I am in the business analysis phase of establishing a meadery on the side. My goal is to try to break 160 cases in sales per year, via distributor. I am only planning to sell 3 to 6 different recipes at max, but I do see other meaderies put out a massive array of flavors, so I'm not sure if that's how things will work out, based on market saturation. My initial estimation is that a 20' container express should be sufficient floor space, with more than sufficient payload (~27 tons). If minimal equipment is required, it may even have room for expansion.
I had no problem drawing up a floorplan for a honey house, but it seems that brewing/winemaking equipment is not so easy to navigate.
What kind of equipment would you use in a 20' shipping container meadery?
I am especially struggling with a cost/space effective method for heating the must and fermenting. I was thinking that an open fire brew kettle with a lid for fermentation would be a good way to keep cost down as well as reduce need for additional floor space. And yes, I have been looking into local meaderies. When I am in the areas I will have to stop by and see if I can talk my way into the brew house.
Here is a little background on me:
Due to a dissolution of a partnership, I recently had to abandon my TTB application for a shipping container meadery. However, it sounded like it was going to be accepted, this is after previous failed attempts. I would still like to pursue this side venture on my own.
I have 6 years of home mead and cider making experience (mainly mead), with over 30 self made recipe experiments, I have never followed anyone elses recipes. Over 12 of my recipes are fantastic and have received positive feedback from a wide circle of people. My best recipes are traditionals (dry, semi-sweet, and dessert), melomels (juice, concentrate, or whole fruit), and fortified mead with spices (fortification seems to be a point of contention with the TTB, I am considering dropping fortification from my repertoire for the time being).
I also have 3 years of beekeeping sideliner experience and this is going fairly well already. The honey produced in most apiaries here is fruity, aromatic, and generally bold. If you have ever purchased tupelo honey then the local honey is comparable, but stronger in flavor. However, apiaries in the highlands may produce milder honeys. The strong honey produces an excellent mead with nearly all of the flavor of the honey preserved, and it's decadent. It may even be too much for some people, and it could benefit from being cut with milder honey for that reason, and also to save money.
I had no problem drawing up a floorplan for a honey house, but it seems that brewing/winemaking equipment is not so easy to navigate.
What kind of equipment would you use in a 20' shipping container meadery?
I am especially struggling with a cost/space effective method for heating the must and fermenting. I was thinking that an open fire brew kettle with a lid for fermentation would be a good way to keep cost down as well as reduce need for additional floor space. And yes, I have been looking into local meaderies. When I am in the areas I will have to stop by and see if I can talk my way into the brew house.
Here is a little background on me:
Due to a dissolution of a partnership, I recently had to abandon my TTB application for a shipping container meadery. However, it sounded like it was going to be accepted, this is after previous failed attempts. I would still like to pursue this side venture on my own.
I have 6 years of home mead and cider making experience (mainly mead), with over 30 self made recipe experiments, I have never followed anyone elses recipes. Over 12 of my recipes are fantastic and have received positive feedback from a wide circle of people. My best recipes are traditionals (dry, semi-sweet, and dessert), melomels (juice, concentrate, or whole fruit), and fortified mead with spices (fortification seems to be a point of contention with the TTB, I am considering dropping fortification from my repertoire for the time being).
I also have 3 years of beekeeping sideliner experience and this is going fairly well already. The honey produced in most apiaries here is fruity, aromatic, and generally bold. If you have ever purchased tupelo honey then the local honey is comparable, but stronger in flavor. However, apiaries in the highlands may produce milder honeys. The strong honey produces an excellent mead with nearly all of the flavor of the honey preserved, and it's decadent. It may even be too much for some people, and it could benefit from being cut with milder honey for that reason, and also to save money.
