A different help message

[muratdefne]

Hello people.

My problem is a little bit different and I couldn’t find the answer I was looking for in this discussion boards.

I am writing from abroad, from Turkey thus I don’t need any legal advice since the laws here are extremely different than the ones in States. What I really need is actually only the average amounts of raw materials and a list of basic start up equipment.

Let me first explain my situation.

Me and my partners are operating two bars under the same name in two different cities. The distance between these two cities is exactly 200 miles. Generally we are doing very well regarding the consumption at both of our venues.

Our annual consumption in these two pubs is approximately 1300bbl. (I hope I made the conversion right, for those who understand the metric system, it is around 150k liters.)

What we are selling is actually one brand which is a monopoly in country and unfortunately they are producing one of the worst beers in the world. We also offer some decent imports like Brooklyn Lager from US and Schneider Weisse from Germany but the distributors of these brands are having always very big problems in the import procedures, thus sometimes they will not be able to provide for more than a year. In addition to that, because of the enormous tax regulations, import beers are coming with a price tag, which will surprise you. (Retail price of 1 bottle Brooklyn Lager is around 8 and Schneider is 10 dollars)

Considering the bureaucratic processes and huge import taxes, we are not able to import a decent beer. Under these circumstances, you would think that home brewing or microbreweries should on the rise but unfortunately, no one has ever tried it and that’s why I am begging for help from you, since there is nobody with an experience on micro brewing here.

So we have decided to found a microbrewery here, just for our consumption (at least for the beginning) but before beginning to work, we are clueless, if it is going to help us anyhow. We trust our customers, they will be satisfied with a decent beer than the crap we are selling now but we don’t know if we can keep the prices the same while selling our own beer.

Therefore I need some basic advice for a basic setup for a brewery which can produce at least 1300bbl annualy (800bbl pilsner, 300bbl wheatbeer and 200bbl dark ale). In exact words: what do we need to buy? How much space will be needed?

Secondly, can I find some estimates of the required raw materials to produce the targeted amount of beer? How much from which will I need:
How much water?
How much barley?
How much wheat?
How much hops?

And how much yeasts, malts or whatever I need.

And we want to brew a beer as good as possible, according to Rheinheitsgebot like all these beers from Bavaria.

I know that I am demanding really too much but unfortunately, I don’t have any know-how in my country to exploit.

As I stated before, I only need the amounts since the cost estimate will be very different here. Once I know what we need to brew a decent beer, I will look up for the suppliers here and abroad.

I hope I do not abuse your discussion board but your help might be a lot useful.

[einhorn]

For some of your answers, check out www.soundbrew.com and click on "Tech Info" on left column.

Your conversion is correct: about 1,300 bbl/year production. It is probably possible to do-it-yourself the planning, but if you have the resources ($$$), do yourself a favor and hire a consultant. There a few guys and companies in Germany who might be able to help, including the system manufacturers themselves.

A 20-HL system is probably most advised but remember that your pilsner market is lager yeast-based, meaning your batches will need more time and fermenting space. OTOH, you might consider a larger system due to having "only" 3 beers.

[muratdefne]

For some of your answers, check out www.soundbrew.com and click on "Tech Info" on left column.

Your conversion is correct: about 1,300 bbl/year production. It is probably possible to do-it-yourself the planning, but if you have the resources ($$$), do yourself a favor and hire a consultant. There a few guys and companies in Germany who might be able to help, including the system manufacturers themselves.

A 20-HL system is probably most advised but remember that your pilsner market is lager yeast-based, meaning your batches will need more time and fermenting space. OTOH, you might consider a larger system due to having "only" 3 beers.

Yes, we will probably search for a consultant in Germany, Austria or Belgium when we are sure that it will be worth to brew inhouse. I think the firms, who are selling complete brewery systems in those countries are also providing a certain know-how.

I have also looked to the soundbrewing website, and I think in the amounts they have given (like Malt: 45-60 #/BBL) the sign # stands for pounds am I right?

[einhorn]

That is correct.