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Hi all, I've reached out to a bunch of financing companies at this point now and haven't had much luck in getting the loan support I need to get my business up and running. I have talked to GE Capital, Brewery Finance, and a few local banks, but they all require that I have been in business for at least a year in order to be willing to provide a loan. Do any of you have experience in working with lenders in the early stages of your business and can you offer any advice? I've already gone to friends and family and am looking for loans to cover the rest of my start-up needs. Thanks!
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Good morning Everyone! When you come up with an idea and want to proceed with developing it into fruition, all sorts of tasks need to be completed. I'm really interested in people's thoughts/comments who've started a small business. The TTB / location / equipment seems to have a delicate balance in order to streamline the process. Can anyone share a timeline to complete? I'd love some feedback.. here are my thoughts: Location/Equipment -> TTB permit --> State permit --> labeling / distilling --> bottling --> tasting room/ sales I get hung up on the process with regard to regulations. You can't get a TTB permit until you have a location and equipment. You can't do that without investors (if that's your mode of income start up). When do you start reaching out to investors? before your permits are complete? Thank you!
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Thanks for adding me! Just working though the red tape to get my new distillery start up off the ground
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I have over 20 years’ experience working with finance solutions through the SBA financing arena. My primary focus is Craft Beverage Lending on a nationwide platform. Dogwood State Bank is a preferred lender with the SBA and offers financing options to businesses with loan sizes usually ranging from $350,000 to $5,000,000. You can email me at sbirkner@dsbnc.com and we can set up a call to discuss your project. Cheers! Scott Birkner| SBA Business Lending Specialist Dogwood State Bank Small Business Lending Cell: 704.564.5940 10130 Mallard Creek Rd., Bldg 2, Suite 232 | Charlotte, NC 28262 linkedin.com/in/sbirkner
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Happy Tuesday Morning Fellow ADI-ers, I wanted to offer a quick Tuesday Morning Insurance Tidbit for all of those looking to start a distillery, move to a new location, or open another location. In the world of insurance there are a lot of factors that come into play when trying to obtain coverage, as well as how those factors directly impact the premiums you pay. Today I want to focus on a topic that has been an issue for quite sometime, Public Protection Class, or PPC. The PPC program is a tool that was developed by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) for property and casualty insurers so that they can assess risk by a rating of "fire protection" services. The ISO pulled information from more than 47,000 communities in order to create this rating program. Essentially, this tool ranks PPC's on a scale of 1 to 10. A class 1 represents superior fire protection, whereas a 10 indicates that not even the minimum requirements are available. So what does that mean, exactly. Well, any of you that know me or have read my other postings know that I am a straightforward, "put it into plain English" kind of guy, so here is what it means; If you are located in a PPC 1 it means the fire department is located super-duper close to you, it has a full time staff, and you have a fire-hydrant pretty much on your property or in your building. So if something were to happen at your distillery and there were a fire or emergency need, the fire department would probably know about it before you do and they would quell any threat of loss before it caused much damage. With that being said, I am sure you have concluded for yourself at this point that a PPC 10 is probably not so good. You are correct! A PPC 10 to an underwriter causes an instinctive primal reaction wherein they shield their eyes, snap their head back, scream in disbelief, and start mumbling incantations. Picture the scene from the "Exorcist", yeah, kinda like that!!!!!! Nearly every underwriter in the known universe will become physically sick at the thought of a PPC 10. Actually, most carriers will not even entertain a risk in a PPC 7 or higher. I have even been told that these locations may as well be on the moon. I wrote a post about that here, actually: So what does this mean to you? It means that when you are considering your location you need to do some research in regards to the PPC. Insurance is not usually the first thing that people have in mind when wanting to open a distillery, but it should be dang near the top of the list. If you do your legwork ahead of time and find out what the PPC is of your proposed location, it is going to make your life much easier, and cheaper in the future. As I said earlier, this one factor alone can affect if you can even find insurance coverage and then what you will pay for it. Property rates on your building, equipment, and stock will be much lower in a PPC 1 then they will in a PC 6, and if it is a PC 7 or higher, well my friend, get your checkbook ready!!!!!!! Now you may be wondering, "OK, I need to find out the PPC of the location I am interested in. How do I do that??" The answer is actually very simple. Pull out your phone, google your local fire department, give them a call and tell them you would like to know the PPC of the address in question and they will tell you what it is. Voilà! Mission accomplished! It really is that easy and it truly can save you a lot of time and money down the road. I hope you have enjoyed this Tuesday Morning Insurance Tidbit, and as always, I am here to assist you in anyway that I can when it comes to your insurance needs. I work with an incredible amount of distillers all over the country and I have seen pretty much everything, so if you have questions, I more than likely have answers. Please feel free to give me a call at 307-752-5961 at any time. Best, Aaron Linden (aka InsuranceMan/InsuranceMan 2.0)
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Hey there just wondering if anyone has any good sources for bottles, in very early stages of starting a distillery (ie. Sourceing to build a comprehensive business plan with accurate values) and would appreciate any equipment resources thats available. Thank you,
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TL;DR: I'm in the beginning throws of creating a business plan. What part of your business plan did you struggle with the most and how did (or didn't) you overcome it? After enough research, I've come to terms that I won't be a distillery owner for at least 18 months, if not longer. I still need money coming in. I need to save. I need to figure out what the f$%* I'm doing. So here we are, at the beginning. I'm locked in with a blank document and in a staring contest its title; Business Plan. Sort of. I've broke it down into four major themes I need to flesh out: Production/Operations Marketing/Sales Financial Legal My plan is to start one page vision of the distillery/product (to get my head straight) and then go after legal (local zoning board/politicians) and marketing (distillers, retailers, bars and potential customers). I'll see what the reaction is to my vision and tweak as I go. Why this approach? Because talking doesn't cost money. Truth be told though, I'll be winging it for a while. So I'm wondering if anyone has comments or critiques to this approach? And maybe you'd like to shed some light on the areas you struggled with regarding your own business plan in the beginning.
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Hi there, we are newbies from Canada. Since late 2016 we have started the journey of opening a craft distillery. The information and sharing of information in this forum has helped us in many ways and is greatly appreciated. Again thank you to all the members.
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Interested in forum members' experience from "concept" to "actual launch" with spirits coming out of the still? Thoughts on challenges finding a distillery space that affected the time line? Thanks in advance! -
Aloha! I just recently got my membership in ADI and am in the process of opening a Farm-Distillery on the Big Island of Hawaii. I have a 20 acre farm between the Volcanoes National Park and Hilo where I am growing Kayinja Bananas and several vareities of figs to produce a local brandy under a wood fired still. We are planning to open around May 2019, which is when my banana fruit are likely to mature. With the help of the University of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Agriculture Research Center, we're cloning 1000 Kayinjas that are native to Central and Eastern Africa used to produce locally banana wines and in some cases distilled into a wonderful spirit. I've also planted numerous fig trees and will be taking on bee hives to produce even more variations of a local farm to table brandy. This will be a true farm distillery, with the inputs entirely from my farm. I trained at Distillique in South Africa a few years ago and it really helped set me this plan in motion. While not as well known in the US, they are the only school I found that specializes in fruit based spirits and I returned for their brandy class. I recently attended Duncan Holiday's distillation course in Vermont, which gave me any useful tweaks to my business plan after meeting with numerous startups and learning their experience. I look forward to attending ADI's 2018 conference in Portland and hoping to eventually be part of a Hawaiian Guild of Distillers. Mahalo! -
Head Brew-Stiller Hampton, VA ABOUT THE BREWERY: We have broken ground on the first ever Brewpub/Distillery in Virginia. This venue will house a 10BBL 3 vessel brewhouse, 1000L pot still, 200 seating restaurant and a “entertainment venue” with an occupancy totaling 1175. All this will be housed in a Nationally Registered Historic Armory in the heart of Hampton Roads! ABOUT THE POSITION: This is an exciting opportunity for someone that has a passion for quality craft beer/spirits and can navigate a startup business. We’re looking for someone to help us build systems and processes on a new 10 BBL brewhouse and 1000L pot still. The right candidate will be creative, safety-minded, efficient, quality-focused, possess a great work ethic, a positive attitude, and be a team player. As part of the management team, the Head Brew-Stiller will be expected to contribute to our continued growth, constantly displaying a high level of maturity, responsibility, and pride in our work. You will have the opportunity to show your creativity by making exceptional beers/spirits. RESPONSIBILITIES: The Head Brew-Stiller is responsible for the brewing operations; including brewing, fermentation, cellaring, and packaging. Distilling operations; milling, mashing, distilling, tasting, proofing, blending and bottling. Other duties include but are not limited to: • Develop new recipes and improve existing recipes with input from owners • Set the brewing/distilling schedule and maintain inventories of raw materials and finished beer/spirits • Manage yeast per best practices and industry standards, including pitching, cropping, and monitoring yeast • Ensure the highest quality and consistency through use of best practices, including lab tests to monitor and troubleshoot fermentation, in-process, and finished beer/spirits • Cleaning and sanitation of all equipment and work areas • Ensure product quality in the pub by helping clean lines, checking CO2, etc.; work closely with pub staff and provide training about beer/spirits knowledge • Perform equipment maintenance, troubleshooting problems that arise, and repair as needed • Help maintain and develop additional standard operating procedures that ensure all aspects of beer/spirits production and packaging align with safety, sanitary, and quality protocols while allowing for process improvement and workflow efficiency Be an active brewery representative, including attending promotional events and festivals, occasionally participating in tours and other educational and marketing events Assist the owner and other team members in developing growth strategies; assist in hiring and training brewery/distillery employees; effectively communicate (written and oral) with the owners, staff, sales team and others to create a supportive work environment QUALIFICATIONS: • 5 plus years professional experience as a production brewer/distiller • Formal brewing/distilling training (certificate/diploma) from a recognized and accredited brewing/distilling program (Siebel, UC-Davis, etc.) is a plus • Strong knowledge of brewing/distilling techniques, quality control, lab analytics and interpreting the results, yeast management, cleaning and sanitation, cellaring and packaging, and equipment • Experience in recipe formulation and development; a high degree of curiosity to use new ingredients and flavor combinations • Knowledge of developing and documenting formalized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all processes • A commitment to safety and quality by following industry standards, best practices, and OSHA regulations and requirements • Strong organization and time management skills and attention to detail; ability to multi-task; flexible schedule which includes nights and weekends as needed • Ability to work well as a member of a team and also independently • Strong oral and written communication skills and ability to give and take constructive feedback • A friendly attitude and willingness to interact with customers in the pub and at festivals and events Strong work ethic and flexibility as the brewery expands COMPENSATION: This full time position pays a competitive salary with benefits, sick leave, paid vacation and all your favorite beer/spirits/live music in one place. In addition, incentives for performance and growth goals. Please send resume/questions to TheVanguard757@gmail.com
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Hi all, I've been working tirelessly to try to find a location for my distillery in northern NJ and have finally found something that I think will be great. The architect whom I've been speaking to (who was recommended to me by my contractor), is quoting me $10K for the work, and I'm uncomfortable with how high that seems. Do any of you know of architects in NJ who have worked on, or are at least familiar with, distilleries in the past? Would love to be able to chat with them and get some other quotes to compare. And for those of you not in NJ, can you share how much you paid your architects for their services?
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Hello, I've been following the site for a while now as I have been finalizing my business plan. I am located in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan and with a little luck will be opening a small distillery in the next few months. Does anyone here know about the declassification requirements for a Canadian Distillery, Ive read reports that several setups have been derated from F1, to F2 and even F3 in some cases. I am working with a mechanical engineer to sort this out but sometimes its better to ask a question than try and solve all the problems yourself. Thanks in advance for your time and I hope to meet you all down the road. Adam
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Hello Distilling World- We're on track to start a new micro-distillery in the Salt Lake City area, so it is time to announce our presence. We'll be named Waterpocket, after the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef NP - one of our favorite locations in the world. We look forward to bringing a variety of new, innovative, and flavorfu products to the Utah market. Our primary still will be from Mueller and much of the rest of our workflow is now determined. We look forward to participating in this community. I'm sure we will need the advice as we move forward! -Alan Scott - COO, Waterpocket, LLC
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I've been having some real trouble understanding which hydrometers are necessary for operations. Does anyone know of a guide for the hydrometers needed for operation? I know we need to have NIST-certified equipment for proofing and gauging, but don't understand the ranges of SG for which we need. Can anyone share a list of ranges, use, quantity and whether NIST certified of your hydrometers? We're ready to spend on these, but want to make sure we're spending correctly. I've seen a few posts on this, but there seems to be some variance on how many hydrometers most folks purchase and the number that are NIST certified vs. those that are not. Thanks for your input. Any recommendations on where to buy (aside from Cole Parmer) are appreciated as well.
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The Department of Health (California) says that we need to file for a Processed Food Registration (PFR) for our (soon to open) distillery. It entails about $500 in fees and an inspection to ensure compliance with production process controls, sanitation procedures and labeling and advertising requirements. It seems a bit gratuitous since we are basically making a sterile product. As far as labeling, I thought that was under the purvey of the TTB. Has anyone else dealt with this? Searching these forums, I am surprised that nobody else has mentioned it. Thanks, Earl
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Hello, My name is Jimmy and I am an Australian distiller living and working in Asia.I recently started a company with a business partner and so far things are progressing really well. At the current time I am looking to protect my interests in the company. Up until recently all of the agreements we have come to have been verbal. I have contacted a lawyer as I want to make them more legally binding. The background information is that I invested a small amount to money (compared to my partner) with the promise of receiving shares in the company. I have been working on a greatly reduced salary as I don’t want to burn all of the capital before we even have a chance to grow. My partner runs the business side of the venture and I run the distillery (developing recipes, fermenting and distilling.) My partner and I recently had a argument about ownership of the recipes. He believes that because I am using company resources that the recipes belong to the company and that I should teach them to the other distillery workers. I told him that until we have some sort of legally binding contract I would not teach anybody anything. My biggest fear is that I teach unskilled distillery workers my recipes and methods and my partner finds a way to get rid of me without any form of compensation. I feel a way to protect myself from this is to have shares in the company, as promised, and also receive a percentage of sales of all the recipes that I create. So my question is what do you think is a fair percentage of shares and a fair percentage of sales of the recipes I create? Keeping In mind these facts: Initially I invested 10% of the capital in the company My partner invested the rest of the capitol at the present time the company is not making a profit and the running costs are coming out of my partners own pocket. Conservatively speaking, within two years I feel the company will start making a profit. At the present time my salary is very low and I am not being fairly compensated for my experience, talent and time. All of the recipes are being created and developed by myself. Thank You
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If you cant find someone who fits the bill but they have the right personality and can do attitude we could train them to be a Distiller for you. https://blackbuttondistilling.com/product/master-distilling-course/ Let us know. Jason -
Bently Heritage (previously Nevada Heritage) is looking for a full-time Master Distiller. This is an exciting opportunity to join an innovative project from the ground up as we launch one of the first distilleries in the state of Nevada. OUR STORY: NEVADA HERITAGE, our upcoming craft distillery, will live up to its name by preserving the great traditions and heritage of Nevada and the Bently name, while stepping boldly into the future. Like the distilleries of a bygone era, we’ll use only local ingredients: Winter Rye, wheat, barley, corn and other grains will be sustainably and naturally grown by our sister company, Bently Ranch. The ranch — just like Old Minden — operates in the cowboy tradition but with a keen eye on sustainability, the latest technologies, and the future. The same care and attention that spirit making requires will be poured into the renovation of the Minden Flour Milling Company Building. Earning a LEED Platinum certification isn’t an easy job for a historic building, but we have never shied away from a challenge. We boldly let the world know we had every intention of turning one of San Francisco’s most beautiful properties, the then old Federal Reserve Bank building into a LEED Silver beacon for the future. We delivered and then some. To say we are repurposing this incredible historic building is not accurate. We are restoring a grain processing facility into a grain processing facility. Only this use is going to be a lot more fun. Our goal isn’t just to produce artisanal-quality spirits, but to set a new standard for sustainable production; innovating an industry while revitalizing the craft distilling tradition. Nevada Heritage is the impetus of a farm-to-bar revolution, and will be the first estate spirit craft distillery. Farm-to-bar we are growing, producing, and bottling everything in-house under our watchful eyes to ensure only the very best distilled spirits in the world. We are blessed with the cleanest, most pure water in the country. Minden Water Works has never had to treat their water. Due to the naturally occuring aquifer and filtration process, Minden is provided with water so pure it’s better than treated water right out of the ground. In fact, the original well aptly called Well Number One will have a dedicated line running straight to our distillery. We have a beautiful building that truly is a work of art. We will have the highest of quality and most intriguing spirits ever created farm-to-bar. There’s Passion? Check. Food? Check. Drink? Check. Stay tuned for updates on the progress of Nevada Heritage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MASTER DISTILLER Summary: The Minden Flour Milling Company building, a National Registered Historic Place, will be converted into a craft distillery named Nevada Heritage. The new distillery will be one of the first operating in the state of Nevada since Assembly Bill 153 was passed earlier this year, allowing local distilleries to operate. This puts Nevada Heritage in notable company with fellow Silver State artisans as well as landing Minden at the forefront of a burgeoning new industry. Nevada Heritage will live up to its name by reintroducing the best traditions of the Old West, while embracing New West values such as sustainability and premium quality. The Master Distiller will be responsible for developing the Nevada Heritage collection, planning and executing distillation operations, overseeing production, and managing inventory. With support from Marketing and Sales teams, the Master Distiller will also showcase and advertise our spirits to raise brand awareness and build relationships with local and national media sources, all while complying with relevant federal, state and local regulations. Responsibilities include: • The selection of spirits for the purpose of blending. • Analysis of spirits and blends as per quality norms and standards. • Implementation and overseeing quality control measures for wet goods. • Packaging quality control. • Maintain appropriate records (quality control, excise etc.) • Set standards for raw material and product quality & auditing regularly to maintain quality levels. • Day to day activity monitoring of all testing labs, production sites & finished goods inventories. Requirements: • Entrepreneurial spirit. • B.A. degree, preferably in chemistry or a related field. • Brewing and distilling MSc Certificate. • 5-10 years experience as a qualified Master Distiller or Master Blender. • Experience in creating various spirits, including: single malt whiskey, bourbon, vodka, absinthe, and gin. • Strong relationship management skills. • Strong financial and analytical skills; keen business acumen. You can apply directly online HERE. Let me know if you have questions! -
Hi, I like everyone else would like to start my own distillery. In am in the Oregon and Washington State area and I know WA requires a craft distillery to produce its product from at least 51% grain grown from within the state. Oregon doesn't have that requirement, but I would like to support local farmers, and the local economy, and purchase things like; corn, wheat, barley, rye, etc direct from local farmers in Oregon and/or Washington. What I can't find is an easy way to do this. Can anyone help? How do you buy things like corn or wheat from a local farmer? Where? Is there a co-op or certain place/website I can go to to do this? Thank you for your time! John
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Hello Craft Distillers! My name is Clay Graham, and I am the founder of Roots Distillery, a Bay Area whiskey and shine distiller with a love of mixing old Tennessee traditions with the culinary craft and startup agility of the Bay Area. I am really excited to come here and participate in this community, and I am really looking forward to meeting all of Ya'll and talking about crafting spirits. There are some real mentors here! Our first product is called Bandit, and its a hand crafted clean tasting moonshine with a clear corn and rye flavor. We are also creating what we call "botanical shines" which are flavor balanced shines infused with local herbs in separate flavor runs and then blended. I will keep it short, and let my participation speak for itself, but I want to invite every one of you to check out our website and follow us on twitter. Contact us for any reason! We love it! Clay Graham Founder Roots Distillery http://rootsdistillery.com twitter: @rootsdistillery clay@rootsdistillery.com
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Hello, I am in the final stages before ordering equipment based around a 50 gallon micro distiller. I have been working to generate an equipment list and I was wondering if anyone had any guidance about if this looks similar to set ups you have seen or been a part of. Our list is as follows: -50 Gallon Hillbilly Still -Fermentation tanks -Stainless steel mash kettle with cooling jacket, steam injection, agitator, 3" bottom outlet and recycled cooling water system -Finished stainless steel tanks with 2" bottom outlets -55 Gallon Charcoal filter with pumps -2" transfer pump with hose and quick connect fittings -Auto bottle filler -Commercial sized burr grist for grinding grains -Commercial sized boiler for steam generation -Charcoal water filter -Warehouse racking -Labeler Any help or guidance you could give me would be much appreciated!
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Hello everyone, I've been in the brainstorming stages recently trying to figure out what path I should take. I've always enjoyed a good absinthe. As I read about cost of startup plus time of licensing I have come to the conclusion that I should probably start out with some contract distilling to at least get started and then eventually start my own distillery in the future. Through all the reading im doing, I see a lot of people who started with contracts with foreign distilleries for their absinthe. Are there any domestic distilleries who do contract distilling? I can't seem to find them. I did contact one foreign distillery and they weren't even interested and didn't even give me the time of day. I think maybe they didn't understand my intentions. Anyway, a quick glimpse of what I'd like to do: Start an absinthe label of my own - start a distillery of my own - incorporate that into a restaurant/bar any help with contract distillers would be great. I can find artisan distillers in my area but most are all doing whiskey and gin and I don't even know where to begin finding a domestic contract. Thanks a lot! Jason
