Thinking of opening a craft beer bar. Any advice?

Well, you may find some ideas here, but really you should talk to other taproom owners vs. the consumers you'll find here.

 

Definitely better places on line to find costs of things. But as a rule of thumb price out all your equipment, cost of labor, cost of ingredients for a year, cost of real estate. Add it all up. Then double it.

Here is a good resource .

 

As a consumer I will suggest you actually get rare/limited beer..rather than fill the taps with garbage kegs distributors push on you like 98% of "craft" bars. Why am I gonna go out of my way to go to a bar to have a beer I can buy off the shelf....

 

I'm seconding this.

Some of my favorite beer bars only have like 10 things on tap at a time, but they make sure that all of them count. When I go to a bar, I am not planning on drinking more than a couple beers max. I'm going to pick the top few options and ignore all the filler. I like World of Beer a lot, but they have way too much filler. Most of their stuff is off the shelf beers that I could pick up at the store.

Also, use sites like Untappd and Beer Menus and keep it updated every few days. Being able to look up beer lists in advance is often the deciding factor when trying to decide where to go.

 

As people respond here, they should keep in mind that the OP appears to be in Poland.

 

My thoughts exactly. I'm not a bar person for this very reason. Oh, and the annoying people, music, etc. But as I say, shitty taste in music = shitty taste in beer = shitty person.

 

This guy is a looooooong way from actual keg and music choices. Good to know that you have end-user preferences, but what he is asking for is any startup advice anyone may have.

 

Welcome to BA
This may not be the best venue for acquiring advice from a business-owner's perspective. I have no idea what the requirements are in Poland, but one of the first things that one would do in the States is to start looking at the processes for obtaining necessary permits (cost and time investment). I would suggest that you start there.

You may also be able to find more directed advice on a website such as ProBrewer.com

Good luck

 

@Michaelhops if you don't mind me asking, what city in Poland are you looking at doing this? I spent 2 weeks in Wroclaw this past spring and visited all of the craft beer bars in the downtown area. If you have been there, which of those would you target to be your model? Also is there a chance that you can get $$ from one of the brewers there to be somewhat like a taproom for them and carry other beers? This might offset your initial start up cost and they might be willing to pitch in. I get the feeling that is what Doctors' Bar and AleBrowar Wroclaw did.

 

Unique taps with variety. Barrel aged stouts to a light gose. Avoid me too taps when possible.
Sheets with as detailed as possible descriptions of beers you’re selling. So worth it.
In general, don’t take discounted stuff from distributor. There’s a reason it’s discounted.
Various pour sizes with a wide range. 5oz, 7oz, 10oz, 12oz, 16oz.
Do growler fills of the right price point stuff. Up to you. Allow external growlers.
At least one RUSH poster. Pre 1985.
Shuffleboard.
A large space for people to spread out. Outdoor patio. I like high tops.
No TVs or at least limited. Easy on sports. Play weird shit. David Lynch.
Classic rock or cool 90s over whatever music is these days. (grumble)
A killer bottle list for on site & to go. Discount to go.
A cellar for whatever desirable bombers you can get. Will pay off long term.
Full size Donkey Kong.
Viking Metal towards closing time.
Last, and very important, knowledgeable staff.

 

My suggestion would be that if you don't have any bar experience get some now. Take any job, the lowest one possible might be the best, and start learning. The little things count and the small details that you'll pick up will pay off in the end.

 

To those suggesting he only offer beers not found on a local shelf: that’s good and all, but you need asses to fill the seats, and that often requires the beer of the common folk, I’m surprised you don’t know this.

 

Use the DigitalPour app. There is one craft bar in my town that uses it and I love it. Shows the taplist and even shows how much is left in the keg of each beer. Really helpful for the consumers and great marketing for your bar.

 

I would recommend you speak to other local places and maybe see if they will discuss the costs with you. There are so many variables involved it would be next to impossible for anyone to accurately tell you cost, good luck.

 

DRAFT A BUSINESS PLAN!!! AND BE REALISTIC IN YOUR ASSUMPTIONS WHEN DRAFTING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN!!!

If you can't do both of these things or hire it out to someone who can, don't bother with this venture. Many businesses that fail do so because they never understand the true cost of running their business until it's too late.

 

I agree 100%. Successful business are successful because people understand their business and clients, most businesses fail because people jump into a trend without a clue as to what they are doing.

 

Does DigitalPour support taprooms in Poland?

 

No, they use an app called ontap, used the hell out of it while I was there

 

True. It takes awhile to cultivate good relations with distributors to the point where you can put the awesome beers on tap.

Buying equipment will be a startup decision at some point though. Investing too much money in a complex bar with 30 taps and unnecessary gadgets is something that can be avoided.