Do small Mass town farm breweries work?

I think it's entirely possible. I would certainly look at a 5 bbl system at the very least though, and probably a 7 or 10 bbl set up - the costs should really not be that much more and you cut down on a hell of a lot of work.

 

If you brew great beer, they will come.

 

The first question is, what are you going to do to draw people in? Are you marketing oriented or have someone who can help you in that department? Can you think like your potential customers rather than like a home brewer/beer geek?

Honestly the beer is secondary. You'll find small breweries all around that produce great beer and are only moderately busy and then others that make mediocre beer and its packed. I went to Bog Iron Brewery in Norton a few months back and was amazed at how packed it was. The beer is kind of middle of the road at best IMHO. The crowd there didn't look like your typical brewery type of crowd. Something was drawing them in which tells me the owner understands his local customers. You're going to need to figure that sort of thing out to bring customers in. So if it sounds fun to try to figure out how to bring in customers then you are good to go in my opinion.

 

Had a similar experience at Hog Island Brewery down near the elbow of the Cape. The beer was perfectly fine, but there was nothing there to draw in the beer geek crowd or get noticed from a purely beer standpoint, yet they were packed with all sorts of "regular" folks and families having a great time. We'll go back when we're in Chatham again next summer.

Best of luck OP. Your post makes me jealous in more ways than one

 

Farmers' markets. We have a couple of microbrewers up here in SW New Hampshire who seem to sell everything they can brew at the local farmers' markets and through the food co-op.

 

There are several breweries like this near me in NY and they all do very good business from what I've seen.

The common thread I've seen at these places is that they all have at least 2-3 beers that are very, very accessible to a lot of the non-craft centric people you'll find in rural communities. Kolsch's, pilsners, etc, so that people who drink nothing but macros will find something to enjoy. Obviously, you can still do killer IPAs, farmhouses, stouts, experimental stuff or whatever you want but if you only have 4-6 taps, make sure one or two of them is a kolsch or pilsner.

The common non-beer thread is that all these spots are pretty pastoral. Relaxed vibe, beautiful scenery, quiet and safe outdoor spaces for large groups and families.

I do want to qualify that I don't own or run a brewery and don't work in the industry, but I've been to a LOT of them and these are the things I've noticed that apply to what you're asking.

 

Also, I don't know anyone there personally, but I would try to contact S&S Farm Brewing in Nassau, NY, because they're the archetype for what you're asking about. Smaller town than 10K even, no other breweries or beer bars around, and they started selling growler fills out of a glorified shed and now pack 2-300 people into their taproom every Friday night.

 

I'd also keep in mind that brewing on systems that size requires moving about some pretty heavy ingredients. Make sure you are able to handle the physical aspect of the work or provide some sort of mechanical assistance if needed.

 

I would swing by Barnstable Brewing and see how they're doing. Seems like it would be of similar size.

 

Check out Buzzards Bay Brewing. It's a pretty small brewery in Westport. Their beer isn't bad, but it's really nothing special. They aren't pumping out hazy juice IPA or adjuct stouts, sours or barrel aged anything, so nothing crazy that's going to make a buzz in the beer nerd world, but they make a good golden ale and a few traditional IPAs, a lot of styles typical of craft beer 10 years ago. They also do (or did) some contract brewing. That said, they are very popular with the locals, and the place is always pretty busy during the summer. They do just fine by serving as a local watering hole. Doesn't hurt that it's owned by the same family as Westport Vineyards too.

 

How's Berkley Beer doing? Aren't they doing the exact same thing you're describing in the same (general) area?

 

The Brewery at Norwich Inn comes to mind. Decent brewery with pretty darn good beers.
I think it's a 3 or 5 barrel system and makes the inn a great destination and lots of locals hang out too.

 

Don't you hate it when someone starts a thread to ask a question, gets a lot of thoughtful responses, but the OP never comes back to even acknowledges any of them?

 

This person is like 45 years old

 

I'm not sure if Berkley has ever had an open to the public facility. Nevertheless, they're expanding and opening a new brewery and taproom in Taunton. They've just started canning as well. He avoided the new england style for a long time, but he finally cracked and made a NE APA called Paddelford Pale Ale.. I had it on tap once a few months ago and quite liked it.

 

Wtf does a “typical brewery type of crowd” look like? Maybe I’m over way overreacting to a tone that’s not actually there but that smacks of the total douchiness that gives self-labeled “craft beer nerds” such a bad name.

 

Yes.

 

Someone doesn’t like our beer... awesome. Someone takes even a small shot at our customers and we’re going to gave a chat about it.