I’ve been spending a good amount of time over the last few weeks thinking about Megalith Brewing again, about my plans, past and future, and just how exactly I want to proceed from here.

Part of that has meant looking back on all the steps I took to get where I am now. In 2014 I spent several months putting together a business plan – researching the brewing industry; pricing out equipment and ingredients, and looking at local business real estate prices; talking to a number of local small brewers, cideries, and consultants. I felt like I had a really solid handle on how to make a craft nanobrewery work, from a business point of view: develop a unique line of beers, keep them available year round in small batches, sell everything at the retail level and don’t worry about distributing or bottling, keep the entire business at a small enough scale that it can support itself easily with only a modest customer base, and then grow from there.

Unfortunately, when it came to looking for potential investors, ‘staying small’ isn’t exactly an inspiring goal, especially when their biggest concern isn’t simply owning part of a brewery, but the very real potential return on their investment. My lack of practical experience in the brewing industry was also an understandable concern – why would anyone invest with me when I have really no idea what I’m talking about, and can’t possibly understand the market I’m planning on jumping into? To paraphrase Darth Vader, they found my lack of confidence disturbing.

Even with all of that going against me, I was able to lay the groundwork for some of the long-term promotional plans I had. I brewed a lot of beer, and had a few tasting parties, which were moderately successful in getting the word out about what I want to do, and what it will take to get me there. That part of the plan, at least, proved itself strongly, and went about as well as I’d hoped. I mean really, how can you go wrong with free beer?
So what’s next for Megalith, moving forward? Well, my timeline has drastically shifted. I’d hoped originally to be opening the doors on the taproom this past January, and obviously that didn’t happen. I’m probably about as far from opening now as I was when I first put that plan together. So it’s time for a new plan.

First step is to develop some confidence in my understanding of the brewing industry, which means enrolling in the ‘Business of Craft Brewing’ certificate program being offered here at PSU. It’s a year-long program, and at the end of it I’ll have a much better understanding of running the business side of things, from brewhouse efficiency to marketing and distribution. I hope that the added confidence will come through when I start drumming up investors.

And attracting investors is the next step. Past experience has shown me that, for a business the scale I’m working on, angel investors aren’t going to be the way to go. With such a high ROI needed, I would need to plan to grow the brewery much more quickly than I feel comfortable with, and to shift the sales focus away from a retail taproom, and more onto distribution. The best option to realize my business plan will be to work with a program like Hatch:Oregon, which allows regular Oregon residents to invest small amounts in local businesses as a form of crowd-funding— similar to Kickstarter, but instead of merchandise rewards, supporters actually purchase equity in the business, with a potential (modest) ROI. It seems like a great program, geared exactly for business plans like mine, and I’m looking forward to getting that set up when I’m much further along on my certificate program.

And of course, in the meantime, I’ll be continuing to brew small batches of my pillar beers, and hosting tasting parties in the area. If you’re in Oregon and want to talk to me about providing beer for your party, get in touch and we’ll see if your event would be a good fit for Megalith Brewing!

Alright, back to brewing!

I kind of dropped off the map there for a little bit, as I’ve been reorienting a bit after the beer tasting party at Play|Date a few weekends ago. The tasting was a success, turnout was massive (over 50 people showed up!), lots of happy folks tried the full range of beers, and Abby from Nom*Ables brought some excellent treats for everyone—including a plum cake made using my stout! Megalith even got our first few checkins on Untappd, which is a nice little milestone! There were some technical problems at the start of the event, though – certainly things to chalk up in the ‘lessons learned’ category, mistakes that it will be easy to avoid in the future.

Speaking of lessons learned, here’s a great article I found today, with feedback from a whole bunch of brewers around the US giving their top tips for starting a small craft brewery:

“61 Brewers Speak Out: What I Wish I’d Known Before Starting a Brewery”

I think my biggest takeaway from that is that it’s good to see I’m not the only one planning to start extremely small, and that I need to have a solid growth plan in mind when I’m seeking out locations. I keep expecting this to start very small, and to stay that way indefinitely, but I should be prepared for the distinct possibility that this plan of mine might actually take off (such thinking tends to go against my better nature, unfortunately).

Future stuff: I’m currently in the planning stages for the next Tasting Party, which should coincide with the launch of a Kickstarter project to get the funds necessary to take the next legal steps (which include signing a lease, applying for the necessary permits, and procuring the equipment & furniture I’ll need to open up). In the meantime, I’m also fine-tuning the details on a Founder’s Club, which is going to be the first real step toward greater fund-raising goals. Keep checking here for more details, and if you’re interested in investing in Megalith please let me know, and I’ll keep you in the loop as plans continue to develop.

We’ve been busy making a lot of beer this month, and we really want to share it with all of you. We may not be a licensed brewery yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give our beer away, so that’s what we’re going to do! Megalith Brewing is teaming up with The Steep and Thorny Way To Heaven to bring you an introductory sampling of our beers this June 8th from 6-9 pm. Steep and Thorny will be hosting their regularly-scheduled Play|Date event, where attendees can take part in impromptu readings from different theater scripts, and Megalith Brewing will be there providing free beer samples!

This introductory party will give you a chance to try first-hand the selection and range of beers that Megalith Brewing will have to offer when our taproom opens. We’ll be serving our three pillar beers – our Stout, Red Ale, and Pale Ale – as well as a surprise or two! To join the party, simply ‘Like’ our Facebook page and RSVP to the event so we can put your name on the list at the door. It’s a private party, so being on the guest list is required – bringing friends is great, but try to get them to RSVP as well! Once you’re in, you’ll be given a number of drink tokens which you’ll be able to redeem for free 4-ounce samples of our excellent, fresh, low-hopped English ales. Beer is available while supplies last. We’ll also be gladly accepting donations to help us get our official brewery plans underway!
More details on the event at Steep and Thorny can be found at their Facebook page, and be sure to RSVP!

Megalith Brewing will be a nanobrewery operating a 1.5-barrel brewhouse and taproom, and will offer low-hopped English and Irish style ales to the thirsty Portland beer-drinking crowd. We’re still in the ’seed stage’ of our business plan and are currently seeking investors. For more information contact indigo@megalithbrewing.com.