Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in New Hampshire

New Hampshire beverage makers: tiny loans

Small tickets distinguish New Hampshire beverage manufacturing. The $110,000 median is just 0.38x what beverage makers elsewhere typically borrow, with loans in the middle half running $58,250 to $275,750. The cell holds 44 approvals worth $10.1 million for FY2017 to FY2026. New Hampshire stands 25 of 53 among states, beverage makers sit 10 of 39 on the state list, and the location quotient is 1.25x, a modestly larger place than in the national book. The median leads this page.

Small loans suggest small producers: nano breweries, cideries and tiny distilleries buying tanks and fermenters and a lease build-out, not large plants. Producers drew 31 loans under 7(a) and 13 under 504, so a fair number of owners still buy a building; no borrower is franchised, at 0.00%. Primary Bank and Rockland Trust Company each show 5 loans, with $1.5 million and $1.3 million. The files cannot show a taproom, tasting room or event business, since the industry code records only what the borrower makes.

Rockingham leads, then the cooling

Rockingham County has 16 loans, Strafford 8, Hillsborough 7 and Merrimack 6, with Belknap and Carroll at 3 each. FY2017 produced 10 loans worth $1.8 million, the peak count, and the count fell to 2 in FY2023 and again in FY2024, then 0 in FY2025 and 1 in FY2026 at $85,000. A lender should ask whether the cooling reflects a saturated craft market or a change in how these businesses are financed.

Cancellation reached a floor of 9.3% through FY2024, equal to the ceiling. The cohort of 30 disbursed loans sits right at the reporting threshold: charge-offs reach 3.3% to date, while the early-years measure is 0.00%. A cohort at the exact threshold moves with each default, so treat both figures as minimums.

Diligence for a New Hampshire producer

A study must test distribution: wholesale accounts, direct sales, taproom revenue and the regulatory limits on each. Production capacity, barrel or tank space, and the cost of equipment drive the cost line. Seasonality and tourism affect a taproom, and excise and licensing affect margins. Lenders should size repayment on bottles and kegs the producer can truly sell, not on nameplate capacity. The appraisal should recognize that brewing equipment is specialized and resale value is limited, so a lender leans on the real estate where it is financed and on the operating record. With a median this low, the study should also ask whether the loan is a startup bet or an expansion of a proven label.