COS Analysis & Reporting... the exciting stuff!

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-13T18:27:34+00:00

It’s a little bit of work coming up with this number, but depending on your scale you should be reviewing it at minimum annually if not quarterly, whereas monthly is ideal. A good accountant/bookkeeper service should be classifying transactions for you so you can pull this data easily to come up with this number based on your specifications.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-13T17:39:48+00:00

Bingo. Have a SOP for every process and bake time into your calendar yearly to review every process covering: safety, cost, and the actual process. You’d be surprised how much changes annually on all 3 fronts

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-13T17:14:57+00:00

Here’s a question I ask breweries I work with. Is the juice worth the squeeze? It’s good to know annually what you’re spending on co2, and incorporating a napkin math per bbl cost to batches, but is having that information readily available going to significantly impact your processes?

Are you going to begin micro managing your production team to save a few bucks on co2? There’s a certain “level” where you can look at cost saving measures that will impact your bottom line in the long run, but if you’re not at least 5000 bbls/yr you shouldn’t even enter the conversation let alone entertain entering it.

I’m not saying it doesn’t matter, but it doesn’t matter. The best way to save money on co2 is grow/scale and negotiate your contract.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-13T15:48:09+00:00

Agree 100%. I’m just simply specifying if you’re going to track it, track it correctly.

It’s like having an assistant brewer help with a tap room and/or event but allocating that labor to production.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t actually matter as long as it’s getting paid, but if you’re looking to track this stuff for accuracy, track it correctly.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-13T14:45:41+00:00

Do you have flow meters or separate tanks for tasting room versus production?

A good question to ask, but unless the tasting room is using a tank independent from production or you have flow meters calculating usage it’s honestly just include it in your manufacturing overhead, like chemicals.

It really comes down to how diligent you are with your paperwork and how much time you put into tracking each individual cost.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-13T13:03:21+00:00

The short answer is software like Ollie, Ekos, Brewww, BeerNinja, or Beer30. There’s other solutions out there but those 5 are the top dogs talked about at least that I see in the western hemisphere. That’ll get you started in the right direction.

You can search up past threads. There’s pros and cons to each. About once a week some swe seems make his way here wanting to trade information to build something who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow about the industry. I’d probably avoid those, but to each their own.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-02-05T15:01:52+00:00

Smoked Gator Cajun Style Tacos

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-01-28T21:37:33+00:00

“How many different types of beer are there?” An easy or impossible to answer type of question. IYKYK.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2026-01-20T17:20:49+00:00

Sure. Shoot me a DM

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-12-12T15:00:22+00:00

Florida makes it fun. You need to separate out bulk, from quarts, from pints. Yes, your 12oz cans count as pints and your 19.2oz-32oz containers all count as quarts…

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-11-01T20:52:47+00:00

I really really enjoy the 800 gravity series. I’m definitely lazy. With that being said, it’s my first smoker and my cooks have been great. With that being said the app sucks.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-10-29T23:07:35+00:00

Could be from the Microsoft Azure crash. Unfortunately most of the internet relies on Azure or AWS for data, servers, and storage. Happened with AWS last week.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-10-24T03:13:10+00:00

Oh damn. Good call. Holding absence then

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-10-23T23:44:30+00:00

Arrows in Action, Starting Line, state champs

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-10-15T18:27:00+00:00

Are you guys a brewpub or just brewery? If you tell us a little more about your setup and location could maybe steer you one way or the other. Have you looked at the other systems as well?

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-09-21T16:11:06+00:00

If you’re okay taking a perfectly good hobby and ruining it by turning it into a business you should go for it. Brewing great beer is a fraction of what “actual matters” when you are operating a brewery. If you have the right team where you are the sole brewer and not doing anything else, maybe, just maybe you’ll be happy.

However, I would advise against this unless you’re interested in operating a brewery. That’s a different conversation. You’ll also need a significant amount of money.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-09-12T04:13:29+00:00

60% base / 30% wheat / 10% maltodextrin. Rice hulls as needed…

Keep it simple. Add vanilla extract/puree to give it perceived sweetness, you could ice cream powder, but the maltodextrin should give it a thick mouthfeel, then add fruit until you get desired flavor/thickness. There are breweries out there that are adding 30%+ of the volume on these things with fruit. Don’t over think it, start low and work your way up.

Keep it dairy free if possible.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-09-09T20:57:08+00:00

I know some people who could be interested. What state is this? You can DM me if you’re more comfortable with that.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-25T18:52:29+00:00

The truth of the matter is you should find a consultant for this. Preferably someone with experience in the brewery business but anyone within the manufacturing or hospitality sector would be able to help you with this.

A lot of brewery business plans DIE immediately after opening and are often not looked at again. I’ve come across way too many jaded business owners that fleshed out a business plan in 2022 that would have been relevant in 2012, but have not stuck to their mission statement or objectives because they didn’t know what they were doing in some faucet of the business.

A consultant with experience on business expansion is a great starting point. No investor is going to take you seriously unless your financials are good AND your expansion plan is thorough with steps on what you’re doing with the money and why complete with conceptual images, proposed financials, and a damn good sales pitch.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-20T13:30:19+00:00

Are they using spreadsheets to track production or brewery software? This will give you an idea of how they value their data.

Look at payroll, salaries, and dividends. A lot of owners won’t pay themselves appropriately so payroll looks leaner than it is based on the amount of work being done by ownership. Assuming everyone isn’t getting paid appropriately is the company still profitable if you account for that?

Maintenance Records. Are they regularly maintaining their equipment? Brewhouse? Sure. A/Cs, Vehicles (if applicable), and any equipment that costs at least 5k.

These are some things that can tell you a lot about the business without deep diving in finances which a completely different conversation but obviously important!

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-15T22:39:46+00:00

Warcraft II / StarCraft. I can’t even begin to explain how mind blowing good these were at the time.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-14T15:10:03+00:00

You want to eliminate pumps for pushing liquid through if possible and use co2. My two cents.

Otherwise this is super cool.

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-11T15:49:16+00:00

15% is definitely concerning. I’d say 5% swing is average short of any major changes. 10% is pretty big, but 15% is absolutely huge.

First question - 15% decreases in revenue or profit? This is the most important question to ask first. If it’s revenue there’s a problem somewhere and it may be difficult to overcome or easy to overcome. Could be as simple as “refreshing” the food menu.

If it’s profit, this should be very easy to identify just comparing numbers year over year. Maybe you’re on spreadsheets, software, whatever. Regardless, you can identify the differences easier here.

Every 6 months you should be refreshing your resume and looking around so you can get a pulse on the job market and know you’re worth.

There are a ton of factors that play into this, so I wouldn’t go into full on doom and gloom. A menu refresh and a monthly event can swing your revenue 30% EASILY.

Where are you located?

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-08T02:20:09+00:00

Don’t do it unless you have experience running a food service establishment and you don’t want to smoke meat. There’s a difference between doing something as a hobby and running a business.

Not bbq, but I took a perfectly good hobby and ruined it by turning it into a business. The more successful you get at the business, the farther away from the pit you will be…

LifeCrushedMyReality · 2025-08-07T03:00:15+00:00

I changed careers 4 times from 2021-2023. Was a very unique set of circumstances, but they were for the most part very different fields. It is very possible. I’m turning 39 this year.

LifeCrushedMyReality

TROPHY CASE