Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Connecticut

Connecticut beverage producers in the SBA record

Connecticut shows 66 beverage manufacturing loans from FY2017 to FY2026, with $36.8 million approved. Connecticut is 22 of 53 states on loan count, and the class is 14 of 39 inside Connecticut. The location quotient of 1.34x puts the state above the national share. The median loan of $325,000 is 1.12x of the national median, so Connecticut producers borrow slightly more than their national counterparts; the middle half spans $121,250 to $537,500.

What the code can and cannot say

The classification only tells us that the borrower brews, ferments or distills; any taproom, tasting room or event use stays out of view. Wineries are included with breweries and distilleries in this class, so a winery loan and a brewery loan sit together. A lender cannot separate a producer with a taproom from a wholesale-only producer, and a borrower should not assume a benchmark fits their model.

There are 54 SBA 7(a) loans and 12 SBA 504 loans, and none is franchised, at 0.00%. Santander Bank, National Association holds 9 loans and $3.4 million, Thomaston Savings Bank 7 loans and $2.1 million, Liberty Bank 7 loans and $1.3 million, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company 5 loans and $2.6 million, and KeyBank National Association 5 loans and $1.0 million. Cancellation sits at a floor of 6.3% with an identical ceiling of 6.3%, so approvals mostly closed. Charge-offs are the item to watch: a 2.4% charge-off floor for the FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed vintages, and again 2.4% inside five years, from a cohort of 41 loans. Both are floors, and with a cohort of 41 they reflect a very small number of failures.

What a Connecticut study has to test

The Capitol area leads with 14 loans and South Central CT has 11, followed by New London with 7. Demand testing should therefore look at the draw from those areas, the sales channels the producer plans to use, and any direct sales from the site. Cost must reflect state licensing, equipment and a taproom build-out if one is planned. Debt service coverage should be run with and without taproom revenue, since the loan file cannot show that split. An appraiser should treat equipment and building separately. The yearly record, with 13 loans in FY2019 and FY2021 but only 1 loan in FY2026, shows approvals falling in recent years, so a study should explain why this producer still merits credit.