Addabrewpub

[seahawg]

Wanted to find out if anyone is familiar with a turnkey brewpub equipment company called Specialty Products International, out of Chapel Hill NC. They market a set of brew equipment that brews, ferments, and serves out of the same vessel. They use a malt extract they sell, eliminating grain storage and grinding. The total time to produce is only 6 days, which seems short. Anyone used this? Anyone know someone that does use this? Anyone tasted the end product? I'm interested in opening a brepub, and find this intriguing.

Thanks,

Doug

[nr706]

Wanted to find out if anyone is familiar with a turnkey brewpub equipment company called Specialty Products International, out of Chapel Hill NC. They market a set of brew equipment that brews, ferments, and serves out of the same vessel. They use a malt extract they sell, eliminating grain storage and grinding. The total time to produce is only 6 days, which seems short. Anyone used this? Anyone know someone that does use this? Anyone tasted the end product? I'm interested in opening a brepub, and find this intriguing.

Thanks,

Doug

←

I don't know anything about the comany and its products specifically, but as a marketing guy who's done some work with brewpubs and microbreweries, I know that the kinds of people who seek out brewpubs are more sophisticated than BudMillCoors drinkers, and many can detect the typical "extract tang" - it's not a good thing. If you're opening a brewpub, I'd suggest doing it right and going to an all-grain system. Sure, it's more work, but the cost of ingredients is lower, you can offer a wider variety of beers, and most importantly, you'll have a far superior product.

edited for typos

Edited December 10, 2004 by nr706 (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

It just so happens that I know a bit about this particular subject. I installed and operated a large number of breweries and brewpubs in the United States, Mexico, Hong Kong and Ireland in a period between 1987 and 2000.

The world is awash with used equipment from failed brewing ventures ( I should know, I have been buying and selling it for years). There is a reason that there is so much used equipment around. Many (almost all) of the people who got involved in the brewpub and brewing business in the 90's were beer enthusiasts who were able to put together enough money to open a brewpub. Most of the time, they spent the majority of their efforts and resources on the brewing and beer serving side of the operation and gave almost no thought to the restaurant side of the issue. This is a really, really, bad way to go into the brewpub business. I have worked for alot of people who lost alot of money (and a few that continue, to this day, to make money and prosper) because they made the error of not understanding that they were operating a restaurant that served beer (hopefully good beer), and not a brewery that happened to have a restaurant.

That being said, the restaurant business can be incredibly satisfying and the beer business even more so-and a well run brewpub is a hell of a fun thing to have. It can be done, and done well, but there has to be as much, or more, attention paid to the BUSINESS of the place, as there is to the beer.

Now, lecture over. You probably didn't need it, but I can't help myself anymore. I don't want to see anymore trainwrecks.

As far as the manufacturer goes, I don't know anyone who has installed the stuff, and you will need to find some (hopefully a few) people who are using it, GO TO THE PLACES! and talk to the BREWER (not the owner, unless it is the same person) and find out what he really thinks about the equipment and the beer that comes out of it. this conversation is usually best after a liberal amount of truth syrum has been applied to the brewer-give him a couple of beers and then switch him over to Scotch or Irish-you'll find out more than you wanted to know. This research is not something that can be done with a phone call and it is not something that EVER should be done with a manufacturers rep in tow. Just get them to give you a list of the places that are using the stuff and do the rest yourself.

Now, to the extract (and then directly back to used equipment). It is really easy to make good beer with extract. Homebrewers do it all of the time. It is really, really hard to make GREAT beer with extract. In fact, I have never had any. Ever. Is this what you want? No, of course not. Am I opinionated? Why yes, I am. Years and years of hard experience has taught me that if one's goal is to serve the best, then make it with the best. Grain comes in sacks, by the pallet load-you mash it in a mash tun--this means that, you will need three more things than you would have bought with your extract system.

1) Storage space for grain. Not so much. A pallet is 48X40X60 (or so). You will need some roasted malts, which you will only order by the sack, so not much space needed here.

2) You will need a mash tun of some sort. And the little bit of gear that goes with it (and that will all depend on how much money you want to spend and how much automation you want to get involved with).

3) Some farmer to haul off spent grain. One phone call to the County Extension Service will handle this-make a trade for it. I used to trade ours at Abita for beef. Lots of grass and brewers grain fed beef. This is the one thing that I miss out of that deal. That was some awesome meat. I've still got a trade going, but the meat is not nearly as fine.

Now, on to the used equipment--There is tons of it out there.and you can pick it up for really cheap if you do some shopping. Clearly there is no guarantee on it, and it's user beware, but most of it is really simple (aside from the boiler-unless it is under warranty I always reccomend buying one locally. You can always incorporate it into your hot water system so it can be a main source of your hot water needs for the whole place. Boilers are great to have around) and unless there's something visibly wrong with it (which there often is, as no one loves the stuff as they once did when they are uninstalling it one step ahead of the bankruptcy vultures) you are most likely in good shape. Also, if buying used equipment, try to find the guy who brewed on it and talk to him about it-he can tell you what worked and didn't, and what kind of shape that it was in when it was decommissioned.

You should, really, get together a restaurant concept, whether it is your own or with the help of a group of professionals, and then sit down and say to yourself, "Self, would this place work as a stand alone restaurant, if I did not have the pub?" And if your answer is no, you should pretty much think about it some more. BUT, if your answer is yes, you should go ahead full steam (with the idea that you will have one years worth of operating capital in the bank, even if you don't get a customer in the door for a year) and put your heart into it. It's a great gig when it works. There is nothing like sitting around in your own place, drinking your own beer, while those around you look at you admiringly and tell you (over and over again) that you have "the greatest job in the world". You can smile back, because you know that they are right.

My email is at the bottom of this post if you ever want to talk about your project.

Edited to Add:

If you ever, and I mean ever, use the term "pub grub" in any kind of description of your place or in any kind of promotional material--you will fail. Always. Without exception. Don't ever say that word. It is the kiss of death. Really.