When I opened Craft Hardware in 2019, my goal was to provide high quality flexible brewing equipment at a reasonable price. Instead of aggressive marketing or sales tactics to reach customers, I prefer to rely on a strong brand built through satisfied customers. Growth is wonderful but can be very difficult to manage, especially without sacrificing on customer service. Due to high order volume and limited capacity, I have decided to not sell turnkey brewing systems. I know this will be frustrating for some customers, so I want to provide you some insight on this decision.
There is a lot of time and expense involved with selling turnkey brewing systems. In addition, our new bottom drain kettles open up a new range of installation options and features that make recommending a specific set of equipment more difficult. But the bottom line is, my goal is not to "sell" you on a specific set of equipment or tell you how to brew. My goal is to offer you all the equipment you need to realize your own homebrewing goals.
My own experience, and one that I am certain many homebrewers share, is that building your ideal brewery is a process. As you use your equipment you will have a much better idea of any changes you would like to make, which facets of the system you want to change or optimize. You may want to try new things, add some new feature. Your idea of the perfect brewery will likely change over time. I am convinced that the customer's interest is not best served by offering fully built, turnkey, off-the-shelf brewing systems. I do not have the right anwser for how you should brew!
I realize that if you are in the market for a completely new brewery, this will make your initial purchase more difficult. To help you along the way you can find some information to help inform your decision directly on our product information page. Homebrewing is a wonderful hobby that benefits from the expertise and experience of a very large community of dedicated and creative homebrewers. Seek out the experience of others, browse the various homebrew forums, read interesting homebrew blogs and check out some good books. Learn how others are brewing, see what they like and dislike about their systems. Inform yourself about different equipment and brewing styles.
I created Craft Hardware products to be highly flexible and modular. I dislike closed product ecosystems and products that make changes and customization difficult. Use this to your advantage! Start small, and integrate your existing equipment where you can. Instead of a single large purchase, try to space out your spending and gain the personal experience to better inform your next purchase. If you have an idea for a brewery but are not sure if it is realistic, send me a sketch so I can help you further. But please understand that due to the complexity of custom breweries, I am unable to provide a complete parts lists for your purchase.
If you have any tips on how I can better inform you about our products, please let me know!