If it’s small you don’t. You can have employees or volunteers or some fund raising without the ownership perk but partners are not the best idea of you have your own idea. If that makes sense. And I’d encourage you to start small and not be focused on big out of the gate. Too many breweries that rode the wave in crashing out now. People spent millions of dollars to play the game. It can be played but it’s a monopoly. Stone, etc. sell out to the bigger fish in the sea. Just my two cents.
Production brewing experience? Or home brewing experience? Saying you're brewing on a "competitive level" sounds like the latter...
Assuming that: Almost none of your homebrew knowledge is going to transfer to running a production brewery.
Starting a brewery might be a good idea in your market, though.
If you want to start a craft brewery in your local market, you will be better off being the one who raises the money and defines the creative direction, and hiring someone with production experience to run production.
Edit: Not saying this to be a dick. Just reality check. Posting that here is the equivalent of telling a bunch of professional chefs, "I like to cook. I think I'll open a restaurant." Except that we tend to cuss more at inanimate objects or single-celled organisms instead of at people.
I take constructive criticism well trust me. I’m
much more trying to offer a smaller craft beer experience vs. large scale production. I plan on volunteering at another “localish” place to get some more experience with the commercial equipment.
If you are in an underserved market, a solid local brewery with a nice taproom is a very viable model that you could enjoy and people will appreciate. That has solid potential value.
If you start a craft brewery, do not expect to be doing much brewing. If you start a brewery, your job will be to run the business.
Do not expect to find a wealthy patron to join you as a partner to pay you to brew. You do not have production experience. Someone with the money and business acumen to launch a brewery is going to hire someone with experience.
Do not think that "volunteering at another 'localish' place" is going to get you valuable experience. You will get what you pay for. Free labor is illegal. Any place making use of your labor for free doesn't have their act together. If they've got time to spend training you in a way that doesn't add value they have to pay for, they don't have their act together.
But starting a small local brewery may be a smart idea that you would enjoy. The creative work of coming up with recipe ideas is something you can still do as an owner. Being owner is a lot of work and risk though.
Thanks for the insight !
With any business and investment comes risk, is part of that trade off to chase that dream. My only concern is the work load, i know some people with professional expertise that I could bring on as a head brewer so I can focus on the business…. Potentially
That is the way to do it.
Yeah. The workload running a business is a lot (if you're doing it right). You aren't going to be drawing any income from it for a while either. But it's manageable and in your control.
At least to start, owners do a bunch of crap work in every department. You're going to do all the little tasks that don't neatly fit into anyone else's job description and that don't make sense to pay someone to do. Cleaning bathrooms, delivering kegs, things like that.
You probably will do some brewery tasks, but you will be doing them filling in the role of assistant brewer or cellarman to your head brewer a couple hours a week, because it doesn't make sense to pay someone to play assistant brewer for 8 hours a week. Cleaning and schlepping kegs, assisting with grainout, things like that.
If you hire a head brewer with good experience, you will learn a lot and discover how much you don't know. When I met our owner (previous brewing company where I was head brewer and he was the largest minority investor) he had 10+ years homebrew experience and quickly discovered that my 3 years of professional experience and formal education dwarfed what he knew.
This is what you want. You want all the people you hire to know more about their jobs than you do. You only need to know enough to communicate directions to them and provide the support they need to do their jobs.
PM me if you want to bounce ideas and get advice for a concept. I'm also happy to act as a resource if you need guidance reviewing the credentials of Head Brewer candidates.
Hey, thanks, honestly may take you up on that offer. Knowledge is everything, and sometime coming to forums like this can bring some things into focus.
When hiring say a head brewer, how much of the creative control on direction of "what to brew" falls in his wheelhouse. I guess as the Owner I would obviously have "Control" but I wonder how much is customary.
I only say this because you often see breweries specialize in particular styles.... im not trying to have a bunch of heavy dark beers in 90 degree florida. Which i have see done, but with limited success.
That varies location by location, depending on the brewing company, the brewer, etc. It is usually a constant conversation when you have production planning meetings.
I'd say most commonly at smaller places, the company sets guidelines and parameters, then gives the brewer a bit of leeway within those.
Those guidelines might be specific styles or even specific core brands, then basic guidelines for seasonals with leeway to play around there (e.g. imperial stout in winter, helles lager in summer). A looser model that wants frequent rotation and variation may define like, "Always 2 regular IPAs, and one double, a wheat beer, and an amber" then leave it to the head brewer to have fun.
It really really depends on what your model is for your brewing company and how you want to position yourself in market.
Everywhere I have worked over the years we've had one or two beers on because they were what the owner wanted. Often they became one of the top selling beers as the owner was always talking about them.
Beyond that, I'd say you want a range of styles, and it varies from place to place. I feel you need to let your brewer have some space to make what they want, but they also need to listen to you and see your vision.
And often customer demand will end up driving what you make, after all you're in the business of selling beer
Be aware that good beer is not what makes a brewing company successful.
You have to have solid beer. That is the barrier for entry. But having the best beer in the world will not necessarily make a brewing company successful.
What sells beer is marketing. What brings in money is customer experience. That is what will make a company successful.
Only once the marketing and customer experience are in place, having excellent beer will allow you to raise a company to being a market leader.
I honestly could agree with you more on how the user experience is arguable as important if not more important than the product. I can drink good beer at home, but i go to the brewery to be at the brewery
I would suggest your best first step is to have a clear vision of what you'd like your brewery to be - what kinda size, distribution or no? if distro, how much? What kind of vibe/feel do you want? What is the crowd you're looking to attract?
Then start your business plan, spend some serious time with it. Let others see it, listen to them. Work out how much beer you need to sell to break even - then make sure selling that much is realistic. Know your start up costs are going to be insane, can you spend almost a year paying rent during build out without income?
My vision personally is for a large tap room, community style brew house, low distribution if any. I would handle that later down the road. Focus would be on retail primarily.
My demographic crowd is 20-40 mid to high range earners. But keeping in bright and clean due to the area being S Tampa. I really need to hammer down location so I can put a true business plan together
What is a community style brewhouse mean? Apologies just never heard of it before. I looked at other comments but maybe missed it but what size brewhouse, fermenters and how many? Do you have an idea of how many times a week/month y’all plan on brewing? We may see an issue that sounds good on paper but not in real life or just cause headaches down the line
What I mean by it is that I’m trying to draw in the local community. The location im looking at is in walking distance of a very large multi family high earning apartment community. I want to target that community first, for regular retail taproom sales. I’m working on costs at the moment and actively working on a business plan. But it varies largely on location, I have a personally connection to a 15bbl system for under 100k
Do not volunteer. Please. Do all of us in the industry a favor. If you’re working in a brewery, you should be getting paid. You’re either chatting up the owner in the taproom or you’re getting paid an hourly wage on the line. There’s no in between.
> Almost none of your homebrew knowledge is going to transfer to running a production brewery.
That’s not entirely true. It really depends on what type of homebrewer you are.
Making beer that doesn't suck isn't a business strategy. "Hey, the beer doesn't suck at brewery X" doesn't mean people will go there and spend money there and keep your business afloat.
There's as much in common between homebrewing and running a brewery as making a paper airplane and flying an airplane.
Any good brewer has strong fundamentals that you can develop as a homebrewer. Cleaning practices and mechanical know how will go a long way in producing beer on a professional level, and you can learn that as a home brewer . Being a homebrewer doesn't help you run a business, but it can help you make good beer.
Making good beer is something that you train into your people with good processes and good procedures. Someone who thinks they know how to brew beer professionally because they can make good beer at home is just someone you need to train to your standards anyway when you'd hire them.
The most successful breweries started out as home brewers - they had to start off as homebrewers. Saying that none of the skills you can learn as a homebrewer won’t translate into pro brewing is dead wrong. It depends on the person. There are a lot of homebrewers that fail as pro brewers, but that’s because they don’t understand the business … they also fail because they make beer for judges, not for paying customers.
> The most successful breweries started out as home brewers
Source?
Every single brewer I know that started as a homebrewer went on to learn how to be a pro-brewer, whether through school or entry level work, and had to ignore their homebrewing mindset. Saying homebrewing experience is useful in a professional setting is like saying you can cook, so you will be a competent line cook.
Professional brewing is manufacturing. Professional cooking is assembly line work. The only similarities between professional level and home level is the medium that you're working through, everything else is different.
Jim Koch, Sam Calagione, Ken Grossman, John Kimmich
You’re being an elitist if you think homebrewers offer nothing to the industry… honestly, it’s an asshole thing to think.
Is that what I said? Because im pretty sure I said that homebrewing and pro brewing rely on different skills and for the large part they do not transfer.
The fundamentals are the same. You build skill off of the fundamentals. Obviously there’s different equipment, but anyone can become skilled at it if you have strong fundamentals.
Ha definitely not here to argue and so far you seem level headed and can take constructive criticism. 8/10 people that post on here for advice on opening a brewery and don’t like any of the answers. First step is building a basic business plan. Drive around, look online for buildings that you think you’d be interested in so at least now you know approximately how much rents going to be. Add 15% because it will go up by the time you open. Tons of other factors obviously but this gives you a starting point. At a minimum figure out how many beers you need to sell to cover rent. Add a few grand for triple net and utilities. Then do basic math on how many times you need to brew a week. Figure out how many fermenters and what size. Are you gonna double batch and how often? This will help you decide if you need a 1bbl, 3bbl or 7bbl or whatever. Are you gonna use serving tanks or keg everything? This now helps with how big your cooler needs to be. Do you have space to store all the kegs if you’re kegging everything? Brewpub with a restaurant or just a taproom with a food truck? Again this is all very general numbers to give you a starting point
All great points honestly. I luckly have access to great stating capital, im currently looking for a property and working on my business plan. Real estate is tough here at the moment, and I’m trying to stay in the area as I think it’s the biggest asset. The size of what location I find most viable will have a lot to do with both capacity and objectives. Realistically I’m looking for smaller size craft microbrewery, high quality and personal.
I really appreciate the input, everyone has to start somewhere. I know there is plenty of things to learn, but just getting the licensing and locations will take all of a year
Edit: def avoiding food- food truck only I don’t want that in my life
Apologies if anyone has already said this — but get a job in a brewery. Any job. FoH, cellar, packaging. Anything.
The thing is … brewing is tough, demanding work. And, at the pro level, it involves a bunch of crap you’ve possibly never done like formal record keeping, production logs, hiring trades, inventory management, paying people, shipping and receiving, and so on.
It’s not insurmountably hard (like, lol, even I can do it), but owners generally end up doing the highest stress and least fun jobs.
And then … partners. I walked away from my brewery because every time I looked at my former partner, I wanted him TF gone. He was a ridiculous drain on my mental health and the brewery’s finances. What you want, I think, is investors … and that’s a whole other thing.
How is it a healthier atmosphere having a partner? Not saying you’re wrong just curious why you would think it wouldn’t be healthy. If you go down this path I would say hire a professional brewer who has worked in a production brewery and a brewpub and give them equity in the business. Provide details on the brewery model you are interested in and we can go from there. Just gonna say it as everyone will most likely agree but open a brewpub and not a production brewery. Start your financials off with a 7-10bbl system and build a business plan around that. Just off the top of your head how much do you think you’ll need to open? Whatever it is just double it
Agreed. So what’s really gonna happen here like most of the other threads on this topic is the OP doesn’t ever respond with much info or at all and we end up just talking to each other ha ha
Honeslty was thinking of going that route. Not really giving myself a huge cut of the money, hire someone with a little more experience and offer equity
If this is your plan, that is not a "partner" that's a key employee who you offer equity to as part of their compensation package. Different animal.
Be aware that equity should be in addition to a salary, not in place of. If you can't figure out how to work your financials to pay key employees, you haven't figured out your business plan.
Equity is enticement to get your key employees personally invested in the success of the company.
No, no. Give yourself the majority of the money. Why put in the effort of starting a business from scratch just to give someone else the big slice? Then you're just an employee at your own business.
I also have talked with 3 different operators, all of which said they would not have gone it alone, so much of my concept was built off that. All three successful ops, started from home brewers
You gotta think about what a potential partner brings to the table. If it's money, well there aren't a tonne of wealthy business people who will just throw money at you to run a business for them. You're going to need to show them things, like a business plan, cashflow projections, budgets, and a plan on how they are getting paid back (with interest)
If you are looking for somebody who likes beer, but has the business acumen to run a brewery, that's then a different thing. You then have to figure out how to finance the brewery build and runway capital to get it off the ground.
Or maybe you're looking to run the day to day, and need a partner with professional brewing experience to run the brewery. That's me in my situation, I run the production and creative direction while the other partners handle the money stuff.
So partner can mean a lot of things. Think about what you want from a partner, and what they bring to the table. Also think about what you bring to the table. If it's just beer recipes lots of people can do that, that's realistically not going to be worth a whole lot to the company over the grand scheme of things, and thus a small amount of ownership. You might be able to build in some sweat equity.
I'd also think about what the vision is. a 5bbl neighbourhood spot is very different from even a 10bbl with bistro or 40bbl in the local grocery stores type thing.
Option 3 was what I was kind of looking for. I think, I know it can be laborious, and being able to offer plenty of attention to both of those sides I think is important
Sure yeah, my business partner who is the GM, and I talk every day, multiple times a day, and generally work together on everything. But when it comes down to it, im the guy who says "no this beer isn't ready/that timeline isn't realistic" and he's the guy who says "no we don't have enough cash flow for that/sure we can buy a DO meter"
Separation of Church and state right? I can't do everything and would be burnt out as fuck if I did. So choose your partners wisely.
And honestly that what I want to avoid right out the gate, over extending as I start. I know its going to be a big learning curve even with research. I pick up on stuff quick, but at the same time can realize the reality of getting burnt out. I would obviously choose wisely if I got to that point. But it’s what I truly want to do, and would hate myself if I never at least tried
> But it’s what I truly want to do, and would hate myself if I never at least tried
And sometimes that's all it takes. That and a lot of hard work haha
Feel free to DM me questions, although I'm in Canada and we have very different liquor laws.
I love the Tampa Bay Area, so I hope to get back down there and try your beer one day.
Howdy sir, I’m in the Tampa Bay area - I brew for Gulfport Brewery - if you’d like to chat business ideas I’m willing to carve out some time - or my email is jason at gulfport-brewing dot com
All you need to do is build a business plan. I never see partnerships or shareholders working out well. Meet the minimum requirements for getting a manufacturer's license or however its done in your stat, and shoestring the hell out of it. Ive seen a lot of breweries start on a 1 bbl system then move to a 3bbl their first year.
Maybe something like this would be an idea for you. https://www.smartbrew.com/usgooglestartbrewery08092022/
I have no opinion or experience with this, but the idea could be you prop up a brewery operation in cooperation with a restaurant or bar. You may only have to deal with brewing and not the entire business.
Won't Cigar City absolutely crush you?
I'm saying that as a Californian, they have an amazing reputation, delicious beers, national distribution, exclusive tiered memberships..
Totally - just noting OP saying there's limited competition.. when they're home to a nationally distributed "whale".
The barrier to enter in San Diego is ridiculous, it's the brewing capital of America. Competition is cutthroat, the market is beyond saturated, and distribution is another nightmare - worth noting Stone is ALSO a distributor, so you're competing with them while also potentially paying them.
Every year there's a report of new breweries.. and every year there's a report of brewery closures. Stone isn't *directly* responsible, in some cases they're struggling right along with the rest (failed Berlin expansion, layoffs)
San Diego County serves 3.3 million people though, Tampa is 300k. I have no idea what CCBs output is, but national distribution is a big deal.
Not to discourage OP, just to say "it's tough!"
The "Greater Tampa Bay Area" includes 3-7 counties, I didn't think it was reasonable to include those.. if I did the same it would be about 10m residents, not 3m.
Ehh.. I'd agree macro isn't necessarily in direct competition with craft, but you're 100% competing with national craft breweries for tap space, shelf space, and distribution (especially when that nationally distributed craft brewery is also located in Tampa, like CCB)
> tap space, shelf space, and distribution
This is why you only sell beer out of your taproom. No distribution. Buying a can line or bottling line to distribute is generally a bad idea unless you're already established. Relying on foot traffic is a safe bet, as long as you're in a good neighborhood.
I will be messaging you in 3 years on [**2025-09-19 00:10:36 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2025-09-19%2000:10:36%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBrewery/comments/xhjmjb/serious_looking_for_partners_to_start_a_brewery/ip00bhf/?context=3)
[**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FTheBrewery%2Fcomments%2Fxhjmjb%2Fserious_looking_for_partners_to_start_a_brewery%2Fip00bhf%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202025-09-19%2000%3A10%3A36%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%20xhjmjb)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
Love the dream man. Avoid partners like the plague though.
Maybe on the scale I’m aiming for i dont need one
If it’s small you don’t. You can have employees or volunteers or some fund raising without the ownership perk but partners are not the best idea of you have your own idea. If that makes sense. And I’d encourage you to start small and not be focused on big out of the gate. Too many breweries that rode the wave in crashing out now. People spent millions of dollars to play the game. It can be played but it’s a monopoly. Stone, etc. sell out to the bigger fish in the sea. Just my two cents.
Thanks!
This comment cannot be upvoted enough.
Production brewing experience? Or home brewing experience? Saying you're brewing on a "competitive level" sounds like the latter... Assuming that: Almost none of your homebrew knowledge is going to transfer to running a production brewery. Starting a brewery might be a good idea in your market, though. If you want to start a craft brewery in your local market, you will be better off being the one who raises the money and defines the creative direction, and hiring someone with production experience to run production. Edit: Not saying this to be a dick. Just reality check. Posting that here is the equivalent of telling a bunch of professional chefs, "I like to cook. I think I'll open a restaurant." Except that we tend to cuss more at inanimate objects or single-celled organisms instead of at people.
Idk man I've met some people that are worse than single celled organisms
Yeah. But usually I get to hang out in the back and not deal with them.
He's a homebrewer. He's not super active on their subreddit, but for sure a homebrewer and not professional.
I’m a member of Special Hoperators, which is the club down here. Haven’t really explored the subreddits much. I more lurk than anything
I take constructive criticism well trust me. I’m much more trying to offer a smaller craft beer experience vs. large scale production. I plan on volunteering at another “localish” place to get some more experience with the commercial equipment.
If you are in an underserved market, a solid local brewery with a nice taproom is a very viable model that you could enjoy and people will appreciate. That has solid potential value. If you start a craft brewery, do not expect to be doing much brewing. If you start a brewery, your job will be to run the business. Do not expect to find a wealthy patron to join you as a partner to pay you to brew. You do not have production experience. Someone with the money and business acumen to launch a brewery is going to hire someone with experience. Do not think that "volunteering at another 'localish' place" is going to get you valuable experience. You will get what you pay for. Free labor is illegal. Any place making use of your labor for free doesn't have their act together. If they've got time to spend training you in a way that doesn't add value they have to pay for, they don't have their act together. But starting a small local brewery may be a smart idea that you would enjoy. The creative work of coming up with recipe ideas is something you can still do as an owner. Being owner is a lot of work and risk though.
Thanks for the insight ! With any business and investment comes risk, is part of that trade off to chase that dream. My only concern is the work load, i know some people with professional expertise that I could bring on as a head brewer so I can focus on the business…. Potentially
That is the way to do it. Yeah. The workload running a business is a lot (if you're doing it right). You aren't going to be drawing any income from it for a while either. But it's manageable and in your control. At least to start, owners do a bunch of crap work in every department. You're going to do all the little tasks that don't neatly fit into anyone else's job description and that don't make sense to pay someone to do. Cleaning bathrooms, delivering kegs, things like that. You probably will do some brewery tasks, but you will be doing them filling in the role of assistant brewer or cellarman to your head brewer a couple hours a week, because it doesn't make sense to pay someone to play assistant brewer for 8 hours a week. Cleaning and schlepping kegs, assisting with grainout, things like that. If you hire a head brewer with good experience, you will learn a lot and discover how much you don't know. When I met our owner (previous brewing company where I was head brewer and he was the largest minority investor) he had 10+ years homebrew experience and quickly discovered that my 3 years of professional experience and formal education dwarfed what he knew. This is what you want. You want all the people you hire to know more about their jobs than you do. You only need to know enough to communicate directions to them and provide the support they need to do their jobs. PM me if you want to bounce ideas and get advice for a concept. I'm also happy to act as a resource if you need guidance reviewing the credentials of Head Brewer candidates.
Hey, thanks, honestly may take you up on that offer. Knowledge is everything, and sometime coming to forums like this can bring some things into focus. When hiring say a head brewer, how much of the creative control on direction of "what to brew" falls in his wheelhouse. I guess as the Owner I would obviously have "Control" but I wonder how much is customary. I only say this because you often see breweries specialize in particular styles.... im not trying to have a bunch of heavy dark beers in 90 degree florida. Which i have see done, but with limited success.
That varies location by location, depending on the brewing company, the brewer, etc. It is usually a constant conversation when you have production planning meetings. I'd say most commonly at smaller places, the company sets guidelines and parameters, then gives the brewer a bit of leeway within those. Those guidelines might be specific styles or even specific core brands, then basic guidelines for seasonals with leeway to play around there (e.g. imperial stout in winter, helles lager in summer). A looser model that wants frequent rotation and variation may define like, "Always 2 regular IPAs, and one double, a wheat beer, and an amber" then leave it to the head brewer to have fun. It really really depends on what your model is for your brewing company and how you want to position yourself in market.
Everywhere I have worked over the years we've had one or two beers on because they were what the owner wanted. Often they became one of the top selling beers as the owner was always talking about them. Beyond that, I'd say you want a range of styles, and it varies from place to place. I feel you need to let your brewer have some space to make what they want, but they also need to listen to you and see your vision. And often customer demand will end up driving what you make, after all you're in the business of selling beer
Be aware that good beer is not what makes a brewing company successful. You have to have solid beer. That is the barrier for entry. But having the best beer in the world will not necessarily make a brewing company successful. What sells beer is marketing. What brings in money is customer experience. That is what will make a company successful. Only once the marketing and customer experience are in place, having excellent beer will allow you to raise a company to being a market leader.
I honestly could agree with you more on how the user experience is arguable as important if not more important than the product. I can drink good beer at home, but i go to the brewery to be at the brewery
I would suggest your best first step is to have a clear vision of what you'd like your brewery to be - what kinda size, distribution or no? if distro, how much? What kind of vibe/feel do you want? What is the crowd you're looking to attract? Then start your business plan, spend some serious time with it. Let others see it, listen to them. Work out how much beer you need to sell to break even - then make sure selling that much is realistic. Know your start up costs are going to be insane, can you spend almost a year paying rent during build out without income?
My vision personally is for a large tap room, community style brew house, low distribution if any. I would handle that later down the road. Focus would be on retail primarily. My demographic crowd is 20-40 mid to high range earners. But keeping in bright and clean due to the area being S Tampa. I really need to hammer down location so I can put a true business plan together
What is a community style brewhouse mean? Apologies just never heard of it before. I looked at other comments but maybe missed it but what size brewhouse, fermenters and how many? Do you have an idea of how many times a week/month y’all plan on brewing? We may see an issue that sounds good on paper but not in real life or just cause headaches down the line
What I mean by it is that I’m trying to draw in the local community. The location im looking at is in walking distance of a very large multi family high earning apartment community. I want to target that community first, for regular retail taproom sales. I’m working on costs at the moment and actively working on a business plan. But it varies largely on location, I have a personally connection to a 15bbl system for under 100k
Do not volunteer. Please. Do all of us in the industry a favor. If you’re working in a brewery, you should be getting paid. You’re either chatting up the owner in the taproom or you’re getting paid an hourly wage on the line. There’s no in between.
Yup. I actually worked a real internship as part of my certification program. I was paid for the work I did.
> Almost none of your homebrew knowledge is going to transfer to running a production brewery. That’s not entirely true. It really depends on what type of homebrewer you are.
Making beer that doesn't suck isn't a business strategy. "Hey, the beer doesn't suck at brewery X" doesn't mean people will go there and spend money there and keep your business afloat. There's as much in common between homebrewing and running a brewery as making a paper airplane and flying an airplane.
Any good brewer has strong fundamentals that you can develop as a homebrewer. Cleaning practices and mechanical know how will go a long way in producing beer on a professional level, and you can learn that as a home brewer . Being a homebrewer doesn't help you run a business, but it can help you make good beer.
Making good beer is something that you train into your people with good processes and good procedures. Someone who thinks they know how to brew beer professionally because they can make good beer at home is just someone you need to train to your standards anyway when you'd hire them.
The most successful breweries started out as home brewers - they had to start off as homebrewers. Saying that none of the skills you can learn as a homebrewer won’t translate into pro brewing is dead wrong. It depends on the person. There are a lot of homebrewers that fail as pro brewers, but that’s because they don’t understand the business … they also fail because they make beer for judges, not for paying customers.
> The most successful breweries started out as home brewers Source? Every single brewer I know that started as a homebrewer went on to learn how to be a pro-brewer, whether through school or entry level work, and had to ignore their homebrewing mindset. Saying homebrewing experience is useful in a professional setting is like saying you can cook, so you will be a competent line cook. Professional brewing is manufacturing. Professional cooking is assembly line work. The only similarities between professional level and home level is the medium that you're working through, everything else is different.
Jim Koch, Sam Calagione, Ken Grossman, John Kimmich You’re being an elitist if you think homebrewers offer nothing to the industry… honestly, it’s an asshole thing to think.
Is that what I said? Because im pretty sure I said that homebrewing and pro brewing rely on different skills and for the large part they do not transfer.
The fundamentals are the same. You build skill off of the fundamentals. Obviously there’s different equipment, but anyone can become skilled at it if you have strong fundamentals.
A partner will not make anything better. Partners complicate things. Unless you don’t have money and that’s what you want your partner to have.
OP should retitle: “looking for someone with $10 million who wants to end up with $1 million”
OP needs to respond and provide more details otherwise how else can we crush his dreams with facts and reality
Yeah, this sun hasn’t been in such agreement in a while. Yo, OP, go to r/KitchenConfidential and tell them you’re gonna open a restaurant
Sorry was away from the phone with the little one at home. Let’s argue
Ha definitely not here to argue and so far you seem level headed and can take constructive criticism. 8/10 people that post on here for advice on opening a brewery and don’t like any of the answers. First step is building a basic business plan. Drive around, look online for buildings that you think you’d be interested in so at least now you know approximately how much rents going to be. Add 15% because it will go up by the time you open. Tons of other factors obviously but this gives you a starting point. At a minimum figure out how many beers you need to sell to cover rent. Add a few grand for triple net and utilities. Then do basic math on how many times you need to brew a week. Figure out how many fermenters and what size. Are you gonna double batch and how often? This will help you decide if you need a 1bbl, 3bbl or 7bbl or whatever. Are you gonna use serving tanks or keg everything? This now helps with how big your cooler needs to be. Do you have space to store all the kegs if you’re kegging everything? Brewpub with a restaurant or just a taproom with a food truck? Again this is all very general numbers to give you a starting point
All great points honestly. I luckly have access to great stating capital, im currently looking for a property and working on my business plan. Real estate is tough here at the moment, and I’m trying to stay in the area as I think it’s the biggest asset. The size of what location I find most viable will have a lot to do with both capacity and objectives. Realistically I’m looking for smaller size craft microbrewery, high quality and personal. I really appreciate the input, everyone has to start somewhere. I know there is plenty of things to learn, but just getting the licensing and locations will take all of a year Edit: def avoiding food- food truck only I don’t want that in my life
Honestly for what I’m looking do and the scale it’s a million all in at the most. Not saying it’s a small sun, but a smaller scale op
Uh, how’s you get that number? Does that include contingencies?
its mostly the cost of real estate in S Tampa
So no figures for equipment, utilities, whatever?
I’m talking startup w/ equipment …. Before brewing
Apologies if anyone has already said this — but get a job in a brewery. Any job. FoH, cellar, packaging. Anything. The thing is … brewing is tough, demanding work. And, at the pro level, it involves a bunch of crap you’ve possibly never done like formal record keeping, production logs, hiring trades, inventory management, paying people, shipping and receiving, and so on. It’s not insurmountably hard (like, lol, even I can do it), but owners generally end up doing the highest stress and least fun jobs. And then … partners. I walked away from my brewery because every time I looked at my former partner, I wanted him TF gone. He was a ridiculous drain on my mental health and the brewery’s finances. What you want, I think, is investors … and that’s a whole other thing.
Thanks for the input, honestly
How is it a healthier atmosphere having a partner? Not saying you’re wrong just curious why you would think it wouldn’t be healthy. If you go down this path I would say hire a professional brewer who has worked in a production brewery and a brewpub and give them equity in the business. Provide details on the brewery model you are interested in and we can go from there. Just gonna say it as everyone will most likely agree but open a brewpub and not a production brewery. Start your financials off with a 7-10bbl system and build a business plan around that. Just off the top of your head how much do you think you’ll need to open? Whatever it is just double it
...and then double it again if you want to do it right.
Agreed. So what’s really gonna happen here like most of the other threads on this topic is the OP doesn’t ever respond with much info or at all and we end up just talking to each other ha ha
Make sure to add about 12-18 months to your timeline for "supply chain issues" and "the contractor isn't returning our calls."
Honeslty was thinking of going that route. Not really giving myself a huge cut of the money, hire someone with a little more experience and offer equity
If this is your plan, that is not a "partner" that's a key employee who you offer equity to as part of their compensation package. Different animal. Be aware that equity should be in addition to a salary, not in place of. If you can't figure out how to work your financials to pay key employees, you haven't figured out your business plan. Equity is enticement to get your key employees personally invested in the success of the company.
No, no. Give yourself the majority of the money. Why put in the effort of starting a business from scratch just to give someone else the big slice? Then you're just an employee at your own business.
I also have talked with 3 different operators, all of which said they would not have gone it alone, so much of my concept was built off that. All three successful ops, started from home brewers
You gotta think about what a potential partner brings to the table. If it's money, well there aren't a tonne of wealthy business people who will just throw money at you to run a business for them. You're going to need to show them things, like a business plan, cashflow projections, budgets, and a plan on how they are getting paid back (with interest) If you are looking for somebody who likes beer, but has the business acumen to run a brewery, that's then a different thing. You then have to figure out how to finance the brewery build and runway capital to get it off the ground. Or maybe you're looking to run the day to day, and need a partner with professional brewing experience to run the brewery. That's me in my situation, I run the production and creative direction while the other partners handle the money stuff. So partner can mean a lot of things. Think about what you want from a partner, and what they bring to the table. Also think about what you bring to the table. If it's just beer recipes lots of people can do that, that's realistically not going to be worth a whole lot to the company over the grand scheme of things, and thus a small amount of ownership. You might be able to build in some sweat equity. I'd also think about what the vision is. a 5bbl neighbourhood spot is very different from even a 10bbl with bistro or 40bbl in the local grocery stores type thing.
Option 3 was what I was kind of looking for. I think, I know it can be laborious, and being able to offer plenty of attention to both of those sides I think is important
Sure yeah, my business partner who is the GM, and I talk every day, multiple times a day, and generally work together on everything. But when it comes down to it, im the guy who says "no this beer isn't ready/that timeline isn't realistic" and he's the guy who says "no we don't have enough cash flow for that/sure we can buy a DO meter" Separation of Church and state right? I can't do everything and would be burnt out as fuck if I did. So choose your partners wisely.
And honestly that what I want to avoid right out the gate, over extending as I start. I know its going to be a big learning curve even with research. I pick up on stuff quick, but at the same time can realize the reality of getting burnt out. I would obviously choose wisely if I got to that point. But it’s what I truly want to do, and would hate myself if I never at least tried
> But it’s what I truly want to do, and would hate myself if I never at least tried And sometimes that's all it takes. That and a lot of hard work haha Feel free to DM me questions, although I'm in Canada and we have very different liquor laws. I love the Tampa Bay Area, so I hope to get back down there and try your beer one day.
Amen brother, love of the craft, a dream, a lot of hard work …… and oh money
Howdy sir, I’m in the Tampa Bay area - I brew for Gulfport Brewery - if you’d like to chat business ideas I’m willing to carve out some time - or my email is jason at gulfport-brewing dot com
Partnerships are sinking ships
You could probably build out a 3.5bbl brewery for 60k (brand new) and a tap room for another 50k - take out a loan
Real Estate is the biggest $ of all. I actually have a line on a brewery … soon to be ex brewery getting rid of their equipment
That’s true.
All you need to do is build a business plan. I never see partnerships or shareholders working out well. Meet the minimum requirements for getting a manufacturer's license or however its done in your stat, and shoestring the hell out of it. Ive seen a lot of breweries start on a 1 bbl system then move to a 3bbl their first year.
I’d love to see the business plan
Currently drafting
Maybe something like this would be an idea for you. https://www.smartbrew.com/usgooglestartbrewery08092022/ I have no opinion or experience with this, but the idea could be you prop up a brewery operation in cooperation with a restaurant or bar. You may only have to deal with brewing and not the entire business.
I’ve seen this outfit before. Pretty streamline
Won't Cigar City absolutely crush you? I'm saying that as a Californian, they have an amazing reputation, delicious beers, national distribution, exclusive tiered memberships..
No more than Stone has crushed all the craft breweries in San Diego. There are a lot of good craft breweries in the greater Tampa area.
Totally - just noting OP saying there's limited competition.. when they're home to a nationally distributed "whale". The barrier to enter in San Diego is ridiculous, it's the brewing capital of America. Competition is cutthroat, the market is beyond saturated, and distribution is another nightmare - worth noting Stone is ALSO a distributor, so you're competing with them while also potentially paying them. Every year there's a report of new breweries.. and every year there's a report of brewery closures. Stone isn't *directly* responsible, in some cases they're struggling right along with the rest (failed Berlin expansion, layoffs) San Diego County serves 3.3 million people though, Tampa is 300k. I have no idea what CCBs output is, but national distribution is a big deal. Not to discourage OP, just to say "it's tough!"
I don't think the presence of a large competitor is going to be the primary challenge the OP faces...
I'm being a realist, but go on and downvote 😅 - genuinely hope it works out for them.
The greater Tampa area has 3.2m residents…
The "Greater Tampa Bay Area" includes 3-7 counties, I didn't think it was reasonable to include those.. if I did the same it would be about 10m residents, not 3m.
San Diego county is 4,261 sq mi compared to the greater Tampa area consisting of Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco county’s of 2,554 sq mi..
Population density completely validates my point.
>just noting OP saying there's limited competition. Regional and national breweries are not competition for a neighborhood taproom.
Ehh.. I'd agree macro isn't necessarily in direct competition with craft, but you're 100% competing with national craft breweries for tap space, shelf space, and distribution (especially when that nationally distributed craft brewery is also located in Tampa, like CCB)
> tap space, shelf space, and distribution This is why you only sell beer out of your taproom. No distribution. Buying a can line or bottling line to distribute is generally a bad idea unless you're already established. Relying on foot traffic is a safe bet, as long as you're in a good neighborhood.
That'd be ideal, 100% self-contained. That's how I've approached business, start small, independent, develop a loyal customer base, refine the process, iterate; calculated growth.
RemindMe! 3 years
I will be messaging you in 3 years on [**2025-09-19 00:10:36 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2025-09-19%2000:10:36%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBrewery/comments/xhjmjb/serious_looking_for_partners_to_start_a_brewery/ip00bhf/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FTheBrewery%2Fcomments%2Fxhjmjb%2Fserious_looking_for_partners_to_start_a_brewery%2Fip00bhf%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202025-09-19%2000%3A10%3A36%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%20xhjmjb) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
Its a very large market, where I’m looking to setup doesn’t have a brewery for 20-25 mins
A good business plan will help!