What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

I own a brewery: Cambria Beer Co. (1 Viewer)

So I now know a brewery owner? :banned:
It's the dream of my BIL, who is 30 and has been brewing beers for 5 years now. He's really good at it, bought a kegirator (sp?) last year and has a tap in the living room inviting me to drink out it 24/7 when I'm there for a visit. Just a terrific option for the house.

Anyhow, he lives at home with his parents, has virtually no real expenses and started a portfolio of stocks I steered him into 3 years ago. Dude's done really well for himself to the point where opening a small brewery is actually an attainable goal down the line. Point I'm crawling towards is you might know TWO owners in due time, one in your back yard! :excited:

 
Stupid charities trying to raise money to help people. Some nerve they have.
Donations start at home, ie our town. We will absolutely pour beer at any fundraiser the Education Foundation has, 1 or 2 a year. But i really don't need to be at the Fresno Dog Park expansion charity. No matter how hard they sell how much exposure we will get, unless they want to buy our beer, no go. Didnt call them stupid charities either, that was your words, but ever since we clicked on our open sign, i get 1 to 2 requests a week. I appreciate the work they do and the effort they put into running their charity, but I am a for profit company and yet they expect stuff for free. Last I looked I had a break even cost on every pint. Why give the beer away when I can make about $700 per keg? Maybe they don't realize how small of a brewery we are and that just because we have the word brewery in our name that we are a AB Inbev sized brewery. Our business model is to start at the tap room and expand outward as demand pulls us that way and how big.

All i wanted to do was brew and sell beer. Running a business is like death by a 1000 papercuts. We have 1 employee right now who works the tap room 3 days a week. I cover the other 4 and brew on the other 3. Looking to hire someone to cover 3 shifts.

anyways thanks for the reminder on remaining humble and making sure I don't know everything. I have told my customers the one thing i absolutely know is that I don't know everything. I keep my eyes and ears open in the tap room. I have received some great advice on how to overcome some obstacles or other ways of doing things.

 
good luck to you guys. i believe 5rings introduced me to your venture.
Thank you and if you ever come down this way, bring me some Russian River sours and I will pay you back/swap beers with ours if you want. lol

Have you been able to pay yourself yet? (no need to answer if that's too personal)

Do you have employees? How many?
paid ourselves a little bit every now and again, but this year with our expansion of production will get us a paycheck regulary. Lot of sweat equity in the first 2 years. Self financed the whole deal so now we need some payback.

had 2 employees but 1 moved to SD, now it is just1 tap room employee and me. She works 3 days a week. I cover 4 and brew on the 3 days I am not in the taproom

 
You've talked about brewing with Brett - do you have an entire second setup for Brett beers? Or are you just sanitizing the living hell out of your system every time you use Brett?

 
:blackdot: for my Pismo trip in a few weeks
Come on in. Hearst Castle, the elephant seals, and a brewery! About 45 mins north of Pismo.

Can I name one of your beers?
What style and what are you thinking of? Not just gonna say yes.... lol

You've talked about brewing with Brett - do you have an entire second setup for Brett beers? Or are you just sanitizing the living hell out of your system every time you use Brett?
So far for my Brett beers i have been using my homebrew carboys. so we usually do about 40 gallons of brett each time so the glass is easy to clean. If a brewer is able to clean the sachh yeast everytime then Brett is no problem either. It is when you get into introducing bacteria, Lactobacillius, pediococcus, acetobacter (which sours beers as well) those are the hardy chemical resistant bugs. Brett will just ferment the beer down and alter the flavor profile, good or bad.

 
You need to let the FFA vote on the name of the Valentines Cherry Stout. All entries must be approved by you, you run the poll after choosing the top 3-5 submissions.

Start a Name My Beer thread to solicit ideas, start a 2nd thread poll to vote.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You need to let the FFA vote on the name of the Valentines Cherry Stout. All entries must be approved by you, you run the poll after choosing the top 3-5 submissions.

Start a Name My Beer thread to solicit ideas, start a 2nd thread poll to vote.
When I make my barleywine, I expect to have enough sugars remaining in the mash to make a small Pale Ale. I will hop the heck out of it. Since it is the second runnings of the mash and a hoppy beer I will call it HOPPY SECONDS. My wife refuses to sell it if I do. :moneybag: :lol:

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
I'll take a stab for him . I would imagine he is doing what he loves and making :moneybag: from it. I'm jealous , I make a very nice living but feel like I'm in the Clash song Clampdown.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
Yes, most men do, because most men love beer.
 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
I'll take a stab for him . I would imagine he is doing what he loves and making :moneybag: from it. I'm jealous , I make a very nice living but feel like I'm in the Clash song Clampdown.
Yep and yep on both accounts. Taking a hobby and making a viable business of it is awesome, plus it is beer. That comment was tongue in cheek. I get a lot of homebrewers who think this is every mans dream. Well change every mans into most homebrewers dream

 
Emails received from a few of you. When I get the glasses in, this upcoming week, I will email you all and you can arrange payments to be sent in.

thanks!!

 
:blackdot: for my Pismo trip in a few weeks
Come on in. Hearst Castle, the elephant seals, and a brewery! About 45 mins north of Pismo.

Can I name one of your beers?
What style and what are you thinking of? Not just gonna say yes.... lol

You've talked about brewing with Brett - do you have an entire second setup for Brett beers? Or are you just sanitizing the living hell out of your system every time you use Brett?
So far for my Brett beers i have been using my homebrew carboys. so we usually do about 40 gallons of brett each time so the glass is easy to clean. If a brewer is able to clean the sachh yeast everytime then Brett is no problem either. It is when you get into introducing bacteria, Lactobacillius, pediococcus, acetobacter (which sours beers as well) those are the hardy chemical resistant bugs. Brett will just ferment the beer down and alter the flavor profile, good or bad.
You tell me the beer you have in mind and I will think of the name.

 
as a homebrewer who has that dream, any advice?

I've been brewing for about 5 years, 1 year all-grain. I'm about to upgrade to a HERMS electric system, eventually capable of 10 gallon batches. I've been thinking that I might take a stab at going pro in 10 years or so - when the kids are out of the house and I will be able to take a few more financial risks.

 
You need to let the FFA vote on the name of the Valentines Cherry Stout. All entries must be approved by you, you run the poll after choosing the top 3-5 submissions.

Start a Name My Beer thread to solicit ideas, start a 2nd thread poll to vote.
When I make my barleywine, I expect to have enough sugars remaining in the mash to make a small Pale Ale. I will hop the heck out of it. Since it is the second runnings of the mash and a hoppy beer I will call it HOPPY SECONDS. My wife refuses to sell it if I do. :moneybag: :lol:
Oskar Blues beat you to this.

 
as a homebrewer who has that dream, any advice?

I've been brewing for about 5 years, 1 year all-grain. I'm about to upgrade to a HERMS electric system, eventually capable of 10 gallon batches. I've been thinking that I might take a stab at going pro in 10 years or so - when the kids are out of the house and I will be able to take a few more financial risks.
Get solid recipes, and then go as big as you can afford. then have a plan for expansion in the first 6 months. who knows what the landscape will be in 10 years from now. But we are in the midst of our 3rd expansion. First was more seating and moving the brewhouse, second was scheduling the brewing so that when a fermenter was empty we brew back into the next day at the latest. that involved hiring a tap room employee. Third is buying a bigger fermenter and soon to be buying a 2nd 7 bbl fermenter to go with our two 3-bbl fermenters.

our problem was in the space requirements, we had enough space for 2 fermenters but nothing else. our new space, brewhouse only, we can fit in up to 4 more 7 barrel fermenters and be brewing 5 days a week.

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
Yes, most men do, because most men love beer.
Makes no sense to me. I love Whiskey but have no desire to make my own.

Doing something you like and making money at it, that part I understand and was not addressing.

 
You need to let the FFA vote on the name of the Valentines Cherry Stout. All entries must be approved by you, you run the poll after choosing the top 3-5 submissions.

Start a Name My Beer thread to solicit ideas, start a 2nd thread poll to vote.
When I make my barleywine, I expect to have enough sugars remaining in the mash to make a small Pale Ale. I will hop the heck out of it. Since it is the second runnings of the mash and a hoppy beer I will call it HOPPY SECONDS. My wife refuses to sell it if I do. :moneybag: :lol:
Oskar Blues beat you to this.
:censored:

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
I'll take a stab for him . I would imagine he is doing what he loves and making :moneybag: from it. I'm jealous , I make a very nice living but feel like I'm in the Clash song Clampdown.
Yep and yep on both accounts. Taking a hobby and making a viable business of it is awesome, plus it is beer. That comment was tongue in cheek. I get a lot of homebrewers who think this is every mans dream. Well change every mans into most homebrewers dream
Yes agree very much if you can make money on a hobby that's a dream and even more of a dream if that money can be your primary or sole source of income. I was seriously just asking because while I know a lot of heavy and daily beer drinkers I most have no care to brew their own. The part about making money on a hobby is an easily understood dream of just about everyone.

Anyway, congrats on living your dream, seriously.

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
Yes, most men do, because most men love beer.
Makes no sense to me. I love Whiskey but have no desire to make my own.

Doing something you like and making money at it, that part I understand and was not addressing.
Hint: Inhiding doesn't literally think dudes sit around jerking off to the idea of opening a brewery.

 
did you work in another brewery before starting your own? What did you do before you were a brewer? How did you feel confident enough to fork over $80k in a new venture?

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.

Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
Yes, most men do, because most men love beer.
Makes no sense to me. I love Whiskey but have no desire to make my own.

Doing something you like and making money at it, that part I understand and was not addressing.
Hint: Inhiding doesn't literally think dudes sit around jerking off to the idea of opening a brewery.
We can jerk if we want to. We can leave your friends behind. Cause your friends don't jerk, and if they don't jerk, well they're no friends of mine.

 
did you work in another brewery before starting your own? What did you do before you were a brewer? How did you feel confident enough to fork over $80k in a new venture?
No previous brewing education other than homebrewing. Seriously. I won some awards as a homebrewer so I knew my methods and process was good to go. Yes there was a huge learning curve but the other breweries in the area have been awesome in helping out.

Before this I was selling automotive chemicals.

and it took big balls to keep writing checks but it was something the wife and I felt confident in doing and wanted to do

 
I spend a couple weeks in Cambri/Cayucos every summer. Congrats on the business. I concede. I am jealous. Not a day goes by I don't think about moving to your area. I belong somewhere between Morro Bay and San Simeon. My 14 year old is so attached to her life/friends here she gets upset when I talk about moving to the beach. 3 and a half years...

 
If I am ever in Cambria I will stop by for a few pints, pay full retail price, and tip well. Thanks for the interesting thread. :thumbup:

 
.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
Is this really something most men dream about? I'm seriously asking. I drink daily, usually whiskey or wine and not beer but I can honestly say I have no care to make any of those own my own, even if I knew how which I don't. Be a nice skill to have if some apocalyptic event went down and I was still standing but other than that can't say I really care.Owning your own company and being able to create a product that people will pay is a recognizable goal I think every man has, just not so sure about the brewing beer part. But maybe it's just me.
Yes, most men do, because most men love beer.
Makes no sense to me. I love Whiskey but have no desire to make my own.

Doing something you like and making money at it, that part I understand and was not addressing.
Hint: Inhiding doesn't literally think dudes sit around jerking off to the idea of opening a brewery.
We can jerk if we want to. We can leave your friends behind. Cause your friends don't jerk, and if they don't jerk, well they're no friends of mine.
You earned my first "Like" since FBG started it. Outstanding.
 
Q: regarding the the Present Tense - are you using a commercial Brett strain, or fermenting in a wine barrel which already has it?
I went with a strain that I have had for long time. Brett Anomolus. A low intensity brett strain originally found in english casks. Depends on who you subscribe to, wither Brett A is it own strain or it is related to Brett C. I get different ferments with either strain so I dont think they are too similiar. I am using the Brett A strain to sour up some stout to which I will add in some cherries and have a Sour Cherry Stout for next Valentines day.

I am looking to start a barrel program here soon as well, and once i get that going then I will have sours on a regular basis. Not too much of a bourbon barrel guy, but I have some ideas that will take a stout to the next level!
Sours is definitely my favorite genre -- I'd love to check some out once you can start shipping.

 
The wife and I own a small craft brewery on the Central Coast of California in Cambria, near Hearst Castle and the emerging wine region of Paso Robles. We are approaching our 2nd year in business and we can't brew enough beer to keep up with demand so far. We are expanding our production from 3 barrels a week to 6 barrels and then to 12 in about 3 months from now. We are producing 5 house beers (IPA, Pale, Amber, Stout and a Porter) with a brewers choice rotating in and out as needed.

Ask me anything about hte brewing process and what it is like to live every man's dream.
What are your best tips for homebrewers to make great beer? I've been all-grain for a couple years now. At its best, my beer is good, but no where near the great craft options which are readily available these days.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top