We know breweries in PA are opening at a phenomenal rate. And since our state is one of the largest craft beer producers in the country, we know even more will continue to open their doors. If you are one of those home brewers aspiring to open a commercial operation in the future, we are here to offer some advice.

Well, not us, but those who have succeeded in this industry. We recently asked a number of brewery owners the same question. And we want to share their answers with you. We hope this will help in your future brewery plans.

Here is the question we asked each person:

What is the one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring home brewer looking to start their own brewery?

And the responses:

Scott Smith, East End Brewing: “Make quality liquid. Follow whatever business model works for you, build it out big or small, and brew whatever styles of beer get you jazzed… but know that if your beer isn’t what it should be, the rest of it won’t matter much.”

Bill Covaleski, Victory Brewing Co: “I think the most important perspective to have when starting a commercial endeavor is the definition of success. The creator needs to have a clear definition of what will fulfill them, who else they wish to satisfy, and how they aim to do so. They then need accept those objectives as a definitive goal.”

Mike LaCouture, Broken Goblet Brewing:  “I would say that – and this is based on probably 10 conversations with 10 aspiring breweries in planning – you are NOT going to make any where near the money you think you are. In fact, you are not going to make anything for a while unless you elect to not put it back into this capital-hungry business. Ask yourself this question – am I trying to follow a dream and do not care how hard I work for no pay? If the answer is unequivocal YES, then go for it, we are all behind you and your success 100%. If it is “well….I GUESS”, then you need to seriously rethink. If it’s “I WANT TO QUIT MY DAY JOB”, then you better be independently wealthy or just stop now while you have your sanity, your marriage/relationships in tact, and some money in your bank account. There is money in distribution and volume, but the distro model is slowly fading away. There is money in multiple locations, but get ready to really do some heavy lifting and your brand/marketing/social media/image/etc better be airtight. If you are going small, the only way to make any $$ right now is to brew a lot, do a lot of events, and be open a lot of hours, and that means hiring people and, whoops, there goes that money you thought you were going to make.”

Steve Ilnicki, Spoonwood Brewing: “Find some entry-level brewery work and see where that leads before taking the leap to start your own.”