The Hidden Costs

Beyond the big-ticket items, there's a long list of costs that don't make it onto most people's initial budgets. We'll outline these in detail as they come up throughout the book, but here's a taste of what's waiting for you:

• Insurance — brewery-specific cover is not cheap, and you need it before you open
• Licensing — premises licence, personal licence, and the fees and legal costs to obtain them
• Water and drainage — trade effluent consents, metered water at commercial rates
• Ventilation and extraction — steam has to go somewhere, and environmental health will have opinions
• Cleaning chemicals and consumables — caustic, acid, sanitiser, CO2, test kits — these are ongoing costs that add up relentlessly
• Branding and design — pump clips, labels, a website, social media assets (see Chapter 9)
• A vehicle — you need to deliver, and your car won't cut it
• Stock and ingredients for your first brews — before a single penny comes back in

Each of these is manageable on its own. Together, they bleed your budget dry faster than you ever expected.