DETROIT –If you look at the surprisingly deep history of brewing and alcohol in general, you will find that there is a lot that goes into making beer and other drinks that you love.

One of the coolest things to look at is the various ways that brewing has changed over the years, and one of the biggest changes is the rise in micro-breweries. But what caused this rise in micro-brewery popularity and what can you do if you want to get into the world of micro-brewing yourself?

What Is A Microbrewery? 

Originally, a micro-brewery was a descriptor given to a brewery because of its size. However, now it has been used to talk about different forms of brewing. Such as using more flexibility, adaptability, and experimentation when making beers.

However, the term micro-brewery is also used to describe those breweries that produce less than 15,000 beer barrels every year. Additionally, a micro-brewery must also sell at least 75% of the beer barrels in off-site locations.

What Has Caused The Rise Of Micro-Breweries?

What Customers Want

Let’s be honest, once you try beers from some of the big companies, such as Budweiser or Coors Light, you have tried them all. Sure they might come out with a new flavor every once in a while, but the overall taste is going to be the same. 

However, micro-breweries are able to brew beers that cater to customer tastes and also focus on niches and underrepresented flavors that the bigger companies ignore.

For example, a micro-brewing company might provide a guide to noble hops through their various noble hop-flavored beers. Or they might use flavors or techniques that you just can’t find anywhere else to make themselves unique. 

A Need For Flavor

One of the reasons why micro-breweries are so popular is because they really bring the flavor. Micro-breweries don’t need to make tons and tons of beer types to be successful, instead, they can pick a few types of beer to make and then can make a lot of it really well.

This often leads to beers with a lot of deep flavors and this can make beer more like an art and an experience to drink.

Compare that to traditional lager beer companies, where the flavor is okay, but most people drink the commercial type of beer in large quantities for a buzz. They aren’t drinking the beer and savoring the taste, they are simply chasing the high. 

How To Start Your Own Microbrewery

If you decide that you want to turn your passion for beer and hops into your own microbrewery, then you need to follow these steps in order to turn your microbrewery into a major success! 

Look At The Cost

For starters, a micro-brewery isn’t going to be small in the prices that it demands from you! Renting a space for 12 months is probably going to cost over $50,000, operational costs can be around $60,000, and the equipment for your microbrewery will cost approximately $18,000 and we are just getting started! That doesn’t even cover legal fees and licensing, as well as the start-up inventory you will need.

Who Is Your Target Market?

Unlike bigger companies that might deal with their customers directly, your microbrewery will be seeking clients from beer distributors. Look for companies that specialize in imports or in handcrafted beers to get your foot in the door. Then you can look for some of the larger distributors later in the life of your business.

How Do You Want To Expand?

While a microbrewery can make a profit on its own, you can do some things to increase both your profits as well as your outreach to your customers as well. For example, you can expand your business by opening a taproom where customers can get your beers straight from the tap. 

Or you can open a restaurant and serve food along with your beers, letting your customers know what foods will pair perfectly with your beers. While you don’t have to expand your micro-breweries to find success, the expansions can be very helpful for you if you want to reach more customers with your beers. Plus, they can open up more marketing opportunities as well!

Make Your Micro-Brewery A Macro Success!

You don’t need to think that being a microbrewery means that you are doomed to play small for the rest of your life. Instead, you simply need to see what advantages a microbrewery can give you. With the current rise of micro-breweries, you can really take advantage of all that makes micro-breweries great!

Then you can find success and get the beers that you have made and the flavors that you love into the mouths of the people! 

This story was provided by José Luis Martín Cara