Running a brewery is tough—whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in the game for a while. It’s easy to focus on the brewing side of things, but it’s the small inefficiencies behind the scenes that can quietly eat away at your profits. The good news is you don’t need to make huge changes to see big results. Sometimes, all it takes is a small shift to get things running more smoothly and more profitably. 

 

So, What Are These Hidden Costs?

When you’re focused on making the perfect brew, it can be difficult to see where the money is slipping through the cracks. Here are a few common culprits:

1. Wasted Ingredients: Whether it’s hops that go stale or malt that gets used inefficiently, ingredient waste can add up fast.
2. Unnecessary Labor: When your staff is chasing down information, fixing mistakes, or trying to decode a messy spreadsheet, that’s time—and money—lost.
3. Inventory Disasters: Running out of something crucial or having too much of something you don’t need is a silent cash flow killer.
4. Production Delays: Small mistakes in scheduling, tank turnover, or yeast management can throw off your whole production cycle.

 

How Can Small Changes Make a Big Impact?

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make things more efficient. There are several techniques you can integrate into your process to help your brewery thrive, and using brewery management software like Beer30 can help you integrate a more organized system and save big without breaking a sweat.

 

1. Get a Handle on Your Inventory

Ever run out of something right when you need it? Ever over-purchase something that isn’t actually being used as much as it was when you first bought it? As a brewer, it’s important to make sure your inventory is up-to-date and accurate. 

With Beer30, performing inventory checks, using FIFO, and ensuring stock levels are where they need to be are only a few clicks away. Beer30’s real-time inventory tracking makes it easy to see what you have on hand, what you need, and exactly when you’re going to need it. 

No more guessing.

When Your Mates Brewing was just getting started, they were using nothing but spreadsheets to run their brewery. They quickly found out that this wasn’t going to cut it. 

When 10,000L of beer had to remain in BBT (taking up valuable and limited tank space) because they didn’t have enough four-pack barcodes – they quickly realized that those spreadsheets wouldn’t be enough if they wanted to scale efficiently.

Something as small as barcodes held up their entire production facility all because of poor inventory management.

By moving to Beer30, Your Mates can now:

• Plan Effectively: They know how much inventory they’ll need and when they need it based on seasonal trends and sales data.
• Prevent Disasters: Transparency into inventory means they won’t need to worry about holding up valuable tank space again.
• Save Money: Your Mates Brewing saves $100,000 AUD annually by managing inventory and production schedules all in one place.

 

2. Simplify Your Workflows

Brewery life is hectic, and the last thing you need is your team spending valuable time trying to decode messy spreadsheets or chasing down information on a whiteboard. This can lead to miscommunications, mistakes, and delays that cost time and money. 

Centralizing your brewing data makes it easy for your entire team to access important information from any device, anywhere. Whether you’re tracking fermentation progress, setting up production schedules, or managing your sales data, using software like Beer30 allows you to keep everything in one platform.

Using Beer30, users can easily:

• Update schedules: Make scheduling simple by having everything digitally updated and easy to access.

• Assign daily tasks: Have your daily tasks all in one place and know when they’re completed or if they still need to be done.

• Get full insight into inventory levels: See live inventory in real-time.

• Keep track of brew process readings: Get updates on every step of the brew process and get alerted instantly if things are off. 

Plus, with Beer30, you can set up different access levels to share only what you want with who you want. With everything in one place, your team can work more efficiently, saving you both time and money.

3. Make Smarter Production Decisions

Tracking your yields, ingredients, and production data can be a pain. But better data lets you know where you need to make improvements for better efficiency. If you want to avoid manual tracking, Beer30 is an easy to implement solution that gives you real-time data to show you exactly where you’re losing money and where you can improve. 

As brew production scales up, streamlining processes becomes essential to keeping everything running smoothly and efficiently.

Beer30 tracks everything from batch yields to tank turnover rates, giving you a clearer picture of how your production is running. You can make adjustments to improve efficiency and reduce costs by analyzing real-time data. 

It may seem small, but cutting production costs by even just a small percentage can lead to serious profits.

For Pelican Brewing, Beer30 helped:

• Improve brew process efficiency: Beer30 was vital for driving improvements in their mashing, lautering, and whirlpool process to improve overall brewhouse efficiency and yield. 
• Reduce tank turn times: In the cellar, the Pelican Brewing team used Beer30 to evaluate multiple changes in their fermentation schedules and achieve a substantial reduction in tank turn time.
• Boost brew-to-package yield:  Beer30 dialed in the filtration and packaging processes for a further improvement in the overall brew-to-package yield. 
• Increase Revenue by $550,000 a year: With these small but impactful tweaks to their production, Pelican Brewing’s revenue jumped by $550,000 a year—all without needing to buy extra equipment or hire more staff.
   

4. Real-Time Data for Smarter Decisions

Brewery operations don’t stop just because you’re out of the office. Having real-time data means staying on top of things, even when you’re not on the floor. 

From gravity readings to tank turnovers, implementing software like Beer30 helps you stay on track—and lets you rest easily, knowing that things are running smoothly. 

Beer30 provides real-time updates on everything from fermentation data to sales and distribution. This means you can make adjustments on the go—whether it’s tweaking a brew day process, getting ahead of a fermentation issue, or managing your warehouse inventory. Access to live data from any device lets you stay connected to the action, even if you’re not physically on the floor.

These real-time updates give Beer30 users: 

• Round-the-clock access to live data: Get data updates as they happen so you can prevent production hiccups before they become serious problems. 
• Peace of mind: Sleep better, knowing that everything that needs to be done is done right.

 

 

Small Changes, Big Results

In the brewing world, the smallest adjustments can have the biggest impact. You can make huge strides without making huge changes by getting a better grip on inventory, optimizing labor, and improving workflows.

Beer30 is here to help make those small changes easier—and more profitable. If you’re ready to start saving time, reducing waste, and increasing your bottom line, give us a shout and see how it works for you.

Book a Demo Today and see for yourself how Beer30 can transform your brewery’s efficiency.