Capacity is an equipment problem before it is a sales problem
A brewery that sells out every month is not growing, it is rationing. Added fermentation capacity, a second brite tank, or a canning line moves volume that demand already exists for, which is the cleanest financing case an underwriter reads.
Tanks, chillers, glycol loops, canning and kegging lines, and walk-in cold storage are all titled or serialized assets, so they finance against themselves rather than against the balance sheet alone.
- /Fermentation and brite tanks: long life assets, commonly 60 to 84 month terms
- /Canning and kegging lines: financeable including installation and freight
- /Glycol, chillers, and cold storage: treated like restaurant refrigeration
- /Taproom buildout, draft systems, and seating: buildout and expansion program
Two revenue streams, read two different ways
Taproom sales land daily through the card processor, which underwriting treats as predictable and reads directly from bank statements. That deposit pattern is what makes a line of credit and, where offered, revenue-based programs available to breweries.
Wholesale and distributor sales invoice on terms. The beer leaves, the money arrives 30 to 60 days later, and the gap between those two events is the single most common reason a profitable brewery runs short in the account.
Match the program to the gap
Buying an asset that outlives the payment belongs on equipment financing. Covering a receivable gap that repeats every quarter belongs on a line of credit, where you draw and repay rather than carrying a fixed balance.
Seasonal swings, festival season inventory, and a large grain or can purchase ahead of a release are working capital events. Structuring them on a long term loan means paying for years on inventory that turns in weeks.
What underwriting reads first for a brewery
3 months of business bank statements, time in business, and the equipment quote carry the most weight on a tank or line purchase. Licensing status matters, since federal and state approvals gate production, and a lender will confirm they are current.
Excise tax filings and any state licensing conditions come up on larger requests. Have them accessible before the conversation rather than after an offer is already outstanding.
Calculator
Equipment payment and total cost
Enter the quote, the rate you were offered, and the term. The payment is the standard amortizing payment, and the total cost is what leaves the business above the amount financed.
Programs commonly cover 80 to 100 percent. Leave at 0 if none is required.
Use the rate on the written offer, not an estimate.
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The math above runs on your inputs. Send the request and the figures unlock on this page, a specialist reviews what you entered, and you get written options to compare. No credit application, no hard pull.
We email you a copy of these figures. They are estimates for planning, not an offer, a quote, or a preapproval of any kind.
The arithmetic
payment = P x i / (1 - (1 + i)^-n), where P is the amount financed, i is the annual rate divided by 12, and n is the number of monthly payments. Total cost = (payment x n) - P.
Sources
- 1Amortizing payment formula: P x i / (1 - (1 + i)^-n)Standard time value of money identity. The same closed form used by the PMT function, with i as the monthly rate and n as the number of monthly payments.
- 2Bank prime loan rate, the base most business term financing is priced againstFederal Reserve, H.15 Selected Interest Rates. Published daily by the Federal Reserve. Enter the current prime rate when pricing a variable rate offer.
- 3Annual percentage rate definition, 12 CFR 1026.22Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z. APR is the nominal annual rate that discounts a payment stream back to the amount advanced. We solve it numerically from the payment schedule and multiply the periodic rate by the number of periods per year.
Estimates, not offers: Amounts, terms, and funding times are estimates based on programs commonly available in food service. Actual terms vary by program, lender underwriting, time in business, revenue, and credit profile. Nothing here is an offer of credit or a guarantee of approval.