Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area

What SBA's own loan files show about beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) lending in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.

Beverage producer loans in Burlington at a glance

Burlington reports FY2017 to FY2026 approvals: 33 beverage producer loans, $11.4 million gross. Burlington, for beverage producer, ranks 27 of 443 in the area ranking. Within Burlington, beverage producer ranks 2 of 39. Burlington has a quotient of 7.30x, beverage producer above the national share.

Burlington size and franchise status

Loan size in Burlington centres on $196,400, and its middle half runs between $88,000 and $410,000. Burlington loans sit at 0.68x of the national class median. In Burlington, borrowers draw smaller loans than nationally. Burlington shows no 7(a) count. Burlington shows no 504 count either. Burlington: too few loans back either count. Burlington loans show a 0.00% franchise share. Burlington shows a smaller median. Burlington projects were modest in scale. In Burlington, budget comparisons should note it.

Burlington loan holders and counties

Burlington SBA 7(a) holder: 13 loans, $4.3 million, Community National Bank (VT). Holder in Burlington: National Bank of Middlebury, 5 loans, $1.7 million, SBA 7(a). Burlington names here hold or held loans. In Burlington, SBA rows say nothing of requirements. Burlington borrowers read the list as holders. Burlington beverage producer lenders get first tests. Burlington puts all 23 loans under Chittenden County, VT.

Burlington years, floors and coding limits

Burlington years print only in part. FY2017 brings Burlington 5 loans, $997,000. FY2018 brings Burlington 5 loans, $1.8 million. FY2021 brings Burlington 6 loans, $3.9 million. FY2024 brings Burlington 0 loans, $0. Other Burlington years are withheld. Thin counts leave Burlington totals unknown. In Burlington, no blank is a zero, and Burlington treats FY2026 as complete. Floors in Burlington follow Loan Analytics' own rule. The Burlington cohort holds fewer than 30 loans. Burlington disbursements cover FY2017 to FY2021. No Burlington cancellation floor prints. No Burlington charge-off floor prints either. Burlington blanks are no zero. Burlington blanks are no clean book. Each Burlington rate is a floor. Burlington follows July 2023 boundaries. Burlington places loans by project county. Burlington drops loans lacking a placeable county. Burlington note: Each loan in this class carries a code for making beer, wine or spirits, and nothing in it shows a taproom, tasting room or event use; wineries share the class with breweries and distilleries.

Burlington: what a study must prove

Burlington modelling starts from the $196,400 median, against the project in Burlington. A producer study in Burlington starts with capacity: what the tanks, stills or presses can make in a year, and what the plan expects to sell. In Burlington, the split between taproom or tasting sales and wholesale decides margins, and the page's codes do not show that split. A Burlington lender will ask about equipment cost and licensing, since a producer cannot sell until the permits are in hand. Daniel Smith, MAI, signs every Burlington beverage producer study. For Burlington, demand and cost are tested. In Burlington, coverage and value are tested. Burlington borrowers are promised no approval here.

SBA beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) loans in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY202633
Gross dollars approved$11.4 million
Median loan$196,400
Middle half of loans, from$88,000
Middle half of loans, to$410,000
SBA 7(a) loanswithheld
SBA 504 loanswithheld
Franchise share of loans0.00%
Rank among metro and micro areas for beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) loans27 of 443
Rank of beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) among the classes in this area2 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)7.30x
Median loan against the national median for the class0.68x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)withheld
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)withheld

Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.

SBA beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) loans approved in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area, by fiscal year

0246FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026Loans, FY2017: 5Loans, FY2018: 5Loans, FY2021: 6Loans, FY2024: 0
Fiscal yearLoansDollars
FY20175$997,000
FY20185$1.8 million
FY2019withheldwithheld
FY2020withheldwithheld
FY20216$3.9 million
FY2022withheldwithheld
FY2023withheldwithheld
FY20240$0
FY2025withheldwithheld
FY2026withheldwithheld

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
LenderLoansDollars
Community National Bank (VT)13$4.3 million
National Bank of Middlebury5$1.7 million

Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.

Where the loans are, by county

CountyLoans
Chittenden County, VT23

Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.

Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.

The code says the borrower makes beer, wine or spirits; a taproom, tasting room or event use is not visible. The class holds breweries, wineries and distilleries only; the rest of manufacturing is not in it.

Shared code: Wineries are in this class.

A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-15540-C08.

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) project in the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

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