If you plan to become a craft brewer, you need to select your equipment with care. It is essential you choose equipment that is right for your planned brewery – not just what someone else thinks is best. Before even considering what brewery equipment to purchase, you have to ask yourself a few questions.
Basic Questions to Ask
When you first toss around the idea of setting up a brewery, it may sound like it is a beer drinker’s dream come true. This is not the case. Brewing beer requires hard work and careful thought. You need to ask yourself:
* Are you ready to work hard every day for long hours and little to no pay?
* Do you have the financial wherewithal? In other words, how much money do you have to spend?
* Do you know how to put together a feasible and responsible business plan?
* Do you know the local, state and federal regulations concerning brew houses
* Do you understand accounting practices? Do you have a partner or good friend who does?
* What do you actually know about brewing beer?
* Do you know how to package and sell it?
* How are you at marketing?
You need to ask yourself these very basic questions before you even think of going out and purchasing brewery equipment.
Other Matters to Consider
Setting up a brew house also requires the ability to know what equipment will fit into and function at its optimum capacity in your space. You need to look at how much space you have. You then need to look at setting up the equipment so it will function appropriately and with maximum efficiency. Where will you place the brew house unit? Do you know where to put the fermentation, carbonator and dispenser units or systems? Make sure you draw up a brewery floor plan and look at where each piece of machinery will fit. Be exact.
You also have to decide whether you have the budget and the space to go automatic. In fact, you will have to make many decisions on specific equipment selection. It is not simply about models but also about production capability. For example, the most affordable bottle fillers are manual. These are excellent affordable start-up devices but not suitable if you plan to grow quickly.
You also have to look at such things as rotary versus inline or other types of equipment. In the end, it will boil down to three factors:
1. Available space
2. Budget
3. Intended capacity
Craft Brewing Equipment
You may be in a rush to set up your brew house. This is understandable. However, if you rush into purchasing items before you know specifically what will work, it will be costly and frustrating. To get it right the first time, prepare a list, talk to experts in the field and do your research. No two craft brew houses are identical. Make sure you get only the brewery equipment that will suit your purpose and your goals.
