The info from Bainbridge is right on. I'll add a my two cents as a nano. I double batch from a 2bbl brew house into 4bbl FVs. I have 2 FV and 1 BT. You will either need some kegs or more Brites (if you serve from the brites) in order to keep emptying the FVs. You want your fermenters to always be working.
At my size my cost per keg (1/2bbl) is $75-$80. This includes grain, hops, yeast, water, labor from brew and clean to filling kegs, utilities for the brew (gas, electricity, sewer), cold storage, state and fed beer tax. All my costs per keg remain the same as I scale the size of the brew house except for labor. I could probably manage up to a 5bbl brewhouse and 10bbl FVs without adding more labor (a bit more for cleaning and filling a larger number of kegs).
Figure out your other costs (rent, liability insurance, loan payments, phone, advertising, other bar and brew labor, sales tax, accountant, book keeping, anything else you can think of that you need and anything you can't do yourself) then start playing with the numbers. At $80 cost - how much do you make per keg selling pints, growlers, wholesale, mix of each? How much do you need to sell to cover your other costs?
I just opened my tasting room (25 seats) a couple weeks ago. No advertising other than Facebook page, word of mouth and 1 tap at a local restaurant in a beer drinking town of about 10,000 - a Fri or Sat night ~50 pints in a couple of hours without really trying. I need more than this of course, but as a soft opening goes I was happy with the results.
If you love what you do and aren't afraid to put in the work then you can probably make it fly. Good luck.
And thank you Russell and the other ProBrewer posters... I wouldn't have made it this far without your wisdom.
At my size my cost per keg (1/2bbl) is $75-$80. This includes grain, hops, yeast, water, labor from brew and clean to filling kegs, utilities for the brew (gas, electricity, sewer), cold storage, state and fed beer tax. All my costs per keg remain the same as I scale the size of the brew house except for labor. I could probably manage up to a 5bbl brewhouse and 10bbl FVs without adding more labor (a bit more for cleaning and filling a larger number of kegs).
Figure out your other costs (rent, liability insurance, loan payments, phone, advertising, other bar and brew labor, sales tax, accountant, book keeping, anything else you can think of that you need and anything you can't do yourself) then start playing with the numbers. At $80 cost - how much do you make per keg selling pints, growlers, wholesale, mix of each? How much do you need to sell to cover your other costs?
I just opened my tasting room (25 seats) a couple weeks ago. No advertising other than Facebook page, word of mouth and 1 tap at a local restaurant in a beer drinking town of about 10,000 - a Fri or Sat night ~50 pints in a couple of hours without really trying. I need more than this of course, but as a soft opening goes I was happy with the results.
If you love what you do and aren't afraid to put in the work then you can probably make it fly. Good luck.
And thank you Russell and the other ProBrewer posters... I wouldn't have made it this far without your wisdom.
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