SBA 7(a) Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Idaho

Well under the class median, and Ada County at the centre

Idaho's beverage producers borrow far less than their national peers. The median of $100,000 is only 0.40x the class's nationwide figure, while loans in the middle range between $50,000 and $332,550. The tally for FY2017 to FY2026 is 27 loans and $9.8 million, with Idaho at 30 among states and the class at 14 of 39 inside Idaho. Franchise share is 3.7%. Ada County has 14 loans, Kootenai 5, Bonner 3, Canyon 2, and single loans appear in Boundary, Elmore and Twin Falls, so Boise and the northern lakes county carry most of the class.

A handful of years with outsized dollars

Counts are small throughout. FY2018 had 5 loans and $672,100, and FY2025 had 5 loans and $1.5 million. FY2021 is the exception, with 3 loans worth $4.9 million, an average far above the median, which means a few production facilities were funded that year. FY2022 on the other hand had 3 loans and only $105,000. Washington Trust Bank is the lone lender listed: 6 loans and $1.3 million, as SBA lists the present holder.

How to read the class

What the class captures is production of beer, wine or spirits; neither taproom nor tasting room nor events appear, and wineries are in it by a classification decision. Cancellation and loss percentages are left out, since the cohort is too small to support them.

What an Idaho producer study has to show

At this scale many projects are nanobreweries, small distilleries or tasting-room wineries, so the study should be honest about what the borrower is building. It should list equipment and build-out cost, state licence requirements, and how product will reach buyers: taproom sales, local wholesale or regional distribution. Seasonal tourism may drive a taproom, which means monthly cash flow should be shown rather than annual averages. Inventory ties up cash, particularly for aged spirits and wine, and working capital should be separated from equipment. A conservative sales ramp must still cover the payment, and a lender will check the owner's production experience, since a new label is easier to fund when the brewer or distiller has a record. A lender will also want to see any existing sales, such as farmers market or wholesale accounts, because proven demand matters more at this size than projected capacity. Letters of intent from buyers would help.