NEVER!!
This has been my dream since graduating from college. I had a business plan written, but I need to pay off that education!
Solution: Work at one of those big ol’ breweries as an engineer until I make good enough beer to get people to pay for it. Thats what Dan Carey did…
Any AB or Miller-Coors employees out there need a damn good biochemical engineer? I’m your man…
The episode on Worth Brewing in IA (on BrewingTV) seemed to be a way to go. Open a small pub and just supply your beer using a small brewing system (I think his was 20gal). I’ve thought about approaching one of the existing pubs in town, and seeing if they’d let me brew occasionally on premises and sell at their establishment. It might be a decent part-time gig, as much for fun as for profit.
Funny watching this post from 10 years ago and how much things have changed. I managed to grow my nano brewery to a legitimate state wide brewery, won some awards and now, as of this past year, have resigned as head brewer (I’m still a share holder) and am currently about to work on another project, and this one possibly with even bigger ramifications. I can’t talk about it just yet but it is extremely exciting. That said, leaving my previous, somewhat lucrative career over 10 years and learning the craft of brewing has basically forced me to leave my old career behind since I lost all my connections, have been out of practice and have grown old"ish" (I just turned 50). That’s something I don’t think a lot of people consider, depending how long you are out you may not be able to easily get back to your previous career. I am now a brewer and distiller and I am “stuck” in this career for the rest of my life. I’m not complaining I truly love the science and craft of brewing but I do think my liver would be much healthier had I stuck with my previous career. Anyway, whatever you do, choose wisely. 
I think that 10 years ago it was a bit easier to get into the craft brewing scene than it is today. Because of the number of breweries out that that put a strain on the supply chain of ingredients, you now have to contract for everything and might not be able to get things like the hops you want/need for a year or so. Plus capitalizing a brewery, even a nano brewery. is pretty expensive as others have said.
I myself have turned two hobbies into careers. First was ham radio which I turned into a 27 year career as a broadcast technical consultant and homebrewing that I turned into a 6 year parttime professional brewing career (I call the latter my “I flunked retirement career”). I did dream of striking out on my own with a brewery but at my age (39 with 28 years of experience because I haven’t gotten 39 right yet ;D) it is really not feasible for me anymore because of thee amount of physical labor involved. I do, however, keep my fingers in the pro-brewing gig helping out at several breweries in Ohio and in Florida (when I am there in the winter months) which is rewarding enough for me now.
My response when asked about going pro is something I once heard a pro brewer say -
“If you want to make a small fortune in brewing, just start with a large fortune!”
I’ve frequently heard that said about ranching, but it probably can be said about a great many businesses.
I heard it about farming, ranching, brewing, cone computer companies (anyone remember buying PC’s over the phone based on a add in Byte Magazine?), anything retail or manufacturing. The sad reality is most new businesses fail. I think I’ve heard that most entrepreneurs start and fail at 4 businesses, on average, before finding one that works. The only people I’ve know who made a lot of money on their first try are doing, or have done, time in the pen (selling illicit medicinal items is a quick way to money but a road straight to jail). 8^)
If your dream is to run own business, you need patience, nerves of steel and family friends who will let you sleep on their floor when you have to close the doors a few times.
Paul
They should have a distillation column for that new toy you have. [emoji41]
Fun to see your post from ‘10. Look forward to the official announcement of your new project. [emoji106]
Cheers!
When I retired in 2012 I “Went Pro” as the QC guy for a startup brewery, and it didn’t take long to figure out that I didn’t want the job of head brewer. That’s some hot sweaty dirty work if I’ve ever seen it, and I had my fill of that when I was 15! So my dream of starting a brewery or brew pub evaporated in a cloud of reality.
My considered opinion is that if you’re going to start a brewery you will be fighting the market forever. Having three or four flagship brews doesn’t hack it anymore. Now you have to be cutting edge, and that means making whatever bullshit “style” the idiots at the next brewery came up with. I’m thinking “Hazy IPA” (which I really can’t stand!), but it applies to a lot of the “Trendy” crap nowadays.
Charlie
Another comment I heard many years ago when I had the dream of starting my own brewery came from the owner/brewmaster of a brewery in Savannah, GA who I got to know when visiting there. When I told him of my dream to start my own brewery and asked for advice, he said one word.
“Don’t!”
His reasoning is not just the capital investment but the inordinate amount of time you spend at the brewery doing things other than brewing (book work, continuous cleaning, paying the liquor taxes, maintaining the brewing supplies, hiring and managing employees) . I can go on and on. But I learned how much extra work there was when I did my 6 year pro-brewing gig at Hoppin’ Frog in Akron, Ohio. Obviously, you have to follow your dream and I am not trying to discourage you. Just realize that you need to be prepared for the heavy work load. It is not all glamour and the potential for failure is way higher today than it was 10 years ago because of the intense competitiveness in the industry today.
I would suggest first hiring on as a brewer at a local brewery and experiencing this personally to get a feel for this before jumping in with both feet.
I think many of us have been asked when we are going to open a brewery; I have even been given assurances from a successful restaurant that they would foot the bill to expand the premises and acquire the equipment…but my last response was that I don’t want to ruin my hobby by going pro (truth is I just don’t want to take a cut in pay!) I am on the older side of life approaching retirement age, so the toil of the labor is not so appealing to me. For you young guys, best of luck and keep your eyes on the prize.
Go and listen to the “How Not to Start Damn Brewery” podcast first.
Do it! Good luck!