Interested home brewing with a view for micro brewery

[Jay]

Hi there,

Im very interested in home brewing and am currently starting my own home brew with a normal starter kit. (To learn basics and educate myself on home brewing). However I can see a potential to expand to a small micro brewery in the future, and sell and market the beer to local pubs etc.

I have a sizable garage to begin my micro brewery and would appreciate any advice on how to get started?

Is this viable in ireland? Or do i need €20,000 in my pocket to get anywhere? I want to start small and grow to minimise risk etc.

All comments and information is greatly appreciated 

[Ciderhead]

Oh God where do I start
Ok join local club, volunteer at a local brewery, get a feel for what you want to do.
You need to be very driven and not afraid of hard work.
You will need finance to do something of consequence and an industrial unit, sorry but domestic garage won't cut it I'm afraid.
Long hours moderate returns, aggressive competition, still interested?

[brenmurph]

Agree with ciderhead, I think starting a very small brewery will still have some big overheads Liability insurance, rates and so on. Health board approval, customs / tax will unlikely be happy with a home brewery so as CH says a suitable commercial unit will probably be needed. Health board will look at walls, floors, drainage, recycling spent grain, waste, equipment H&S. Products liability insurers ( if u poison someone or they swallow glass) will probably want a clear HACCP / Health and safety audit implemented.

Follows ciderheads advice, its all good.  Its not just a case of starting brewing, there is a lot involved so get cracking and get to brewdays to learn the brew processed and read, read, read,. get online and research, get on to some small local brewers and as ciderhead says volunteer a few days to get a feel for whats involved and then roll it forward when u are well informed
regards bren.

[Shanna]

Hi there,

Im very interested in home brewing and am currently starting my own home brew with a normal starter kit. (To learn basics and educate myself on home brewing). However I can see a potential to expand to a small micro brewery in the future, and sell and market the beer to local pubs etc.

I have a sizable garage to begin my micro brewery and would appreciate any advice on how to get started?

Is this viable in ireland? Or do i need €20,000 in my pocket to get anywhere? I want to start small and grow to minimise risk etc.

All comments and information is greatly appreciated 

Where are you based Jay?

Shanna

[DEMPSEY]

Fully agree with all above. You must ask yourself the question why .When you are a hobbyist homebrewer your interest are brewing and the fun and enjoyment that brings in itself. When you want to become a brewing business then its about producing and consistently producing a branded product. Widgets or beer its all about quality production but with beer you are selling into a consumer market and they are fickle at the best of times. Then there's GETTNG PAID . Hope I haven't burst any bubbles here but if I have then you can thank me later .

[brenmurph]

Dere ya go Jay..... plenty to keep you going

[LordEoin]

Welcome Jay!
What beer are you putting in your starter kit?

[Jay]

Thanks for all comments guys, i was talking with a micro brewer in uk this morning and yes there are an awful lot of different constraints to consider, i didnt realise the how sizable the project is, brenmurph you mentioned all the items the micro brewer discussed with me vis-a-vis location, health board recycling, spent grain, drainage, etc. Start up capital is a big one. And compliance to irish regs will be a labour intensive and very costly process!

I think i may have had a pipe dream but the micro brewer encouraged me to continue my effort in learning about the craft and begin putting together a nano brewery (small 3 keg system based on sabco's brew magic setup or something).

So im going to look into that and see where i go from there. MANY thanks to all who commented and put forward info! You have all been very helpful!! No doubt i will be on again in search for brewing hints and tips

[brenmurph]

There is a massively growing craft market out there. Other options are potentially to let a pub seek a brewpub licence ( Dunno all the legal bits) one example of a nano is the hanging bat in Edinburgh with a system and a brewhouse smaller than my homebrew one in kildare.

Keep looking and researching. maybe some day we may have laws relaxed for nano local operators who sell fresh minimally processed beer to local pubs and restaurants, that would make sense and possibly reduce costs of getting involved

[Garry]

Welcome to the nhc jay  good luck with the first brew.

There was a few interviews on the front page with brewers but I can't find them now! IIRC, Grainne from metalman was one and someone from 8 degrees. I think they'd be good reading for you. Does anyone know where these are archived?

[LordEoin]

While you're here Jay, and you've got yourself a starter kit.. Sure you might aswell make yourself a batch!
Any plans on what's going to be brewed first?

[barkar]

Welcome Jay ,

Some for our more knowledgable members :

I always wonderred re the brew pub distinction as compared to a general brewing licence

Does the actual brewery have to be on the premises or can it be manufactured at another location but brewery and lease  owned by Pub ie could be manufactured

GBB operates this way however what about its affiiates in Dublin, it seems they are allowed to distribute as per normal through offies. The brewery is onsite though

Correct me if i am wrong but does Messrs/ Sweetmans operate this way? Doesnt seem like there is much space etc to actually brew there

Is there any difference in the way revenue is approached. O r is the benefit just that you are guaranteed a venue to sell your product with a greater margin / bottom line

I know ,i know its a little off thread

[nigel_c]

With all the homebrewers amoungst us who have taken the plunge and gone commercial I think we could come up with a real step by step quide to starting a micro brewery.
There have been threads on here since pretty much day one and the mega thread on Beoir about going commercial and with this information and the experience of those who have actually done it in the last few years we could draw up a step by step , everything you need in one place list.

Could include everything from tax / duty and links to all the relavent info.
Equipment costings. Fermenters kettles etc.
H&S legislation and requirements.
Premises requirement . Drainage, water etc.
Waste.
Consumables.

If done properly this could possibly be brought to market as a start up guide by the National Honebrew Club. Could be a nice little earner and a great resource for anyone thinking of taking the plunge into pro brewing.

[brenmurph]

nice litttle earner for the NHC, what about the 2000 hours work and costs involved by the producer & editor to get this book finalised, referenced and peer reviewed and to the market via a publisher who will take 75%. Excellent idea / topic but in practice profitable from a business point of view?

[nigel_c]

As on online PDF produced by a group of people it wouldn't be as bad as you think.