Brewery or brewpub?

[Jpickett]

I'm a homebrewer thats looking into a brewery or brewpub..what are the first aspects I should look into ?

[GlacierBrewing]

Do you know how to run a restaurant and a brewery?
Do you have money for both?

[Jpickett]

I have a good chunk saved up with a couple of local business owners that said they'd like to take part in it. But as to how to run one no. What I do know is that I have a passion for beer.

[einhorn]

A brewpub is 90% restaurant - you will need a partner/employee who knows gastronomy. There are also enough threads with discussions regarding start-up costs for a brew pub. Brewery, on the other hand, is all about sales & brand-building.

Pick your poison.

[GlacierBrewing]

After working for years in both microbreweries and brewpubs, I came to the realization that I did not want the additional stresses of running a restaurant AND a brewery. I opened a brewery. Having a "passion for beer" is a wonderful foundation to begin with, however there is really no substitute for real-world experience. While technically similar, brewing in your kitchen or garage takes on a much different "importance" when you make it your living. We just passed our five year anniversary mark at our brewery. In hindsight, my time is occupied as much with logistical details as it is with actually brewing. Brewpub or brewery? Since you list yourself as a homebrewer, I'd go with brewery. Which ever you choose, do yourself and your business a favor and work and one or the other or both for a few years. Experience saves money!

my two cents....

Prost!
Dave

[Jpickett]

Thank you Glacier for your help..It's great to see some of the most respected and reputable brewers actually give advice to a novice such as myself. I will most likely take courses within a year at Siebel and hopefully train with a local brewery

[GlacierBrewing]

You're welcome. Let me just stress again: Work/volunteer in a brewery first, then do the courses. It is my experience that the formalized training sinks in deeper if you have a real-world history to apply it to.
Luck to ya'
Dave

[Moonlight]

Glacier is a wise man. I could not have said it with more patience.

[Lonerider]

JPickett,

Glad to see a homebrewer with a passion to start in the brewery business. I will echo Glacier's sentiment. We have been building our brewery for a while now, and when we started we were in the same quandary. We realized that we didn't want to jump in two businesses at once. Running a brewpub required not only double the amount of capital, but we would essentially be managing a restaurant rather than spend time creating good brews. Hopefully we will be out in a few months.

Having said that, the positive side of opening a brewpub involves having an immediate location to sell and showcase your product.

Alternatively, you could open a tasting room in addition to your brewery, rather than a full blown restaurant.

In terms of experience, do try to gain experience with other breweries as setting up a brewery itself is no small feat. There are several things to trip you up, and having a good understanding of a complicated 10 - 15 barrel system will go long ways towards putting the pieces together when you are ready to start in earnest.

Hope this helps. Its been a challenging, and rewarding experience for us.