Brewing is an art form, and I believe craft brewers are artists.
Like any art, the standard of the final product relies on the quality of the equipment and ingredients you use.
Would we still be talking about the Mona Lisa 500 years later, if it was made with crayons and tissue paper? Perhaps not.
When it comes to brewing, why get the best malt and hops you can obtain, but rely on low quality equipment to create artisan beers designed to meet the palate of an ever more sophisticated and knowledgeable consumer? Eventually a batch will be lost at significant cost to the brewer, or worse still, a consumer will fall victim to a low quality product and never come back.
Long term profitability
Cost pressures mean capital equipment sourcing decisions can be relatively short-sighted and focused on getting as much equipment for the lowest price possible. This is completely understandable, as there is no”magic pudding” bank account and we all have to live within our means.
Startup brewers are faced with a decision: “do we get high quality equipment, but less of it? Or do we get as much cheap equipment as we can?”
Manufacturers across all industries ask these questions every day. The decision can affect the direction and profitability of the business well into the future.
Once equipment has been installed and commissioned, it becomes part of the “critical path” for production. Loss of any one piece of equipment can have devastating effects on production and costs. Replacing this equipment becomes a major project and requires significant planning and costs, costs that may even exceed the cost of the initial equipment installation.
A strategic approach
I believe that a more strategic and targeted approach is to determine the realistic minimum equipment required for the next 12 months. The idea is to obtain less equipment, but the equipment that is purchased is of a high quality. Initial capital expenditure can also be reduced when the equipment sourcing process is conducted “tender” style, where suppliers quote “like for like”. In this way, you are also in a position to identify the standards different suppliers are applying, complying with, or ignoring.
No brewery wants to look at replacing their operating equipment within 5 or even 10 years. So when selecting equipment for your brewery, stop to consider the long term. Plan and select for that, and you will save money over time.
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