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In the competitive craft-brewing industry, opening a brewery requires careful planning, strategic decision-making, and a commitment to quality and innovation. From brewing quality beers to fostering customer loyalty and creating efficiency in your overall operations, there are key strategies for building and sustaining a profitable brewery.
Plan for Success
Your business plan is the roadmap for the success of your brewery. It outlines your goals, strategies, and actions needed to achieve them, providing clarity and direction for both you and your stakeholders.
For a brewery, key pieces of your business plan involve and affect your production space. Your brewhouse is the workhorse of your brewery, so pay special attention to your production goals and your budget to decide which type of brewhouse is right for you during the planning stages.
Some questions to consider:
- What is your goal for annual production? Brewhouse Size = Annual Production / (# of Weekly Brews x Weeks Brewed per Year)
- What space are you contributing to your brewhouse? Typically, maximum production is about 1 barrel/year per square foot of production area.
- How many beers will you have on tap? What will be the predominant style?
- What heat source do you want for your brewhouse? Do you have room for extra equipment (boiler, etc.)? Are you able to add flues/vents to the space? What is the electrical service?
As your full-service equipment manufacturer, ABS Commercial provides an organized, consultative approach that separates us from our competition. From the beginning, we can review your business plan, helping identify strengths and weaknesses. We can also help find areas to alleviate unnecessary costs, add additional revenue streams, and help you connect with Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders. Our approach includes comprehensive and structured meetings throughout the process, design changes meeting your specific needs, manufacturing or material certifications when necessary, and competitive lead times for manufacturing.
Our goal is to create a collaborative team approach to meet your requirements for the project. Our dedicated team has years of technical brewing experience. We are committed to providing personalized support and guidance to meet your unique needs and to ensure a seamless experience every step of the way.
Invest in Your Future
While following a budget is important when opening a brewery, don’t make compromises for short-term gain. You want your business to succeed, which means keeping your long-term goals and business plan in mind.
Your brewery equipment should be seen as part of this long-term investment because it plays a direct role in the quality and consistency of your beer. While upfront costs may be higher, investing in new equipment ensures fewer headaches down the road.
ABS Commercial offers a comprehensive range of high-quality stainless-steel equipment, including brewhouses, fermentors, brite tanks, lagering tanks, and keg washers, along with small parts and preventative-maintenance items. Our equipment undergoes rigorous testing to meet the highest industry standards, ensuring reliability, durability, and long-term investment value. We’ve adopted a proactive approach to pricing, ensuring that our clients receive the most competitive rates without compromising on quality.
We are dedicated to supporting the brewing industry and helping brewers grow and prosper. Through our Giveback Campaign, we support the craft-beer industry, giving back and providing tools that can help breweries achieve a higher level of success.
We firmly believe that by embracing these values, we are not only cultivating an enriched workplace for ourselves but also making a positive impact on the world around us, both within our industry and beyond.
To celebrate our 11th Anniversary, our 2024 Spring Giveback includes two special giveaways:
Enter to Win a Keg Viking Keg Washer + Enter to Win $10,000 off a Brewhouse
Customize to Fit Your Needs
We understand that every brewery is unique, with specific requirements and operational needs. It’s important to be able to design new equipment to fit your needs and specifications. With ABS Commercial, you’ll always be in the loop of the newest options for advanced features, automation options, and precise controls that can contribute to improved efficiency and consistency in your brewing operations.
Our team of experienced engineers and designers works closely with you to develop customized brewery solutions tailored to your production capacity, space constraints, and budgetary considerations. Whether you’re a small craft brewery or a large-scale production facility, we have the expertise and flexibility to create a solution that meets your needs.
Craft Quality Beer
There’s no question that at the heart of any successful brewery lies its beer. Focus on creating high-quality and consistent products that resonate with consumers by investing in skilled brewers, quality ingredients, and state-of-the-art brewing equipment.
Streamline brewery operations to use your processes and resources efficiently. Work to minimize costs, improve yield, and reduce downtime. Implement standardized operating procedures and quality-assurance practices to ensure consistency and repeatability in every batch.
Our team at ABS Commercial has years of technical-brewing experience. We know the ins and outs of the brewing process, and we approach everything from the mindset of the brewer. We have spent the past 11 years continuously improving our equipment through in-house testing at our sister company, Raleigh Brewing Company, as well as through hundreds of installations around the country.
Care For Your Equipment
While stainless steel can withstand a lot, it is not indestructible. Like all equipment, it still will experience wear and tear and needs to be cared for properly to make sure it is working as efficiently as possible and can last as long as you need it to. Regardless of brewery size, regular brewery maintenance ensures that your brewing operations run smoothly.
At ABS Commercial, we pride ourselves on being your trusted, full-service brewery outfitter, which means our help doesn’t end when equipment is installed. We can also help with ongoing care, making sure equipment is well maintained with the help of our Small Parts department and consultative approach. The Small Parts Shop offers a wide range of brewhouse accessories, such as yeast brinks and cart pumps, small parts, and preventative-maintenance items. We want to ensure that you can find the items you need when you need them so that you can get back to what is most important—operating your brewhouse.
Build Your Network
Expand your opportunities and resources by building up your network. Establish connections with suppliers, distributors, and other industry professionals who can help provide access to quality ingredients, distribution channels, and valuable industry insights. Moreover, a strong network of fellow brewers and industry professionals provides opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mutual support.
In addition, building relationships with local businesses and community organizations can help raise awareness of your brewery, increase brand visibility, and cultivate a loyal customer base. Engage within the community by hosting events such as pop-up markets, trivia nights, run-club events, and charitable initiatives.
Along with the in-house resources and support ABS can offer, we also have a large network of strategic partnerships with quality companies we trust. These partners range from raw ingredients to refrigeration, packaging, automation, and more. These partnerships let you leverage our collective knowledge and expertise to help navigate complex operational challenges.
Diversify Your Product Offerings
Having a wide range of product offerings helps appeal to a wider range of consumers and market segments. Beyond your core lineup, experiment with seasonal releases and specialty products to keep your taproom menu fresh and exciting. Nonalcoholic options, such as craft sodas or kombuchas, also cater to diverse tastes and preferences.
ABS Commercial offers a wide range of equipment for beyond beer. We manufacture distilling equipment so that you can transform into a brewstillery and create your own spirits. Our stainless-steel vessels can also be used for cider, wine, kombucha, seltzer, CBD, RTDs, nonalcoholic sodas, and more. Plus, we can customize additional equipment as needed to fit your specific needs.
Build Your Brand
Develop a strong brand identity that reflects your brewery’s values, personality, and unique selling proposition. Create a memorable and cohesive brand for consumers including logo, packaging, merchandise, and other marketing materials. Leverage digital-marketing channels such as email and social-media platforms to engage with customers and build relationships.
Create a Taproom Experience
Create a welcoming and inviting atmosphere with comfortable seating, engaging decor, and friendly, knowledgeable staff to attract and retain customers. Offer a diverse selection of beers and other beverages to appeal to different tastes and preferences. Host events to attract new customers and implement upselling strategies—such as merchandise sales, growler fills, and brewery tours—to increase per-customer spending and drive profitability.
Be Adaptable
Remain adaptable and responsive to changing market trends, consumer preferences, and industry dynamics. Monitor sales data, consumer feedback, and competitor activity to identify opportunities to stay ahead of the curve.
Building a profitable brewery in the ever-changing craft-beer industry is not without its challenges, but going in with careful planning, strategic decision-making, a commitment to quality, and a strong network can help set you up for success. With more than 11 years in business, ABS Commercial is proud to offer quality equipment, a consultative approach, and technical process solutions from an experienced and diverse team. Whether you’re in planning, just getting started, or looking to expand, ABS is here to support your growth and success.
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