Setting Up A Microbrewery INTRO (2 day) (JUST 3 PLACES)

Day 1 - Microbrewery Essentials (10am - 5pm)

Master Brewer Alex Barlow will take you through all the key essentials of setting up your own micro-brewery by drawing on his recent experience of designing and commissioning the new brewery for Purity in Warwickshire and another brewery in Turkey.  Most relevantly Alex has just set up his own 15 barrel microbrewery Sentinel Brewing Co. in Sheffield specialising in brewing lager.

On this day of “Setting up a Microbrewery Course” you will cover the following:

• Beer tasting and flavour assessment

• Creating a winning beer and brand

• Marketing and selling your beer

• Cleaning and Hygiene

• Premises suitability and equipment

• Liquor Water treatment

• Premises suitability and equipment

• Racking, casking and fining

• Business start up advice

• Useful contacts and sources of info

• Further study sources

This course aims to give those people with ambitions of setting up their own microbrewery either now or in the future all the basic skills and knowledge to make their 'brewing dream' a reality.

A hot lunch will be served in a gastro pub in Bakewell.

DAY 2 - Microbrewery Design & Finance (9:30 am - 4:30 pm)

On this one day course we will spend the morning with Master Brewer Dick Murton looking in 3 intensive morning session how to design the perfect 10 barrel brewery within the competing constraints of quality and budget looking at:


    •    Site & size of buildings

    •    Layout - location of plant, equipment, storage, brew houses

    •    Controls and equipment

    •    Designing your brewery around existing premises 

    •    New vs 2nd hand brewing kit

    •    Assembling your own purpose built brewery vs microbrewery packages

    •    The level of spec

    •    Looks vs function

    •    Automation vs simplicity


Dick will use his years of experience as production manager, project brewer and technical consultant to disect and assemble the design of the perfect microbrewery.


In the afternoon we will look at how to finance the set up or expansion of a microbrewery with a number of industry experts and finance providers:


Close Brothers Finance are one of the industries biggest provider of asset backed finance and will provide an insight into how asset backed finance works and can benefit start up breweries as well as microbreweries looking to expand. 

Fundamental to the success of any application for funding is the business plan. We will look at what lenders are looking forward in the business plans submitted to them and what criteria will ultimately lead to the success of your funding applicataion.


In addition to asset based finance we will look at the network of government backed Community Development Finance Association (CDFA) know as Responsible Finance who could be invaluable in providing both start up and development finance for microbreweries.


We look at a recent case example of Edward Bright and his success at rising start up finance following on from his Brew-School course and setting up Stubborn Mule Brewery near Manchester.  Ed has put together a funding package including a contribution from John Cannon from Business Finance Solutions on how they and other CDFA members can help finance microbreweries.


This day is an essential course for those looking at setting up or expanding their microbrewery.

Course times 9:30 - 4:30

This course includes refreshments of coffee & artisan biscuits and lunch in a local gastro pub.



All ingredients, equipment & course notes are provided by Brew-School.

Have a look at some images from one of our recent beer brewing courses.