Hello everyone. I have been racking my brain for many months trying to make plans in a bubble, but I think I really need to start seeking the advice of the pros here. I have been lurking for a while and taking numbers and projections to help guide me but I feel comfortable now with sharing. To start out with, as the title says it, I plan on starting a brewery in the town right outside of one of the largest Army installations in the states where the surrounding population (between the base and the touching three cities) comprises upwards of 150k drinking age adults. Surprisingly the closest brewery to us is a 30 minute drive. Currently I am pending medical retirement and will soon have a whole lot of free time on my hands, but also my wife and I own the only homebrew supply shop that services several counties.
We are about to close (we're owner financing) on a building in the downtown area that is in all, over 7,000 sq feet that will be divided between the new home of the LHBS, the brewery and taproom, a second floor that will have a classroom and private event room, as well as a rooftop seating area. When I first started planning I went from thinking I should go with a 3.5 to maybe 5 BBL system. Then talking to a friend who started a brewery in Waco (90 minute drive with roughly same serving population) with a 7BBL brewhouse and a mix of 7 and 15bbl fermenters, I thought this would work too. Three months in to his operation and he is wondering if a 15BBL operation would have been better. After taking measurements of the building and putting some thought into it, I determined that we absolutely could fit the following;
I figured the serving tanks would be more cost effective than clogging up our space with hundreds of kegs, and we will primarily be taproom focused. If we end up getting contracts at local restaurants or bars then we can fill kegs from a brite. I am coming from a homebrew background and have never worked in a brewery so, like I said before, all my numbers are coming from forums and asking around. Also, I am a ground pounding soldier with no finance background and enough math skills to be dangerous. I have been working on some spreadsheets that I would like to share to see if I am crazy, realistic, or being really modest. Either way, feedback is appreciated.
Starting simple:
With that data I was able to kind of plug in some numbers based on being open WED to SUN (to start), having some growler/crowler sales with a benchtop can seamer to make a few 2go packs we can keep in a fridge, and maybe a few places having a couple kegs a month. I also plugged in a few hundo for merch.
Once I got that put together I started figuring some salaries, estimated all the monthly expenses to include federal and state excise taxes. You might be confused about the $0 on business taxes but we are actually going to be able to get it waived for 5 years through a city revitalization program. If our sales numbers are as close as we estimate and my imaginary expenses are close, then this is where I'm head in terms of monthly profit.
We are about to close (we're owner financing) on a building in the downtown area that is in all, over 7,000 sq feet that will be divided between the new home of the LHBS, the brewery and taproom, a second floor that will have a classroom and private event room, as well as a rooftop seating area. When I first started planning I went from thinking I should go with a 3.5 to maybe 5 BBL system. Then talking to a friend who started a brewery in Waco (90 minute drive with roughly same serving population) with a 7BBL brewhouse and a mix of 7 and 15bbl fermenters, I thought this would work too. Three months in to his operation and he is wondering if a 15BBL operation would have been better. After taking measurements of the building and putting some thought into it, I determined that we absolutely could fit the following;
- 15BBL Brewhouse (with 30BBL CLT)
- 4x 15BBL Fermenters
- 8x 7BBL Jacketed Brite/Serving Tanks (horizontal/stacked)
I figured the serving tanks would be more cost effective than clogging up our space with hundreds of kegs, and we will primarily be taproom focused. If we end up getting contracts at local restaurants or bars then we can fill kegs from a brite. I am coming from a homebrew background and have never worked in a brewery so, like I said before, all my numbers are coming from forums and asking around. Also, I am a ground pounding soldier with no finance background and enough math skills to be dangerous. I have been working on some spreadsheets that I would like to share to see if I am crazy, realistic, or being really modest. Either way, feedback is appreciated.
Starting simple:
AVG Supply Cost Per BBL | $150.00 |
AVG pints per BBL | 200 |
AVG price per pint | $6 |
Potential Pint Income per BBL | $1,050 |
Growlers per BBL | 60 |
AVG price per growler | 12 |
Potential Growler Income per BBL | $570 |
Day/Time | Est Clientele | Est Pints per Client | Avg Price Per Pint | EOD Sales |
Wednesday 4 - 10pm | 60 | 2 | $6.00 | $720.00 |
Thursday 4 - 12pm | 150 | 2 | $6.00 | $1,800.00 |
Friday 4 - 12pm | 300 | 3 | $6.00 | $5,400.00 |
Saturday 12 - 12pm | 300 | 3 | $6.00 | $5,400.00 |
Sunday 12 - 6pm | 150 | 2 | $6.00 | $1,800.00 |
Pints per Month | 10,080 | 4 weeks per month | $60,480.00 | |
Taprom | BBL's per Month | 13.8 | ||
Growler Fills | 64 per Month | 1 | bbl per month | $570.00 |
Crowler Fills | ||||
Team (6) Pack 2 go | ||||
2go | BBL's per Month | 1 | $570.00 | |
Facilities | Kegs per Month | Cost per Keg | ||
Draft Accounts | 4 | 3 | $150.00 | $1,800.00 |
Draft | BBL's per Month | 6 | ||
Merch Sales | $500.00 | |||
Overall | BBL's per Month | 20.8 | ||
Total Monthly Sales | $63,350.00 |
Direct Expenses | Taxes and Interest | |||
Federal Excise Tax | $48.27 | |||
Monthly Lease | $3,000 | Business Taxes | $0.00 | |
Avg Supply Costs | $2,068.55 | Property Taxes | $125.00 | |
Building Insurance | $300.00 | |||
Brewery Insurance | $1,000.00 | State Excise Tax | $84.65 | |
Licenses | $200.00 | Sales Taxes | $4,276.13 | |
Cleaning Services | $100.00 | Taxes and Interest | $173.27 | |
Cans | $100.00 | Sub-Total | $4,707.30 | |
Equip. Loan Repayment | $4,200.00 | Expenses and Taxes | $33,776 | |
Water | $1,000.00 | Net Profit | $29,574.15 | |
Power | $1,000.00 | |||
Indirect Expenses | ||||
Payment Processing | $300.00 | |||
Financial Services | $200.00 | |||
Internet | $250.00 | |||
Television Services | $500.00 | |||
Security Systems | $300.00 | |||
Association Memberships | $100.00 | |||
Advertising | $100.00 | |||
Business Dining | $500.00 | |||
Education | $100.00 | |||
Events | $100.00 | |||
Merch | $200.00 | |||
Building Maintenance | $200.00 | |||
Employee Salaries | $13,250.00 | |||
Expenses Total | $29,069 |
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