Beer Business

We've partnered with experts in the business of brew pub operations and brewing beer

tom Hennessy's immersion course

The Immersion course is designed for two partners. One will work two days learning the business end of the brewery. The other will work in the brewery. On the third day both will brew a batch of beer. The combination will cover everything you need to open your brewery. The schedule can be worked out to suit your travel needs.  The Immersion course is held at either the Colorado Boy Brewery in Montrose (just 30 minutes from Ridgway), or at one of two locations of Colorado Boy in beautiful Ridgway, Colorado.  You will be brewing on a 7bbl In-Direct Fire Forgeworks Brewhouse.  Ideally, you would schedule your course while your Forgeworks Brewhouse is in fabrication at Bennett Forgeworks, also in Ridgway.
The course is designed by Tom Hennessy, Brewery Consultant and author of the Brewery Operations Manual 

Course Objectives:
-Familiarize yourself on a Forgeworks Brewhouse
-The Brewing Process from grain to glass
-Pub design and layout of your location
-Licensing
-Bookkeeping systems
-Beer Recipes
-Business Operations
-Ordering and Inventories
-Staff hiring and management
-Equipment Sourcing
-Tour of the Forgeworks fabrication operations in Ridgway, CO 

You will leave with a thumb drive containing all of Colorado Boy’s business systems, Quickbooks templates, check lists, recipes, and resources.

Tom has written (3) Books on the Brew Pub business model. 
Brewery Operations Manual
Standard Operating Procedures
The Affordable Brewery

Sign up for Tom Hennessy’s Affordable Brewery Blog, get weekly tips on all kinds of topics including your Brewery’s vibe / atmosphere.

brett Williams, brewery consultant

Brett is a veteran brewer with a host of major awards who has operated, scaled and built breweries from small to regional-sized.  After building a career in brewing, He started his own successful brewery, Little Machine Beer in Denver, CO, which he is still is involved with part-time.  Because "the rising tide raises all ships", he now draws from this experience, giving other breweries and related businesses the information and assistance they need to be successful within the beer industry.

Brett offers consulting services for start ups as well as existing breweries,  and hosts a one week course three times a year at his award winning 10bbl brewery in Denver (featuring all Forgeworks equipment, 10bbl brewhouse and cellar).

Little Machine Beer is also the host of an annual open house during the Great American Beer Festival. Forgeworks co-sponsors the event with partners 5-Star Chemicals and Country Malt Group.

Click here to reach out to Brett.

stella, our brew dog

Doesn’t every beer business have a brew dog? Stella roams, lounges, and begs for a endless game of fetch in our production facility at the foot of the San Juan mountain range. Most days she can't decide whether to stare at welding arcs for a while, or hang out in the office. Luckily we know a few welders, we fabricated a secondary half door on our office so Stella doesn’t run out and hassle all the dogs being walked by our shop. Usually the FedEx and UPS driver’s bring her a doggy biscuit.