How NOT To Start A Damn Brewery: Ten Business Lessons From The Front Lines of The Craft Beer Industry

Namely that if I wanted to make any money I should have stayed in the fitness business.

This book will teach you the right way to start and operate a brewery by pulling back the curtain on all the wrong things I did when I founded my small, family-run brewery, The New Braunfels Brewing Company, back in 2012.
It’s a bit of a “How To” in reverse.

My 10 mistakes will walk you through recipe design, equipment selection, distributor relations, and even how to deal with online beer reviews. The final chapter is how to manage your cash flow, which might be the most important lesson you can learn. I truly want you to be successful in your business and have all the fun. But buckle up because you’ve got a lot of preparation and planning to do if you ever hope to make that happen. The lessons you’ll learn will help you in any business but I wrote it for brewery-folk. There are formulas, bad jokes and real-world examples that will show you where all the landmines are and how to avoid them.
I’ll probably make you laugh, I’ll likely make you mad and I hope I don’t make you cry. But if you read my book I will definitely make you better equipped to open any business, but especially your own brewery.

“How Not To Start A Damn Brewery is a must read for anyone looking to open a damn brewery. Kelly’s authentic, creative and unorthodox style of brewing beer is reflected in his writing, snowflakes be warned. You will laugh, you might be offended, but at the end of it, you will have learned tricks of the trade from one of the best damn brewery owners around.”
Matt Smart – Sales Manager, Bluebonnet Distributing

“Kelly offers a sincere take on what it is like navigating the ups and downs of today’s beer market in the US. While Kelly and I express ourselves in different ways, there is no mistaking his concern for the current state of how things are done as well as enlightening the new brewery owner to the lessons learned from his mistakes. His candor and willingness to share an unedited version of his life in the industry is refreshing and rare.”
Seth Weatherly – 5 Stones Artisan Brewery

“Would-be brewers will save themselves a lot of tears and bad beers if they give this book a read. Experienced pros will get a laugh because they made the same damn mistakes. And any beer drinker will enjoy this authentic and fun inside look at what it takes to put a beer in your glass.”
Don Russell Creator & Chief Beer Drinker at Joe Sixpack’s Philly Beer World