Personal story · Invitation to the series
What if the next small brewery in your neighborhood was yours? I started in pots. Today I am gradually opening my own brewery — and I want to show you what such a journey could mean for you.
I want more parts by emailWhat we will discuss in the series ↓
Picture pouring a beer for your friends and saying, “I brewed this.” Your recipe, the beer you made and the people sharing it with you: that joy is a good reason to consider a brewery of your own.
Never brewed beer before? You do not need experience or a detailed plan to start exploring the idea. Curiosity about whether a brewery could work for you is enough.
Already brewed dozens of batches? There is room for you here too: easier brewing, better control over the result and space to explore new styles. Taking beer seriously does not mean you have to start a business. You can remain a homebrewer and keep developing your craft.
What about sharing a brewery with a group? You could brew, taste and learn together. We will also look at what shared equipment makes easier and what you need to agree on before starting.
My idea? Weekend brewery.
I found my way into brewing almost by chance. At first I had no plans to sell beer. Then an idea took shape: brew one or two days a week, keep my day job and build a hobby that might also earn something.
I needed compact, affordable equipment that I could operate myself without limiting the beers I wanted to brew. I could not find the right setup, so I began developing one. I built six homebrewing systems before arriving at equipment that worked for me.
What my first beginnings looked like →
You do not need to develop your own equipment to get started.
Today I build breweries and can supply the equipment, along with what I learned developing it. You can benefit from that experience without repeating every trial and error.
Along the way I discovered other small breweries around the country. Conversations with their brewers taught me a great deal, and I want to share what I learned. I have also invited brewers and others in the beer community to contribute their practical experience to this series. I am still learning too, especially about day-to-day brewery operations.
That is why I started this series: a practical guide to help you decide what is realistic for you and where to begin. I hope it also brings together people who enjoy brewing, from first-time brewers to experienced homebrewers and professionals.
From the first idea to regular operation
Questions we will explore together
Let's start with planning. Other topics will come gradually — you don't have to solve everything right away. Click on what interests you.
1. Is my own brewery for me?
What do I expect from him: my own beer for pleasure, advanced home brewing, shared facilities with the crew, or a small operation for sale. Every journey needs a different plan.
2. Will it fit in my space?
Basement, garage or driveway: a place for equipment, supplies and comfortable work.
3. What to verify for permission?
Comprehensible licensing legislation: with whom to go through the plan before investing and what to ask.
4. How much will it cost to get started?
Technology, room preparation and start-up reserve. What do I need now and what can wait?
5. What will better technology make easier for me?
More convenient work, control over fermentation and repeatability of a successful batch. What is suitable for an experienced janitor and a small operation and where it makes sense to stay with a simple solution.
6. Do I need a brewer?
What can I learn, what can an experienced brewer help with and what professional requirements are related to my intention.
7. How do I brew the first batch?
Site preparation, installation and first brewing. What is connected to each other and where help is useful.
8. What to watch for during normal operation?
Operational legislation, hygiene, records and controls. Practically and according to the specific method of production and sale.
9. How about brewery accounting?
Documents, supplies, taxes and cooperation with accountants. How to organize it from the beginning.
10. Can I run a brewery alongside my job?
Not only brewing, but also washing, bottling and time between batches. What a typical week might look like.
11. Who will I sell the beer to?
How to detect interest, find the first customers and gradually build your own brand.
12. Could the brewery earn an income?
Costs, own time, price and sales. How to know if the numbers correspond to my ideas.
13. What would I do differently today?
Dead ends and trifles that save work. My experience and observations of other people from practice.
The list of topics is open. Your questions and experiences may shape future articles.
Where do we start?
What do you want from your own brewery, and what should you check before investing? The first article will help you put those questions in order.
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Join the conversation.
What would you most like to achieve or make easier in your brewing: your first beer, a better setup, brewing with friends or building your own beer brand?
Comment on the Facebook invitation. If you have brewed before, share a tip you wish you had known at the start. I would be glad to include your experience in a future article.
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Own a brewery at home? No science fiction.