Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Massachusetts

Massachusetts beverage makers borrow small

Massachusetts breweries, wineries and distilleries took 120 SBA approvals worth $50.4 million between FY2017 and FY2026. That ranks the state 11 of 53 for beverage manufacturing and puts the class 12 of 39 among Massachusetts classes, and a location quotient of 1.04x says beverage makers carry close to their national weight in Massachusetts SBA activity. Where Massachusetts differs is ticket size: the median loan is $200,000, only 0.69x the national median for producers of beer, wine and spirits. Our screen, which needs a gap from both the national class and the state's all-class record, does not flag the cell, so the smaller ticket appears to follow Massachusetts lending generally rather than anything peculiar to the trade.

Equipment, tanks and a few buildings

Between $75,000 and $403,000 sit the central half of Massachusetts beverage loans, sizes that buy brewhouse equipment, tanks and fit-out more often than buildings. Of the 120, 91 went through SBA 7(a) and 29 through SBA 504, a 504 presence showing that some producers are buying their premises. The franchise share is 0.00%. Eastern Bank leads the 7(a) holders with 20 loans for $2.8 million, ahead of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company at 8 loans and $1.8 million and Coastal Heritage Bank with 5 for $2.7 million. Bay Colony Development Corporation has 11 of the 504 approvals for $4.0 million, Granite State Economic Development Corporation 10 for $6.5 million and New England Certified Development Corporation 5 for $7.0 million. Essex County leads with 18, then Worcester with 17, and Middlesex and Suffolk with 15 apiece.

Cancellations, late losses and a slowing pace

Cancellations take at least 11.8% of the state's FY2017 to FY2024 beverage approvals; count every undisbursed loan as cancelled and the share reaches 12.7%. Losses are uneven over time. Of 65 producers whose loans funded over FY2017 to FY2021, 6.2% are already charged off, a floor that can rise, while only 1.5% failed inside five years; the bulk of the damage came well into repayment. Volume has also slowed, from 19 approvals and $10.8 million in FY2019 to 5 approvals and $1.3 million in FY2026.

A feasibility study for a Massachusetts brewery, winery or distillery has to treat the product and the premises as separate tests. Demand means distribution: which accounts will carry the label, at what volume, and how much will sell through the producer's own room. Cost covers equipment, utilities, drainage and licensing, priced from vendors. Debt service coverage should be modelled on capacity actually sold rather than capacity installed, and stressed for the late-life losses this record shows. The appraisal is hardest where the building is specialised, so the study should show an alternative use for the space and what the equipment would fetch.

Our data sees what a borrower produces, not how it sells: the code marks a beer, wine or spirits maker, while any taproom, tasting room or event trade alongside it stays invisible. Other manufacturing industries sit outside this Massachusetts class.