A Brewer's Guide to Opening a Nano Brewery: Your $10,000 Brewery Consultant for $15, Vol. 1

I found this to be a sound resource of information. It had practical knowledge of getting your endeavor started, with good advice and common sense. The author goes out of his way to tell you that most of this IS indeed common sense. He responds to every e-mail he receives, and if you have a question that is not "loaded" (e.g. How much should I charge for my beer? How much money do I need to open?), he will answer it to the best of his knowledge. And you should take that knowledge for what it is worth...this is a man that is operating a successful nanobrewery in a current microbrew-saturated market where "experts" on the Internet will tell you it cannot be done. If you are looking for someone to "hold your hand" in the process of opening a nano or microbrewery, you will not find that here. Instead, the author draws on his own experiences, what worked and what didn't, and points you in the right direction. This is NOT a step-by-step guide. The author clearly states this. Instead, it gives you helpful information drawn upon the author's own business model, that is operating at a profit in his market. I too am an engineer, and I sincerely did not need a step-by-step guide, nor did I need anything technical. The author points you in the right direction, but the work is YOURS to accomplish. You won't find brewing knowledge, equipment purchasing, recipe formulation, yeast recovery, lab work, or anything like that in this book...there are plenty of other publications out there that cover that. Nor will you find every single legal document or state/federal form you will need to fill out...that differs from state to state, and the information is easily found on your state's website. Instead, this book breaks down what you need to get done to open. No more, no less. Spend less than $20 for practical information on opening your business, or spend $10,000 on a "consultant" to help you along the way...the choice is clear. Save that $10k for your grain and hop inventory, your licensing, your bonds (yes, chances are you need a brewer's bond), equipment and whatnot. This book was worth the money I spent.

My short review: This book is a short, easy read that gets the gears turning. Anyone not familiar with running a business looking to learn the basics of what needs to be done would find their money well spent here, plain and simple.My full review: This book goes over the general steps in starting a nano-brewery by informing the reader where to focus their efforts. It also points out to the reader where to seek any other necessary information, as such information varies depending on each person's goals, their respective situations, and the state which they wish to conduct business in. The author cannot reasonably be expected to know what must be done in each of these cases - something which I am led to believe is a common expectation going by much of the negative reviews given here. Any universal information on how to start and operate a nano-brewery is supplied, which is also the reason why the book is so short.Feedback on "how-to" books are a funny thing, really, at least to my experience. The bulk of negative reviews that I come across for these types of books seem to carry the same general complaints: "I didn't learn *the* answer", and/or "this was just a way for the author to promote themselves and their business". Most of these books lay out the basic groundwork involved, leaving the reader to build off of it using their own values and ideas. The authors of these books do this by citing how they went about it themselves; something which seems to be often confused as self-promotion, when it's more of a side effect, really...Basically, the reader can expect to be given the introductory steps to getting started, which they should then use their own ideas to build off of. Anyone well-versed in business may find this book to contain nothing they do not already know, but someone who (like me) is not familiar with operating a business would learn quite a bit.

Researched the heck out of starting a nano, the specifics of some things were out of my reach and I didn't think I could spend any more time digging through forums finding conflicting information.What I really liked:1. Dan takes what was a confusing crap storm of "do this but sweet fancy moses don't do that" and turns it into simple steps2. The book is concise, I would say short but that implies that it doesn't hit the mark.3. I live in PA, and Dan Woodske started and operates his brewery in PA - so what works for him(legally speaking) should work for me.4. What is here is both specific enough to help most people and generic enough to make sure it's solid advice for any body looking into the possibility of a nano.5. The nano idea is doable, and can be done - according to the author - without spending all your gold plated latinum - he outlines ways to go about this.6. This is the third release of the book - with new questions the author adds new info - something that is nice to seeWhat could have been different:1. There were a few typos and grammar mistakes2. A link to a resource for on site sale legality/cost by state would have been nice3. The one picture in the book - an image of an example beer label - is grainy and hard to seeI should note that I sent Dan an email this morning and he was nice enough to answer the few questions I had - mostly concerning item 2 under "What could have been different". I got his email about an hour after sending mine.

I found this easy to read and rather enjoyable. Only finished the first couple of sections so far. . .

Idiosyncratic and sparky book with a solid base of common sense and business acumenA must read for a prospective small brewer

Perfect

Fantastic and non pretentious. Actually a fun read.

PROS:- Good advices about an established business.- It covers mains aspects of opening a nano-brewery in USA.- It covers also some aspects of how to save money on equipment.- Also mentions business aspects about how to run, advertise and sell your beer.- Very easy to read.CONS:- I would expect more details about the brewery setup. It seems the author offers professional consultation on this topic and that's why it's not covered in detail on this book. This is the weakest point of this book.In summary, it's a good read but you probably need another book for equipment setup details.