I need advice on starting my nano brewery in north myrtle beach, SC. I’[ve been brewing for over 20 years. So, I have my main stays, seasonals. I also have a friend that is a head chef from a Carrabba’s that is helping me put food together that goes along with my theme of the brewery. For starters, it would be out of a food truck until more funding came about. I have a limited business plan, with a desire to build multiple locations. I’ve asked countless people here in the Grand Strand, if they’d like the theme/style of brewery. The result is, so far, 100% want this to be open ASAP. Even if they told me they don’t like beer. If the ambiance was fun, with outdoor activities, child friendly, etc. they’d love to go there for food! Still, this is a major money opportunity, I’d think that people would invest in this ASAP. Especially if they want a fool proof money making opportunity. The Grand Strand is starving for a nano craft brewery. any real help would be so very much appreciated!
Don’t mean to sound discouraging, but it seems unwise to use “brewery” and “foolproof money-making opportunity” in the same paragraph. These things are pretty much mutually exclusive these days.
My first advice is to go at least 3 bbl. Most nanos can’t make any money with less volume. Next, don’t overestimate the market. Just because some people you know think it’s a good idea doesn’t mean you can make money. Take a listen to the How NOT to Start a Damn Brewery podcast. I admire your determination, but let that put you off good advice based on experience.
i have no hands on experience with operating, brewing at, marketing or the finances of a nano or microbrewery.
definitely listen to advice from people here and as many industry people as you can and hear the voices telling how and why certain things are a bad idea.
my suggestions based on thinking about this, academic research and anecdtoes are:
-people don’t necessarily want the beers you or other brewers think are the best
-marketing matters as much as product quality
-distribution matters as much as product quality if you are doing this
-follow the market and learn the ropes carefully
my personal thoughts: i wish there were more nano or microbreweries highly specialized in a very particular type of beer - as in “we are the very strong smoked beer/dark belgian quad+dubbel experts, and we are focusing 100% of our effort on this”
The Brewer’s Association/AHA used to have resources for homebrewers starting a brewery. These are now two separate entities, so I’m not sure where to look for it but I’d reach out to them.
Batch size should be a very important consideration. How much time do you have for brewing? If you’re only making 1bbl at a time, you could be brewing 5 days a week and still not have enough.
My definition of Nano is brewing less than 3.5bbl at a time.
Really think about your brewing schedule, and what makes sense. Fermenter space and brewhouse size are what will really be the bottleneck when it comes to production. A double batch of 3.5bbl will give you the same amount of beer as doing 7 1bbl batches.
In my experience, the ingredient costs from a 1bbl to 3.5bbl recipe aren’t so far apart - which softens the hurt when using different yeast strains. Going from 3.5bbl to 10bbl and up is where you’ll start feeling the pressure of yeast and other ingredient costs.
Friends recently opened a 5bbl brewery in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Beer is very good. They knew they needed food too, as people are hungry before or after the market experience. The have a 3rd partner that runs restaurants, and the food is good too.
It’s been many decades since I’ve been been to that part of SC. Can you have food available from food trucks or carry in from close by restaurants.
The coffee business in the mornings has worked for a few multitaps and breweries I’ve been to.
i wish the independent coffee shops around here had the technical expertise i feel most brewers have. they want to brag about their fancy roasts but they dont even keep their machines maintained or cleaned properly.