Author name: Derek Smith

I talked recently to a brewery looking to build a new taproom across town.  Their current taproom was packed nightly and they knew the potential new location to be a beer desert. They would make a killing.  The bank said no. They were too risky.  They talked to several investment firms, only to be told […]

Are you running a business or a hobby?  You might say:  “Of course I’m running a business. I have a tax ID. I have a building. I’m selling a product. I employ people. My business is 5 years old already.” Turns out, it takes a little more to differentiate between a business and a hobby. 

Do you know the cost of your beer?   Do you spend evenings tinkering with a multi-tab, multi-thousand cell costing spreadsheet you made, where you think you’ve added in all possible ingredients, trying to nail down exactly how much money you’ll make on your beer? And do these numbers not jive with what’s happening in reality? 

We have a Scottish Terrier named Wallace, and he’s the quietest dog I’ve ever been around.  In the house, there is no barking, no whining; basically silence. You might hear the occasional grumble or huff when he’s annoyed, but that’s about it. However, Wallace owns his backyard.  When he’s allowed in the yard, he patrols

I want to talk about taproom revenue per square foot.  I’ve been at Small Batch Standard for a little over a year, and on multiple occasions I have heard the metric of taproom revenue per square foot brought up.  We consider your taproom square footage to be the space usable by your customers.  We do