Question about building type

[newbrewery09]

Hi everyone,

My business partner and I are looking to open a brewery and would love some input regarding building types that would work. We're looking at a 3-story, old (solid) brick building that has 2500 sq. ft. on each floor. The stairwell takes up a lot of space in the front of the building, so we're figuring approximately 75 feet by 24 feet of usable production space on the first floor. The ceilings are 12 ft. high.

Do you think this would be a viable building for a microbrewery? Any obstacles we might face given the dimensions? We're at the very beginning planning stages. Any input would be appreciated!

[Graydon]

You would be better with higher ceilings. If you are aloud to make part of the building into an atrium, it might work well. Many cities require a sprinkler system when an atrium is set-up. The higher ceilings allow for much more efficient use of your space, and hugh tank savings in the future.

Graydon Brown
Brewmaster
Golden Hills Brewing Co.
live2brew@yahoo.com

[beertje46]

Ditto Graydon. 12' ceiling will limit you to a 30 bbl. Uni if you have them custom built with odd angle cone, unless you're willing to drop-in through the roof. The building may work as a brew-pub just fine.

[newbrewery09]

Thank you both so much for your responses! An atrium would be fantastic but we're trying to minimize our start-up costs, and the renovations would add quite a bit to our costs. A 25-30 bbl system is what we were looking at, so this could be perfect. Thanks again!

[Scott M]

One very important item, check the structural loading of each level of the building and insure your brewery layout does not exceede it.

Once you start moving water around, things get very heavy very fast!

[newbrewery09]

Thank you, Scott - great point about making sure the structure can handle the weight!

We might have run into a snag in that there is a place of worship around 200 feet away (we're in NY). We need to find out exactly how far, and I'm waiting for a response from the NYS Liquor Authority regarding this issue. We're not sure if a microbrewery with a goal of production only (no brewpub) would fall under this rule.

Thanks again for all of the help - I really appreciate it!

[beertje46]

Thank you, Scott - great point about making sure the structure can handle the weight!

We might have run into a snag in that there is a place of worship around 200 feet away (we're in NY). We need to find out exactly how far, and I'm waiting for a response from the NYS Liquor Authority regarding this issue. We're not sure if a microbrewery with a goal of production only (no brewpub) would fall under this rule.

Thanks again for all of the help - I really appreciate it!

A brewery IS a place of worship.

[GlacierBrewing]

Hallelujah, Brother!

[newbrewery09]

LOL So true, David!