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 ↓
Imagine that moment: you pour your friends a beer and say “I brewed this.” Your own taste, a great brew and the people you share it with. It is precisely because of this joy that it makes sense to think about your own brewery.
You haven't brewed beer yet? You don't need to have experience or a ready-made plan. It's enough to be curious if your own brewery could make sense for you too.
Have you already made dozens of batches? There will be a place for you too: more comfortable brewing, better control over the result and space to try new styles. A professional approach to beer doesn't have to mean running a business — you can stay a janitor and do it full time.
What about a joint brewery with a group? A place where they brew, taste and share experiences. We will also look at shared facilities: what can make it easier and what you need to agree on in advance.
My idea? Weekend brewery.
I got to beer a bit like a blind man to a violin. I never thought of selling it at all. Gradually, however, an idea arose: devote one to two days a week to brewing, continue to go to work and have a hobby that can also earn something.
I needed a small, affordable, quality technology that I could handle myself. And which will not limit me in what kind of beer I want to brew. I didn't find the solution I wanted, so I started developing it. I built six home kits and gradually got my own working technology.
What my first beginnings looked like →
But you don't have to start with development.
Today I produce breweries myself. I can supply you with the technology as well as pass on the experience I've gathered along the way. You don't have to repeat all my attempts for your own beer.
Along the way, I also found out that similar small breweries also operate elsewhere in the country. I've talked to a lot of people and I'm happy to pass on the useful things I've learned from them. I also invited brewers and other people from the beer community to edit the series, so that they could help me add their experience and perspective from practice to the individual topics. I am still learning, especially about the operation.
That's why this series is created. Not as a one-size-fits-all guide, but as a practical overview to help you figure out what's realistic for you and how to get started. I want to connect around it people who enjoy brewing — from the first batch to experienced homebrewers and brewers.
From the first idea to regular operation
What are we looking for answers to 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 get to 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 do it alone and at work?
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. Can the brewery earn me something?
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 syllabus remains open. Other parts may also arise from your questions and experiences.
Where do we start?
What do you expect from your own brewery and what to check before putting the first money into it. The first part will help you organize it.
Continuation directly to the inbox
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Come do it with us.
What would you most like to accomplish or simplify in your brewing? First beer of your own, a better lineup, brewing with a crew, or your own brand of beer?
Write in the comments on the Facebook invite. And if you already have something cooked up, add a tip or experience that would help you in the beginning. I'm happy to include them in other episodes — I don't have to be the only one to speak in them.
You can also put Pivní dílna in tracking. And if you don't have Facebook, message me via contact on the website.
Own a brewery at home? No science fiction.