From: devine@olympus.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Bob Devine)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: Microbrew?
Date: 10 Jan 93 23:17:04 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: olympus.cs.berkeley.edu
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fbruno@ysw526 (F. Bruno) writes:
: Can anyone tell me what is needed to start up a microbrewery, i.e.
: permits, taxes, whatever.

The short answer is: MONEY!  Pierre Celis spent a reported $7 million
for his new brewery in Austin Texas.  The other end of the spectrum
is the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, where it was
set up in a basement for probably under $25 thousand (I'm guessing).

Here's a thumbnail sketch of the hurdles awaiting you:

1. permits
  a. sewage line hookup -- you need to get a large diameter
     direct hookup and prove to the local water board that
     you will not be dumping hazardous chemicals in a concentration
     that will kill the sewage processing microorganisms
  b. board of health -- these folks demand that everything be
     built to spec and maintained that way.
  c. planning -- unless you've built a brewery already (or better
     yet, several breweries) it is far better to hire a knowledgable
     planner to design what you need.  Anticipate that there will
     still be mistakes as you over- or under-anticipate demand.
  d. construction -- unless you take over a failed brewery, it
     it necessary to build one.  The sky is the limit on how
     custom you want it.

2. equipment
   a) brew equipment
      You need a large walk-in cooler to hold finished beers.  Several
      fermenters and holding tanks.  One large boilers with a steam
      jacket to heat it.  Miscellaneous stuff like heat exchanger and
      lots of pipes.  If you want to use all-grain instead of using
      extract (the Colorado Springs Judge Baldwin's Pub is extract because
      the hotel chain that owns it was very cautious to avoid sinking
      money into a risky venture -- cheapskates!), then you need to get
      a mash tun plus grinder and a place to store the grain.  Add a
      diatonomous earth filter if the customers want crystal clear beer.
   
   b) the building
      Health code says you need lots of things.  Must have a concrete
      floor that is sturdy and can be washed frequently.  If the floor
      doesn't adequately slope to the drain, rip it out and do it again.
      The drain has to handle lots of effluent -- so, get special and
      costly industrial-style hook-up to the sewer system.  Look out
      for what type and quantity of chemicals you are allowed to dump
      into the sewer.  For example, a batch is infected, the health
      code may be very picky about dumping 400 gallons of it!
    
      Building code must be checked to allow fire-safety (you want the
      place to be safely packed with slightly inebriated folks, right?).
      Structurally integrity needs checking and fixing too (that row
      of 300 gallon fermenters gets quite heavy). Etc etc.

   c) miscellaneous
      If you want a brewpub, you have to stock lots of glasses and other
      bar needs - sinks, soda hookups, cash register, refrigerators,
      napkins, etc.  A restaurant needs all that plus fully equipped
      kitchens.
    
3. supplies -- while there are plenty of sellers out there that
     are willing to sell grains and hops, you have to talk some
     serious money to get a several month shipment.

4. people
   This because the most expensive part.  Really, figure on a wait
   staff of at least 2 people per shift (10 am - 2 am) every day
   once things get rolling.  Add in the cost of janitors, bookkeeper,
   lawyer, etc. and it gets costly quickly.
   
   If you want to pay yourself a salary, always a good idea, add 1 more.
   Expect that there will be about 10 full time salaries to pay for
   a small place.  As a rule of thumb, double the paycheck cost to
   find out the actual cost (to account for social security, pension,
   worker comp, random other taxes, and insurance).


As a gauge of what brewpub would cost, here are costs of those
places that I have at least heard of rumor of costs:

Denver's Wynkoop
	initial: $500 K for dilapidated building and the
		 first group of equipment
	addit'l: more tanks, increased restaurant seating, etc
Wolfgang Puck's place in LA (since out of business)
	initial: rumored at 2 - 3 million
Boulder CO, Walnut Street brewpub
	initial: rumored at $1.0 M
	addit'l: they ran out of capacity within a month
		 I talked to the brewmaster last summer
		 and he said that 2 more fermenters were needed
Denver's Rockbottom (just opened)
	initial: rumored at $1.2 M
    
Just remember the golden rule of business: Use other people's money!
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing