I recently been doing some home-brewing and am interested in opening a
brewpub in Roanoke Virginia; I could use any knowledge and advice that
you might have. I am currently working on developing my own recipies
and am brewing a Kolsch. Kolsch is a blond colored lightly hopped beer
origenly brewed in a town named Koln.


Happy Brewing

John Nervo
Carrboro, North Carolina

www.nervo-art.com

Please bear in mind that my website is a bit out of date. I hope to
update it soon.

John Nervo wrote:

I recently been doing some home-brewing and am interested in opening a
brewpub in Roanoke Virginia; I could use any knowledge and advice that
you might have.

You'd better be doing a *hell* of a lot more research on your own than
just posting such questions to a bunch of anonymous strangers on Usenet.
Opening a brewpub, especially a nice one, gets pretty capital-intensive
in a quick hurry. As the question goes: "How do you make a small
fortune?" "Start with a large fortune, and open a brewpub."

I am currently working on developing my own recipies
and am brewing a Kolsch. Kolsch is a blond colored lightly hopped beer
origenly brewed in a town named Koln.

Um, yeah. Most folks who've been posting here know about that, and
perhaps more than you might suspect. Hell, more than a few of us have,
like, *been* to Cologne (Köln auf Deutsch, nicht "Koln") and also know
that "Kölsch" is an applation controlée, meant for the top-fermented
pale-blond beers typically brewed in and around Cologne, and protected
by rules govenerning the region of production of that style.

Feel free to educate us with your experience in this regard.

Hint: there is a *hell* of a lot more to opening and running a brewpub
than "developing [your] own recipes" for beer styles. It's not an
endeavour to be taken lightly. Capitalization, business plans, volume,
non-beer aspects of the business (food, location, personnel), operating
costs ... all of these need to be taken into account, and that means
hard work and research. It also means no guarantees, as has been
evidenced by all the small breweries and brewpubs that have opened and
closed over the last 20+ years. Think hard and do your background
research, and please make sure you have the available resources,
particularly financial, to address the challenges of getting into a
brewpub venture.
--
dgs

Dgs,

Thanks for the advice. I am aware that opening any buisness involves a
number of details i.e. finance, supplyers, employees, location,
equipment etc. The reason for my post is to learn more about beer and
the buisness of brewing and selling. Yes, I do not want to go into
this venture blind. It seemed that most of the posts in this forum are
from beer loving individuals that I thought might have an interest and
knowledge of it. So hence my discussing of a current brew and some
remote plans for a possible buisness should fit in well.


John Nervo

I recently been doing some home-brewing and am interested in opening a
brewpub in Roanoke Virginia; I could use any knowledge and advice that you
might have.
____Reply Separator_____
Go buy an old church. That's how the Church Brew started

Church Restored To Former Glory

As much painstaking effort was taken in the original construction of the
building, the same care was used when the renovation of the church and the
rectory was undertaken. Attention to detail and the reuse of existing fixtures
all help to create a spectacular atmosphere. Original pews were hand cut from
24' length and hand finished to the present 54" lengths. These "mini pews" were
intentionally designed to be longer than the tables to facilitate ease of
entry. The bar has been built from the oak planks salvaged from the shortening
of the pews. Check out some photographs.
http://www.churchbrew.com/churchphotos.html

The reddish orange hue of the flooring comes from the original Douglas Fir
floors. These floors were uncovered and meticulously restored after lying
dormant under plywood for 50 years. The original eight lanterns in the center
bay were removed, repainted gold and reinstalled after complete refurbishment.
The lanterns now illuminate the detailing of the ceiling.

The former confessional in the dining room was removed to provide a necessary
link to the kitchen. The bricks salvaged from the removal of the confessional
have been reused for the pillars on the outdoor sign, the facade on the outdoor
ramp and the facade of the new kitchen link. The other confessional remains
intact behind the bar and houses "The Church Brew Works" merchandise.
Painstaking attention to detail and the integrative reuse of existing fixtures
all help to create a spectacular atmosphere to enhance your brewpub experience.


By far, the most breathtaking element is the position of the brew house on the
altar. Because the altar was built as a centerpiece of the church, the steel
and copper tanks gleaming in the celestial blue backdrop is nothing less than
captivating. This extraordinary view is only paralleled by the quality and
taste of our beer.

Head Brewer Bryan Pearson uses his extensive knowledge of brewing to bring you
four of the finest beers you will ever drink. Our North German Style Pilsner,
Bavarian Dunkel, British Special Bitter and American Brown Ale are all hand
crafted. These "brews" are sure to please your palate as much as our unique
cuisine. The food selections draw on the culinary styles discovered throughout
the country by Chef Jason Marrone. He has created a menu as diverse as
Pittsburgh itself. And just like the city, there is something for everyone - so
come and explore!

DGS,

I have been looking back in the archives and notices that as far as I
can tell you have NEVER started your own topic. Do you acctually have
an interest in creating useful and interesting conversations or are you
just here to bitch?? Tell us about your personal and extentive beer
knowledge and experiance.

John Nervo

Looks awsome I'll try it out if I ever make it up to Lawrencevill, PA.
Thanks for the info.


John Nervo

"John Nervo" wrote in message
DGS,

I have been looking back in the archives and notices that as far as I
can tell you have NEVER started your own topic. Do you acctually have
an interest in creating useful and interesting conversations or are you
just here to bitch?? Tell us about your personal and extentive beer
knowledge and experiance.

I don't start many topics myself, John, but I post a lot...usually in
response to topics that start out with requests for help, like YOURS. I'd
suggest you spend your Google time searching for business plan advice
instead of looking for ways to tickle Don's ass.

Starting a brewpub in Roanoke is going to take some serious education: that
is one of the most beer-dead towns I've seen in the past five years. Might
want to consider trying it in Blacksburg instead, or maybe try a beer bar in
Roanoke. Just a thought. Feel free to check the archives for what other
thoughts I've had.

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at www.amazon.com , and the upcoming "Virginia, Maryland, and
Delaware Breweries," due out in June, 2005.
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

I started brewing about two years ago. I mainly concitrated on wine
and mead I gess b/c I enjoy drinking wine and I don't like most
commercial brews that I have tried(I am always open to trying new
brews). I recently(Sept 04) worked a wedding reception that served
only home-brew. The beer was great and inspired me to try a beer brew.
I started with an "old brew" dark and rich (Brewmasters Bible-brew
named Happy Jerry's Strong Ale). I really enjoyed that brew and ended
up Kegging most of it to bring with me to "turkey day". It was a hit.
Then I brewed a Tarwiben( from kit) and an IPA also from the Bible.
Now that I have a feel for brewing I am trying to develop my own
formulas.


John Nervo
Age 24

Bryson,

You are right Roanoke is a beer dead town but currently they dont have
much choice. Mostly just small bars and reasurants that serve the same
old stuff. Which is whu I think that a New brewpub with a veriety of
quality brews would go over well. it is a city of about 90,000 people
with Hollins College and Roanoke College near by. Also Blacksburg
already has the "Balcksburg Brewing Company which is currently trying
to re-create its self as a brewpub. Please understand that I am
researching the topic and it is not that blacksburg isnt an option but
I think that if I do it properly and create good beer the peoplr from
blacksburg will drive the 30 minits it takes to get from Backsburg to
Roanoke.


Thank You for the response

John Nervo

John Nervo wrote:

I have been looking back in the archives and notices that as far as I
can tell you have NEVER started your own topic.

And this is relevant why, exactly? Also, I've posted under other than
just this handle in the past. Archive results are only so useful.

That, and I have a life, and don't spend a lot of it on Usenet. Some,
yes, but not so much.

Do you acctually have
an interest in creating useful and interesting conversations or are you
just here to bitch??

I'm here to tell you to **** off and concentrate on the topics covered
in this newsgroup. So, **** off, and concentrate on the topics covered
in this newsgroup. You got a problem with that?

See, you come here and start asking about stuff, and people answer.
This is bacause Usenet is an open forum. Don't need to sign up or
anything. You just post. If you don't like what is posted, you pretty
much have one option: don't read it. If you don't like that nature of
Usenet, you have a similar option: don't use it. You can hang out
on the web forums if you think that will help you any more than here.

Tell us about your personal and extentive beer
knowledge and experiance.

I oughta tell ya, first, that I can communicate in English, so I know
how to spell "extensive" and "experience." Because I can do that, I've
been writing about beer in my region for the last six and a half years,
and also editing an industry newsletter for a while too. Also got a
web site about beer in my region, but I don't feel the need to thump
my chest and advertise it in my .sig any more ... people seem to find
it with a Google search pretty easily. I've also travelled, um,
extensively in the beer-friendly bits of the world, in Europe and
in some bits of the USA and Canada, and am familiar with a broad range
of styles. Got friends who do beer writing elsewhere too, including
a particularly good one in Austria whose friendship I value immensely.

I homebrewed for a while, then moved to smaller digs and decided it
wasn't worth the time, since I was drinking plenty as it was on visits
and road trips to various and sundry beery destinations. I know pretty
much everyone in the industry in my region, and have hung with them and
discussed issues in the trade. I've even been party to the trials and
tribulations some of them have gone through in opening and running
their own businesses in the brewing trade - and some of them are *still*
going through trials and tribulations. Some of them have also
persevered and enjoyed success and the acknowledgement of their peers
in the industry. In all these cases, though, I'm glad it wasn't my
money and my livelihood that was involved, 'cause it's been incredibly
stressful for those folks. It's great to make friends in the trade,
though; it's provided lots of grist for my writing.

So, now I've given you, a total stranger, far more info about me than
you actually deserve. Speaking of searching the archives, I note that
an archive search reveals that you have *NO* posting history at all,
save for your OP in this thread. So who the **** are you to demand of
me what my experience is? Tell us about *your* personal and _extensive_
knowledge and _experience_, Your Petulance.
--
dgs

John Nervo wrote:

I started brewing about two years ago. I mainly concitrated on wine
and mead I gess b/c I enjoy drinking wine and I don't like most
commercial brews that I have tried(I am always open to trying new
brews). I recently(Sept 04) worked a wedding reception that served
only home-brew. The beer was great and inspired me to try a beer brew.

So let me get this straight: until last September, you'd never brewed a
beer in your life. Correct? You'd been making wine and mead (not
brewing, wine-making and mead-making) for the last couple of years.

I started with an "old brew" dark and rich (Brewmasters Bible-brew
named Happy Jerry's Strong Ale).

All-grain or extract? Don't have this book handy.

I really enjoyed that brew and ended
up Kegging most of it to bring with me to "turkey day". It was a hit.

Five-gallon batch? Ever brewed a 3-bbl batch? 7.5-bbl? More?

Then I brewed a Tarwiben( from kit)

What the hell is that? Or is that a "Tarwebier?" That would be
Dutch- or Flemish-style wheat beer. From a kit, not all grain.

and an IPA also from the Bible.
Now that I have a feel for brewing I am trying to develop my own
formulas.

From brewing beer since last October - partly from kits - you have
"a feel for brewing?" You've medaled at competitions? Gotten solid
honest critiques from respected people in the trade?

John Nervo
Age 24

Ah. This explains a lot. So you've brewed a few batches, they didn't
completely suck, and now you're ready to open a brewpub. Damn if youth
and enthusiasm, not to mention a touch of naïveté, ain't a cute li'l
thing. But that's not what it takes to make a buck in the brewpub biz.
--
dgs

dgs

Thanks for the reply. I am not here to insult anyone. I was just
looking for some advice and information. I find it disterbing that
most of the responces from you are just bitter. It seems to me that my
desire for information about beer is on point for the topic in this
forum. I apologize my tone but do think that I was not wrong to seek
knowledge from thoes who seem to contain more experiance and wisdom on
the subject.


John Nervo

Lew Bryson wrote:

[...]
I don't start many topics myself, John, but I post a lot...

Yeah, but, geez, Lew... dincha know that ya gots to originate lots o'
posts to get street cred now? Helps if you're 24 and are a mite thin-
skinned, too.

usually in
response to topics that start out with requests for help, like YOURS. I'd
suggest you spend your Google time searching for business plan advice

Google for starters. Books. People in the trade. All sorts of stuff.

instead of looking for ways to tickle Don's ass.

Ew. Now I gotta go take a shower.

Starting a brewpub in Roanoke is going to take some serious education: that
is one of the most beer-dead towns I've seen in the past five years.

And it's not like there isn't any money in that part of the country...
or maybe there isn't. Seems like somebody's figured that the local
trade just doesn't seem terribly likely to support a brewpub. But who
knows? Maybe someone with a pile o' cash might put paid to that.

Might
want to consider trying it in Blacksburg instead, or maybe try a beer bar in
Roanoke. Just a thought. Feel free to check the archives for what other
thoughts I've had.

Startup costs for a good beer bar certainly would be a lot less. But
the best example I can think of in southern VA is clear across the,
state: the Green Leaf in Williamsburg. Good beer selection, great
college tav. Might be a better one closer by.
--
dgs

Wow dgs you really are an ass

My point was that maby instead of picking apart other peoples ideas,
experiances or whatever you could maby share your own. surly you could
share your latest trip, but not in responce or rebuttal to someone
elces efforts but as your own. Hell I tought you might even share tour
passion for beer. thats all .

Also you have got to start some where.