in reality.

 

I'd go with an experienced brewer ticked off at the AB InBev SABMiller merger. Hire a good accountant and a good chef. The food will help bring people in and pay the rent.

 

@bfields4, Three Kettles Brewing Company is a plan roughly similar to yours:

Best of luck to you going forward!

 

Or, it sounds like a chance for valuable experience, for a new brewer. Entry level pay at the majority of craft brewers is basically mimimum-wage level anyway. The idea is for a an experienced home-brewer to have a place to sell his beers, while gaining production level experience, until they can fly away on their own. Then they get replaced by another candidate.

 

I used to get free / low cost massages and haircuts from trainees in college, so I would certainly do so for beer...but I would not be paying top-dollar.

EDIT: You'd want to be careful on the legal end of this...what if they serve something that gets people sick? Who's ass is on the line?

 

Yeah I back this. I think it would be cool if you had aspiring, creative, and intelligent brewers coming in for some experience but you aren't really going to keep anyone impressive around by offering so few hours. And if you are having people rotating all of the time you would need someone to oversee what they were doing, which is why it would probably be best to have someone that knows your equipment oversee all of the work of the part time rotated brewers. I.e. you'd need someone to do some hand holding.

 

I like the idea. I'm a big fan of experimenting and having all the different people doing things the way they like or thought up would be fun. I trust there will be a couple flagships that are done the same way regardless who is making them.

 

I like the idea as I am a fan of experimenting, but I don't know how it would work out in the real world.

 

A brewery is a dangerous place. You don't want somebody coming in and playing with the caustics and acids that are used in a production brewery. A friend working at a brewpub says the biggest difference is the strength of the chemicals and PSE that you need to wear.

There are equipment issues tha one needs to learn to brew in brewery. Pumps, how the kettle is heated, the disposal of everything from waste water to spent grain. A big issue is what to do when something goes wrong.

You needed a Brewer.