(again with my recent NHC visit, I know. can't help it....)
The answer to "how much does it cost to start" was a range from $250k for a production-only self-distributing brewery (not possible in all states) to a little over a million for a brewpub with a ~10 bbl system. A meadery would have lower equipment costs for the brewing, but much larger costs for storage vessels and space for aging the mead. But wine retails higher than beer....
Basically, you need to have a ton of seed money to keep you running before you can get to selling the mead. Time to find some avuncular neighbors with loose pockets. ;D
To just start out, be profitable and have a decent living I think it takes at least 250L/month steady sales. To get things started out right I agree you do need to have your living costs taken care of for at least 6 months and some business training. In Canada there are government programs for small businesses that will pay you a decent wage for one year and give you some business schooling to make a business plan. Even then you'll still need a fair bit of your own cash to put up. I say about $12k-$15k Canadian. Then you need some really good friends to help you out with cheap rent, bottling, labelling etc.. but it's easy enough to get help when they hear they are being paid in spillage.
Excise taxes apparently don't apply if all your ingredients are Canadian, even then it's not a huge amount. If you can sell consistently to some bars and restaurants and build a following with a consistently good product and a decent price, I think it's possible to get to the stage where investors and banks will look at your business as a real moneymaker. Even then you need a solid business plan and some sales records.
I think the way the economy is now makes it an ideal time for small businesses to start out. There are lots of deals on used equipment and cheap space available. Interest rates have never been lower, and banks have been given wads of cash to lend out by the government (at least here) for the bailout of the economy.
I just went through the whole licensing process, it took a lot of time in development of recipe, operations, facilities, equipment, marketing etc.. the licensing itself was relatively quick and easy - about 3 months total. Being able to make a consistent quality product that people will want to drink again and again is the really hard part, especially when you increase the batch sizes. I'd say that part took about 15 years or more...
p.s. Brad is that a 1000L fermenter or 100L? $1500 sounds like a steal. There must be a lot of challenges making a batch that large. I hope I can get there someday also.
