TOPIC:

Bottling beer is quite expensive, and the set up needs to be right with regards to machinery, bottle machine housing, sterilistaion etc.

Most small breweries would send their beer unfiltered to the bottlers, which leaves the bottlers with this job as well as the rest. The filters used are also a money issue.
If you add all the bits up, it might not be worth bottling a small brew. Plus as bottles are mostly produced for the off sales market, you would need a rep for the product as well as transport. This is the middleman who puts his share onto the price of the product.


I've spoken to micro brewers with bottling lines, who say it's only worth the effort for their own product. Plus i've spoken to other micro brewers who say the cost and logistics cost more than just sticking with kegs.

I say do one thing and do it well, then if sales improve and the business makes money, look into bottling.

"silenus":v9rfune6 wrote: Bottling beer is quite expensive, and the set up needs to be right with regards to machinery, bottle machine housing, sterilistaion etc.
[/quote:v9rfune6] That does depend on your setup and you can buy your bottles shrink wrapped sterile.

"silenus":v9rfune6 wrote: Most small breweries would send their beer unfiltered to the bottlers, which leaves the bottlers with this job as well as the rest.
[/quote:v9rfune6]I'm not sure about the economics of using a commercial bottler rather than bottling your own. It will increase the cost of your product and shipping bulk beer causes logistical problems of it's own.

"silenus":v9rfune6 wrote: The filters used are also a money issue.[/quote:v9rfune6] They are the same filters as used for kegged beer, why are they a problem when it comes to bottling?

"silenus":v9rfune6 wrote: Plus as bottles are mostly produced for the off sales market, you would need a rep for the product as well as transport. This is the middleman who puts his share onto the price of the product.[/quote:v9rfune6] True, but that is true of all craft beer in the offie. At least some of them must be economically viable.

"silenus":v9rfune6 wrote: I've spoken to micro brewers with bottling lines, who say it's only worth the effort for their own product.[/quote:v9rfune6] That is all I was suggesting and it means that they [b:v9rfune6]do[/b:v9rfune6] consider it worth the effort.

"silenus":v9rfune6 wrote: Plus i've spoken to other micro brewers who say the cost and logistics cost more than just sticking with kegs.[/quote:v9rfune6]These would be brewers who [b:v9rfune6]don't[/b:v9rfune6] bottle, right? If they don't think the extra sales are worth it, fair enough, but the fact that other brewers consider it a worthwhile exercise means that it is an economically viable proposition. A lot depends on the brewery's set-up for bottling and how well it is doing without bottles.

A lot also depends on how the brewer and staff feel about the process of bottling (it IS a pain in the hole).

At one stage I spoke to a certain brewer who gave me loads or reasons, technical and market, why cask ale would not work in Ireland and why I will never see their stout on cask. A few weeks later a pub you are intimately familiar with <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) --> started selling cask beer from another Irish Micro. Suddenly the problems evaporated and there was a cask on the counter, so we got to try the stout as nature intended.

My point is that when people don't [b:v9rfune6]want[/b:v9rfune6] to do something, they will often come up with reasons why they [b:v9rfune6]can't[/b:v9rfune6].

&amp;quot;silenus&amp;quot;:v9rfune6 wrote: I say do one thing and do it well, then if sales improve and the business makes money, look into bottling.[/quote:v9rfune6]

And if you were in Belgium you might have said "I say do one thing and do it well, then if sales improve and the business makes money, look into [b:v9rfune6]Kegging[/b:v9rfune6]".

It all depends on your business model and where you plan on selling your beer. You know how most publicans will react to a microbrewer trying to get them to take a tap. Would they feel the same about cases of bottles?

sbillings your passion for bottled is uusssing,I am looking forward to your micro brew launch

I most certainly don't have a passion for bottling. I find the process tedious in the extreme and can understand why a brewer wouldn't like to do it.

What I am calling into question is the assertion by some brewers that it doesn't make economic sense.

Do any of the micros bottle with the yeast in? I don't understand why some of them don't go down this route.

Porterhouse bottle-conditions everything, and I think the Hilden own-brand stuff is bottle-conditioned too.