Making the jump from home brewing to brewing for a living

[wide eyed and legless]

I had a letter from the Chinese government asking me to go back to open a micro brewery with a sports bar, they will also allow me to have a gaming licence, an air conditioner allowed to go below 26 degrees C, a huge t.v where I can show all the premiership games and live horse racing from around the world.
Bets will have no limit and the government want 10% of all bets placed.
I have agreed to go back if they can head hunt Manticles fork lift driver, remove the tattoos and keep his mother out of the air conditioner.

 

[Greg.L]

Greg - um no. Same rules apply at the state Level across NSW.

Um no, same rules do not apply across the state. From the producer/wholesaler section of the OLGR website -

"For small-scale regional brewers and distillers, the licence also allows tastings and retail sales in bottles at the licensed premises."

 

[Sully]

When we are alone she ******* with my ***** and then we ******** after I have ***** her ********. That said, I have also dreamed that I am being sucked into an air conditioning system and my mother is at the other end telling me why I died. Cuts both ways.

Today's "Safe Word" is GOOGLE...

 

[///]

Its not that bad, and i encourage anyone to have a go, far from trying to bring a bad impression here.. But there is a few threads here in one. Running your own business, and one based on cash (as a venue is) is damm hard. If you are the brewer and salesman and accountant it is even harder. You have to seperate these out of making the transition from HB to day job.

I dipped out of the business side when I came onto staff at Rocks, and i realised I am happier to follow than be the person at the pointy end. That being the case, whilst there is not the romance of the home style approach, i like the process and application side, and have learnt a truckload on the technical and project side. And, making beer on bigger volumes is easier (particularly for repeadability) than a HB size batch with all the bells and whistles.

Scotty

 

[JDW81]

I have agreed to go back if they can head hunt Manticles fork lift driver, remove the tattoos and keep his mother out of the air conditioner.

In China anything is possible with the right connections….

 

[manticle]

In Soviet China forklift instructor head hunts you.

 

[Mardoo]

FWIW here's my experience in another field. Might help you think about it. Cooking has always been a hobby of mine, since age 8. I wanted to get a job in a restaurant, but the first thing that was offered to me was as a pastry chef's assistant/trainee. I did it for 9 years and quickly came to really enjoy it

After I moved on I started doing pastry at home, and hated it. Why? No dedicated facility, no proper equipment, limitations on ingredients, no challenging standard I had to meet. I liked being a professional pastry chef but not a hobbiest.

Cooking however, I loved being a hobbyist, massaging amazing results out of my limitations, having no expectations other than my own to meet. Once I finally got into a professional kitchen I hated every moment if it. I kept at it for a year but it became utterly clear that it was not my thing. AT. ALL.

So while you're setting up your chance to get into a professional brew house maybe think about what kind of brewer you are. Do you want to sit watching your fermentation, contemplating yeast and the universe, continually tweaking your recipes that extra step further? Or do you want to produce, and I do mean produce, an amazing product that meets the wants of your public, every day, over and over for as long as you can?

Just my reflections I've gone through myself over this same question.

Oh, and Manticle, if you ever take your dreams professional you could probably earn some pretty good money...

 

[///]

Um no, same rules do not apply across the state. From the producer/wholesaler section of the OLGR website -

"For small-scale regional brewers and distillers, the licence also allows tastings and retail sales in bottles at the licensed premises."

Every brewer has the ability to run a cellar door, Batch, Young Henrys and doon to be Blackrock Brasserie are 2 new applicants utilizing this system. Same rules apply to CBD brewers

 

[malt_shovel]

I made some preliminary enquiries around launching a craft beer onto the commercial scene in Perth and after talking to a few people in the industry here, started crunching some numbers looking at it from a contract brewing stand-point (least capital outlayed). It quickly became apparent that there are major hurdles with this (main one being finding a tap location amongst the few places that keep taps open for independents, and the cost per keg to brew on someone else's equipment (if they let you!) with excise on top of all that). That then lead to the conclusion (in my mind) that in Perth at least, the best chance of making it work is around creating tap points (producer and serving licences), which means a larger outlay around either inserting yourself in an existing premise (BlackSalt in Port Beach is an example of this), or starting your own pub / brew-pub. For me this would mean a requirement to work around the clock running two businesses, not just one, and usually that doesn't fit with having a young family.

For me it seemed too risky (marriage / family, money, lifestyle) given the current stage of my life. I wish anyone who makes the decision all the best and will gladly go out of my way to help a start-up brewery near me. I will always day-dream.

Cheers

 

[Greg.L]

Every brewer has the ability to run a cellar door, Batch, Young Henrys and doon to be Blackrock Brasserie are 2 new applicants utilizing this system. Same rules apply to CBD brewers

I am referring specifically to the producer/wholesaler license. This is the cheapest and easiest license. You would need to go to those brewers you refer to and ask them what license they hold, but in Sydney if you only hold a producer/wholesaler license you can't sell retail. In regional areas you can.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

The rules are not very clear

http://www.olgr.nsw.gov.au/liquor_license_apps.asp#pl

It would appear that it falls under the area of wine...somewhat confusing in that it does not specifically talk about brewery's...its very vague

From what I can read, you need authorisation to drink on premises and sell bottles only, regardless if its regional or city.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

but in Sydney if you only hold a producer/wholesaler license you can't sell retail. In regional areas you can.

As I see it written, even a regional brewery needs authorisation.

 

[Greg.L]

As I see it written, even a regional brewery needs authorisation.

The OLGR website is a bit of a mess and confusing, but the passage I quoted earlier is in there. You have to get the council DA approval, which may be easy or hard depending on the locality, but from there the license is mostly just a formality. Every brewer has to do the commonwealth excise thing but once you have a license you can go for it. You would of course need to confirm all this with OLGR, you wouldn't start a business based on a thread in AHB. If you can find a reference for authorisation required you should post it I would be interested. In regional areas of NSW the local gvt is the main consent authority.

Edit; if you actually want to open a bar you need authorisation, but for bottled sales and "tastings" you don't.

 

[///]

Kinda blurring 4 licenses together here.

A producers allows to sell tasters and beer in keg or small pack for take away consumption

If food is the primary driver, aka pub brewery, you can apply for a drink on premises authorization. This is what restaurants apply for

Or you can go a small bar - on premise service only, or hotel - full on and off license.

I was part of the CBIA board submission to allow brewers to sell on and off premise and hold equivalent to a drink and dine authorization as an automatic condition of the producers license as wine makers can and do in the recent statutory NSW liquor review. Also, there was a separate submission to also allow brewer to sell at farmers markets and the like (as wine makers can).

Apart from the drink authorization type license I have or will hold all the rest of the licenses.

It's not that confusing, or you just go to grant cusack lawyers, chuck him $5k and he looks after all of it for you. He has done 5 licenses for us now ...

 

[Bizier]

lifting 120 65 kg manually

Ramps are much cheaper than employee backs.

 

[///]

Hence why i have a keg descender ...

 

[bigmacca]

Thanks everybody for the reply! This thread has given me alot to to think about and even more to research. Best of luck to those who are considering making the jump.
Cheers
Macca

 

[jimmy86]

[quote name="///" post="1128050" timestamp="
.I was part of the CBIA board submission to allow brewers to sell on and off premise and hold equivalent to a drink and dine authorization as an automatic condition of the producers license as wine makers can and do in the recent statutory NSW liquor review. Also, there was a separate submission to also allow brewer to sell at farmers markets and the like (as wine makers can).Apart from the drink authorization type license I have or will hold all the rest of the licenses. ...[/quote]

So has this ruling been passed or is it still in the hands of the government?
If not how long till it could be put through?

 

[///]

So has this ruling been passed or is it still in the hands of the government?
If not how long till it could be put through?

It is only a recommendation to go forward to the Parliament atm, the CBIA has a working plan members will work on. This is also something general punters can also support via contacts to thier state member. I think June is when the whole review would go to Parliament.

Needless to say, the Liquor Act may be a bit of pressure atm with what is going on in Sydney/NSW .....

 

[jimmy86]

Fingers crossed it will go through. I've signed up as a member for cbia.
I spose all these dikheads throwing these punches have guts chokka block full of three sheets pale ale too.
Bring on the Newcastle act, it worked there ... But that's neither here nor there.