Starting and operating a successful brewery takes money, hard work, and perseverance. Do you have what it takes?
Does starting your own brewery sound appealing? Most every beer lover and home brewer would answer this question with an emphatic “yes”, even though they know that starting up this type of business will not be without its challenges. One book that talks about owning and operating your own brewing operation is The Brewer’s Association Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery, a book about the business of brewing self- employment.
I will be the first to admit that the idea of owning my own brewing has crossed my mind. This type of business has a great deal of appeal, but I also realize that running a business such as this is no walk in the park. It takes plenty of hard work and dedication to the craft. Many people who attempt this type of business end up dropping the idea and closing up shop once they realize how demanding it can be.
The Brewer’s Association Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery wants to help budding brewers everywhere, but this book is, unfortunately, only a warm- up to the type of information you will need to be a successful brewer and business owner. The greatest problem I have with this book is that it isn’t the step- by- step instructional guide I was hoping for. Instead, it is a guide loaded with piecemeal articles taken from magazines. Yes, these articles often talk about the business of beer, but a more methodical approach would have been much better.
Besides not living up to my expectations, The Brewer’s Association Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery has two other big problems: Poor editing and a high price tag. Based on what I have seen, this book has not been edited at all or not edited very well. The pages are riddled with typos, missing punctuation, etc. This is something I would find inexcusable in any book, but especially one that retails for around $50 per copy.
I don’t know if newer, updated versions of this book are in the making but if they are, I hope author Ray Daniels makes the effort to clean up the editing mess and make the book more presentable. Until that time, this business book ranks below average and cannot be recommended.
Rating: 3 Cheers Out of 10
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