Hi All,
First post, but a long time reader. I can’t say how many times I’ve found really useful information on this forum, and I just want to say thanks to anyone in advance that takes the time to respond to my post.
I’ve found a couple of really useful topics that relate to my question, however I wanted to explain my situation and get some thoughts/advice from the pros. First off, I’m not a professional brewer, I’ve never officially worked at a brewery, and I have no industry related qualifications. I’m an avid homebrewer, and beer tragic. I’ve recently quit a high paying role, as my wife and I really want to own and build something of our own. I’m sure you get where this is going…
Initially we developed what we thought was a solid plan for opening a brewpub in the Philippines, but logistically things just didn’t stack up. My wife mentioned this as a backhand comment to her mum, which unexpectantly presented us with another opportunity. My mother-in-law lives in a very small town in South Korea. To cut a long story short, the idea made its way to the local council, and they’re very interested in making this happen. So much so, they’re willing to cover potentially up to 60% of start-up costs! This may also include the cheap sale of land, or leasing of an existing facility. The full details are not clear as of yet, but it’s very promising.
So, the catch…
The local population is around 30,000, spread over a decent land mass. It’s an older community of mainly farmers that have probably never tasted a craft beer before. They also don’t have loads of money. The area does get a decent amount of Korean tourists through, and given the council is so eager to get us onboard, there is a good chance we could line up some foot traffic through tourism. That said, relying on taproom sales alone would almost certainly end badly for us.
Craft beer is really starting to turn the corner in Korea, and the popularity is on the rise. Rather than the brewpub idea, we’re thinking a little bigger. Assuming our product is good, and we market it correctly, we would look to distribute our beers to more densely populated cities, and hope for a small amount of taproom sales to assist with cash flow. While we do have this offer of up to 60% of start-up fees, this is not blank check by any means. In our plan we’re very much trying to factor in for potential growth, however it’s extremely daunting looking at some of the costs that are adding up.
The question part…
I was originally thinking a 10BBL brewhouse with 6 x 20BBL fermenters and a couple of brites, but after doing some reading, a 10BBL is still considered a nano to many! What size brewhouse should we be looking at? Would a 20BBL system be a decent starting point with 40BBL fermenters? What would you suggest and why? Is our overall plan flawed? Please be as brutal as needed. You guys really know what it’s like in the trenches, and your advice is invaluable. To be clear, we’re not doing this to get rich, but I also don’t want to work 70-80 hour weeks to barely break even.
I look forward to your replies!
First post, but a long time reader. I can’t say how many times I’ve found really useful information on this forum, and I just want to say thanks to anyone in advance that takes the time to respond to my post.
I’ve found a couple of really useful topics that relate to my question, however I wanted to explain my situation and get some thoughts/advice from the pros. First off, I’m not a professional brewer, I’ve never officially worked at a brewery, and I have no industry related qualifications. I’m an avid homebrewer, and beer tragic. I’ve recently quit a high paying role, as my wife and I really want to own and build something of our own. I’m sure you get where this is going…
Initially we developed what we thought was a solid plan for opening a brewpub in the Philippines, but logistically things just didn’t stack up. My wife mentioned this as a backhand comment to her mum, which unexpectantly presented us with another opportunity. My mother-in-law lives in a very small town in South Korea. To cut a long story short, the idea made its way to the local council, and they’re very interested in making this happen. So much so, they’re willing to cover potentially up to 60% of start-up costs! This may also include the cheap sale of land, or leasing of an existing facility. The full details are not clear as of yet, but it’s very promising.
So, the catch…
The local population is around 30,000, spread over a decent land mass. It’s an older community of mainly farmers that have probably never tasted a craft beer before. They also don’t have loads of money. The area does get a decent amount of Korean tourists through, and given the council is so eager to get us onboard, there is a good chance we could line up some foot traffic through tourism. That said, relying on taproom sales alone would almost certainly end badly for us.
Craft beer is really starting to turn the corner in Korea, and the popularity is on the rise. Rather than the brewpub idea, we’re thinking a little bigger. Assuming our product is good, and we market it correctly, we would look to distribute our beers to more densely populated cities, and hope for a small amount of taproom sales to assist with cash flow. While we do have this offer of up to 60% of start-up fees, this is not blank check by any means. In our plan we’re very much trying to factor in for potential growth, however it’s extremely daunting looking at some of the costs that are adding up.
The question part…
I was originally thinking a 10BBL brewhouse with 6 x 20BBL fermenters and a couple of brites, but after doing some reading, a 10BBL is still considered a nano to many! What size brewhouse should we be looking at? Would a 20BBL system be a decent starting point with 40BBL fermenters? What would you suggest and why? Is our overall plan flawed? Please be as brutal as needed. You guys really know what it’s like in the trenches, and your advice is invaluable. To be clear, we’re not doing this to get rich, but I also don’t want to work 70-80 hour weeks to barely break even.
I look forward to your replies!
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