Hoping to get all of my ducks lined up soon and find a lease. Has anyone out there started in NYS under the new-ish law and can provide some guidance? I am planning to start at only 1/2bbl for a taproom and then expand to 2bbl as it becomes necessary. Hire a consultant at this level? What is worth dropping coin on and what is not?
The plan is to start at 1/2 bbl and 4 taps but expand to 8 before going bigger. I’d love to license out the production of the first four beers to someone with 5-7bbl capabilities, so I have some stock for the opening.
The only advice I can give is consider starting off at least 3 bbl. You can hobble together a 3 bbl system pretty easy, even if you have to back to back batches from a 55 gallon homemade system into 3 bbl fermentors (it’s not exactly 3 bbls but get’s you close). If the value of the amount of beer you are brewing isn’t greater than the value of the amount of time you spent making it then what is the point? You will actually end up spending money to serve people beer and, frankly, that doesn’t make any sense.
I would also be personally irritated if I went to drink at a “farm brewery” and then found out out was contract brewed.
One thing to keep in mind is that license requires you to use a percentage of local ingredients with a ladder up to 90% in a few years. Take a look at what local malt and hops cost; they may be far more expensive than what you can buy elsewhere.