Making beer is easy. Keeping track of all of the related expenditures that go into making the beer, however, can be challenging, especially for new and small brewers.
Raw ingredients, labor, packaging materials, costs associated with running the brewhouse, marketing the beer, and so on—it all adds up to impact the bottom line and to help determine the margins by which a brewer needs to operate to stay profitable. Understanding how those costs impact profitability and efficiency in a way that’s expressed in context and is relatable is key to maximizing efficiency and realizing healthy growth.
Madeleine Pullman cofounded Wasatch Brewing in Park City, Utah, in the eighties, and later worked as a consultant for start-up breweries. Today, she’s an instructor at Portland State University’s distance-learning Business of Craft Brewing Program, as well as the author of the recently published book Craft Beverage Business Management, which she co-wrote with veteran brewer John Harris.