"Location, Location, Location!"

With the wide range of Nanobrewery partners that we’ve been lucky to advise, we constantly receive questions around location. How much space do I need for brewing? Are floor drains necessary? Should I have hot water on demand? The list goes on and on. 

I asked three partners in the industry who run successful Nanobreweries to give their tips on what to look for when hunting for your future brewery’s location. Here's what they would recommend.  

Jacob May, Two Pillars Brewery, Calgary 

If able, make sure your brewing space is waterproof. A waterproof space mixed with a durable hose and nozzle lets you keep everything clean. If the walls get a bit wet, there is no fear of further issues. Also, the double batch Nano system gives us the ability to have hot water when we need it, saving time on cleaning and sanitizing. If you don’t have the double batch system, having hot water on demand is nice to have!  

Tim Eckels, Pipe the Side Brewing, Hampstead, MD 

It’s crucial to understand the limitations, rules, and restrictions of your city when it comes to your brewery’s location. Can guests enjoy your beer in outdoor seating? Can we have food trucks onsite or pop-up events? Can we serve beer outside of the location? Also, the more storage the better! Grain often arrives on pallets, same with aluminum cans. Having a place to store in times of overstock will be helpful. 

Sam Anker, 1st Down Brewing, Winterset, IA 

On the fermentation side, we made sure we had multiple gas hoses available. This lets us force carbonate more than one batch at a time to get beer out of the fermenter and on tap quicker! I’d also highly recommend sloped floors that lead to floor drains. It makes clean up after Brew Day a breeze! 

Feel free to reach out to info@spikebrewing.com at any time if you have questions regarding your own dream Nano setup. Cheers!

Ryan Oxton has helped hundreds of brewers find the perfect setup for their brewing space. He's involved in the buyer's journey from start to finish—and sometimes even beyond that! His favorite part? Helping a homebrewer turn his/her passion into a very rewarding profession.