Think Outside the Brewery Box

Just Add Beer

We were talking about brewery locations last week, which got me thinking about all the different ways that you can introduce your beer to the public.

I’m of course such an advocate of turning an existing restaurant into a brewery but that is so old school. Really, who told you there was only way to do a brewpub, or any kind of brewery? Let’s explore some different and fun alternatives.

Bowling

We have taught hundreds of students at our immersion course how to open and run a brewery, but not once has a student taken up my suggestion to add a brewery to a bowling alley!  What could be a more perfect fit? Most bowling alleys have small kitchens, so turning it into a brewpub should be fairly straight-forward. I can’t think of a greater place to have a good time than having an excellent pint of beer, eating a simple meal served in a basket with wax paper and bowling with my friends. All that cool orange plastic furniture? There’s no need to replace that kind of hip. And just think of the swag you could sell also?

Movie Theater

I have always liked the idea of taking an old theater, or maybe even a more modern one (because of streaming, there seem to be more of them abandoned all the time) and ripping out every other row of seats and replacing them with tables. The snack bar could be expanded to make more interesting food items, and it is also a natural set up for a bar. For a small annual licensing fee, there are thousands of movie titles you can show. Movies can be free, or you could charge a small ticket price. I would happily pay good money to watch Back to the Future with friends while enjoying great beer.

McMenamins up in Portland, Oregon has done a great job saving old beautiful theaters from extinction this way.

Dog Park

If you live in a place with a mild climate, why not create a great dog park along with your brewery? If you built a simple tasting room brewery and had a large fenced in area, it would be a natural place for people to hang out while their dogs played. For fun, I designed a brewery in a container, which could be moved onto a piece of land. Another container for a bar, another for storage, and another for restrooms. Something like that would be an easy fit at a dog park (easy being a relative term).

Coffee House

This is one of my favorites. I wrote an article about this in the past, arguing for adding a coffee operation to your brewery. In fact, the first book I wrote was how to open a coffeehouse. When you sell a pint of beer you are getting about $5 to $8 for your pint. Keep in mind what it cost you to create that pint with all the equipment, labor and licensing. Now consider a simple latte. You will sell that for about $4.50. All that’s required is an inexpensive espresso machine, grinder, and a few odds and ends, plus a person to make it. You already have a great tasting room sitting empty in the morning. The rent has already been paid for and you have WiFi for your customers to use in place. If they come for coffee, they will probably come back for beer.

Bike Shop

People who bike are a natural fit for craft beer. I could see a small nano brewery attached to a bike shop. It would be a perfect place after a long bike ride to get a beer. Or, people just drinking beer would browse the bikes too. Of course, you need to have a passion for bikes as much as you do for beer. It sure would spruce up a Nano Brewery.

Little York Brewing, in Fort Mill, SC does just this. You can enjoy a pint while they tune up your bike. Bikes and beer, what a great combination

Newstand/Bookstore

This is an old-fashioned idea, but I’ve always liked Newstand/Coffee Houses, but putting it altogether would make a very vibrant business. If you spent $10,000 on magazines and had a dedicated place in your taproom for them, a company comes out and replaces your inventory as the dates on the magazines change. I would think of the magazine aspect as art on the wall, that attracts customers. A bookstore however needs more management to make it viable. Also, if you were serving beer in the evening, you would also want to serve coffee in the morning (see above). Maybe a specialty bookstore that only sold beer, wine, cocktail, and cookbooks?

I had a friend who once told me that a deal was simply a blank canvas. There are no set rules to how you go about coming up with a business plan. You of course need a good business system – which I continually harp on – but beyond that, anything goes.

Let me know in the comments section what ideas you have. I’m sure there are very creative businesses in the back of your minds and if you would care to, I hope you will share your ideas.