It seems that every home brewer dreams of turning their hobby into a career. As an experienced home brewer, it can be difficult to imagine going straight into the commercial world.
 
What is commercial brewing?
 
Commercial brewing is the process of brewing beer on a large scale and in large quantities. In the beer industry, a commercial brewery is defined as a brewery that brews over 6 million barrels of beer per year. As such, commercial breweries require larger beer equipment, better control of the brewing process and increased production efficiency.
 
What is a craft brewery?
 
The Brewers Association classifies American craft breweries as small independent breweries. These types of breweries are generally considered small independent breweries, producing only 600 barrels or less of beer per year. Therefore, to some extent, craft breweries can also be counted as commercial breweries.
 
One condition that must be met by a craft brewery is that the brewery must be independently owned. In addition, craft breweries have less brewing capacity and can use more innovative brewing processes and brew non-traditional ingredients in new and creative ways that large commercial breweries simply cannot.
 
What is home-brewed beer?
 
Home brewing is the small-scale brewing of beer, mead and ale by individuals for non-commercial purposes. These are usually hobbies and you can buy supplies, such as kits and fermenters, at your local specialist shop or online. Brewing beer also gives you the freedom to adapt the recipe to your liking, creating a drink that is not available on the open market, either with fewer calories and lower alcohol content, or vice versa. Some people even join home brew clubs and enter competitions to show their love of brewing beer, mead or cider.
 
The cost of home brewing equipment is much lower than that used for commercial brewing.
 
In home brewing, coolers, old plastic fermenters, pickle barrels and lots of kitchen utensils can be used, as well as special items such as grain grinders, sprayers and copper pot wort chillers for a cash outlay of a few hundred dollars, which can last 2-3 years. Depending on time and investment, the cost of purchasing these items can easily be recouped.
 
Commercial brewing is a capital intensive industry and no matter how you purchase your brewing equipment (new or used) you will always have to spend a lot of money. In addition, you will need to pay rent, hire staff, pay for utilities, etc. Therefore, starting a commercial brew requires a lot of money, which may not be a problem for some bankers, but for most people it is astronomical.
 
As an experienced home brewer, all your previous brews have taught you how to brew good beer, you are familiar with brewing tools and ingredients and you probably have some predictable regular brewing recipes. The practical and theoretical brewing knowledge base you've accumulated will help you, but you may not be ready to deal with the many pitfalls of planning a large brewery, understanding regulations and integrating a business model.
 
You can grow by taking paid training, gaining work experience in the industry or a combination of both. There are now many brewers associations or technical colleges that offer brewing courses and teach commercial brewing. Many public schools also offer courses and programs. This path can seem expensive and time consuming, but it can be a differentiating factor in terms of professional experience or convincing investors to back your business.
 
Making the leap from home brewing to commercial brewing is a tall order. You will also need to consider whether you want to open a brewery and if so, you will need to put in more effort to enrich your knowledge.
 
Still have a problem on choosing the brewery equipment? We can help with your final decision. If you are looking for a turnkey solution for craft beer brewing system, please contact us. We are looking forward to working with you. Send an email now: [email protected]