P.O. Box 267814, Chicago, IL 60626 U.S.A. Tel: 1-773-465-7285 | Fax: 1-773-465-7387 E-Mail: abt@abtonline.com

Welcome to Brewpubs 101

• How much is a brewpub system going to cost?

  Well, that depends on what sort of system you will need to meet your production requirements. Your production requirements are, in turn, determined by your sales projections. We've prepared a questionnaire to help you arrive at the answers to these and other pertinent questions. Click here to go to it.

• What are the options among brewpub systems?

  We offer a range of small-scale brewing plants for on-premise production and consumption operations. The ABT Tavern Brew system features a 3 bbl./3.5 hl. skid-mounted modu lar brewhouse that can fit in a very small area. it is ideal for brewpub projects where space is at a premium and anticipated production requirements are under 1,000 bbls./1,150 hls. per year. For larger-scale operations we have seven, ten and fifteen barrel brewing systems. Click here for ex amples of brewing system specifications and floor plans.

• What makes ABT brewpub systems different?

  Now-a-days there are over 50 manufacturers of small-scale brewing systems worldwide. Some build very expensive equipment (especially Germans), others cut corners (and quality) to lower costs and prices. What many of them have in common in a lack of true small-scale brewery design engineering. Simply put, a lot of small-scale brewing equipment that is currently on the market just doesn't work very well. Before you spend your money click here to learn about the ABT Difference.

HOW TO DETERMINE BREWPUB SALES

1. Beer sales will probably average about 55% of total sales. This average is based on the track record of 25 U.S. and Canadian brewpubs from 1988 to 1994.

2. One beer, probably whichever beer is your amber-colored beer, will constitute at least 50% of your total beer sales. Brewpub customers seem predisposed to try something "different" when they visit a brewpub, but not too different.

3. Using the ABT draft beer Drink/Profit Calculator determine what the gross sales per keg will be based on the drink price that you have set. Multiply this figure by the number of kegs (half-barrels) per day you anticipate selling to determine your projected daily beer sales. (If you are going to vary the price of your beers be sure to take that into account in determining your keg sales.) Multiply this figure by the number of days per year that your brewpub will be open to determine your projected annual beer sales. Multiply this figure by 1.45 to determine your projected total annual sales. Remember, the usefulness of this final figure is dependent on the reasonableness of your projected daily keg sales - garbage in, garbage out as they say in the data processing business.

HOW TO DETERMINE BEER PRODUCTION COSTS

1. Take the total cost of your brewing equipment, including installation and consulting costs and divide it by five. This figure is your annual depreciation/amortization cost based on a five year straight-line depreciation schedule.

2. Add the total annual labor cost of your brewing staff and the brewery license fees.

3. Multiply the number of barrels (two kegs) that you project selling on an annual basis by $25.00 US for an average raw ingredients/production utilities cost.

4. Multiply the number of barrels that you project selling on an annual basis by the federal and state excise tax per barrel to determine your total excise tax cost.

5. Estimate what the general overhead for the brewpub (rent/mortgage, taxes, utilities, advertising, administration) will be. Divide this figure by the total number of square feet in the brewpub. Multiply this number by the number of square feet assigned to the brewery. This amount is the brewery's share of general overhead expenses.

6. Add items 1-5 together and divide by two. This amount is your true cost per keg (half barrel).

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