The brewery / taproom launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 55 steps in 8 phases, 29 of them specific to a brewery / taproom. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan55 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A brewery makes the same beer two very different ways: poured in its own taproom at near-retail , or sold wholesale at a fraction of that.
Typical for one unit is $400,000 to $1,750,000 a year; the owner keeps 10 to 19% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
481 vs 300 closings vs openings, 2025. The Brewers Association counted 9,578 U.S. craft breweries at the end of 2025, a 2.9% net decline, with 481 closings against 300 openings...
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: because the equipment and licensing are the expensive, slow part, buying an existing brewery with sound beer, a real taproom following, and capacity to grow is often lower-risk than... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A brewery spends most of its opening budget before it sells a pint: stainless, glycol, drains, and power, plus a taproom good enough to be worth the trip.
The itemized cost to open9 lines
- Brewhouse, fermenters & brite tanks: $59,100 to $309,600A 7 bbl brewhouse runs about $13,000 used to $150,000 new; each 7 bbl fermenter about $7,500 to $14,500
- Glycol chiller, cold room & draft system: $31,000 to $66,100
- Kegs, keg washer, mill, canning & brewing tools: $10,000 to $100,400A small canning line (about $48,000 new) is only in the high end; a mobile canner or crowlers cover the rest
- Taproom bar, seating, sinks & glassware: $19,800 to $114,900
- POS, Wi-Fi, cameras & signage: $4,500 to $28,700
- Opening ingredients & supplies: $10,000 to $30,000
- Build-out (drains, floor, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, taproom finishes): $83,500 to $430,000The biggest swing; a building with drains and three-phase power in place costs far less
- Licenses, permits, design, deposits, insurance & marketing: $22,200 to $134,000TTB brewer’s notice (no federal fee), state brewery license, drawings, permits, first insurance premium, lease and utility deposits
- Initial working capital: $50,000 to $150,000Payroll, marketing, and several months of reserve while beer and the taproom ramp up
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr (25 with real estate) · up to $5M · 75-85% government-guaranteed)Funds equipment, build-out, working capital, or an acquisition; SBA loans to breweries since 2020 have averaged about $590,000.
- SBA 504 loan (Up to 25 yr · real estate & heavy equipment)For breweries buying their building or long-lived equipment.
- Equipment financing / lease (Secured by the equipment)Finance the brewhouse, tanks, and glycol, secured by the equipment itself; stainless holds its value on the used market, which lenders like.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a brewery.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
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Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
Find and secure the spaceone to three months
A taproom lives on being a destination: walkable districts, breweries clustered into a “beer trail,” and enough nearby population to fill the bar on weekends.
What decides it for this business: destination or “beer trail” district, walkable foot & weekend traffic, functional, affordable production space, visibility & signage, parking or transit access.
One call to the planning desk with the address: is this use allowed there, and what will it take (, permits, health department plan review, fire sign-off)? A space that needs a change of use can add months.
Rent, free months for the , who pays for what, the and the renewals, subject to financing and permits. The lender needs this letter or a draft lease to take your application.
After: ,, renewal options, increase caps, what the landlord adds on top of rent, and what happens if you have to leave. For a location business the lease is part of the purchase price.
After:at minimum; property, workers’ compensation and the rest as the business needs. The landlord asks for a certificate at signing and the lender at closing.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the or draft lease, the and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
After:The lender approves against the ; you sign the lease once approved; the loan closes against the signed lease and the insurance certificate. Ask for the to match the or longer.
After:
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Permits and the build-outone to three months
A brewery is a federally licensed manufacturer with a bar attached, so it carries federal, state, and local permitting, more than almost any other small business.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:The health department reviews the layout, the sinks, the refrigeration and the finishes before you build. Building first and fixing later is the most expensive mistake in food.
After:For the , drains, and power upgrades, pulled by your contractors and closed out by inspection.
After:Most cities approve exterior signs separately; signs take weeks to make. Order early.
City business license, tax registration for taproom sales, and a for the taproom and any food.
City business license, tax registration for taproom sales, and a for the taproom and any food.
Federal permission to brew beer for sale, filed through TTB Permits Online with your lease, equipment layout, and owner information.
A state manufacturer or brewery license, plus the right to sell by the glass and to go in your taproom; states differ widely on taproom , self-distribution, and to-go limits.
must allow light manufacturing and a taproom (assembly use) in the same building, and many cities add their own liquor or taproom approval.
Brewery wastewater is high in sugars and cleaning chemicals, so many sewer authorities require a discharge permit, a sampling port, pretreatment, or a surcharge.
Federal label approval (COLA) for beer sold across state lines, and many states require their own label registration before you sell packaged beer.
Report production and pay federal excise tax to the TTB and state beer tax to your state, starting with your first batch.
Sign-off on the taproom’s load and review of CO2 storage, exits, and extinguishers.
After:Sign-off on the taproom’s load and review of CO2 storage, exits, and extinguishers.
After:Sign-off on the taproom’s load and review of CO2 storage, exits, and extinguishers.
After the build, with the refrigeration cold, the facility clean, a certified manager on site and the final menu in hand. The permit comes after the inspection; post it where customers see it.
After:
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Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
A taproom POS runs tabs on a preauthorized card, rings up flights, crowlers, and merch, and reports by beer, which tells you what to brew next.
Tracks every batch from brew day to keg: the tank schedule, ingredients used, and finished barrels.
A dedicated business checking account keeps taproom deposits, wholesale invoices, and supplier payments separate from personal money, essential for clean...
Close the books every month and split the between the taproom and wholesale while there is still time to act.
You staff a brew floor and a taproom, so runs from the first week: withholdings, tip reporting for the bar team, and workers’ comp.
, liquor liability for the taproom, product liability for beer you sell to others, property with equipment breakdown, and workers’ comp.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Federal plus state employer, withholding, and workers’-comp registrations once you hire; music licenses (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) for the taproom.
After:Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Owners usually post the jobs a month out and hire two to four weeks before opening so training happens before the doors open.
Daily: Run the taproom and its service, manage the bar and any food,... Weekly: Brew and transfer batches, schedule production and taproom staff,... Monthly: Reconcile taproom vs distribution , manage excise tax and...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
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Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Capital & ; across two operations; Distribution’s thin .
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Breweries sell less often than bars or cafes, to a narrower pool of buyers: other brewers, investors, and owner-operators who want installed equipment and licenses.