Brewing and distilling lock cash in tanks and barrels for weeks or years before a sale. Working capital pays for equipment and packaging while product ages.
Apply Now →Beer is made in weeks; spirits can take far longer. In either case the producer pays for grain, hops, yeast, bottles, cans, labels and labor well before the first sale. For a distillery the gap is wider, since spirits that age in barrels are inventory that is paid for and unsold for a long time.
Equipment is the other big front-loaded cost. Fermentation tanks, brewhouses, stills, canning or bottling lines and cold storage are all purchased before the output they support.
New York has built a large tourism economy, and a tasting room is often part of it. Taprooms near a vacation region, a state park or a wine trail get visitors during peak weeks and few outside them. Producers in or near the city rely on neighborhood foot traffic instead. Either way, the tasting room brings in cash at the register, while distribution accounts pay on invoice.
That gives most producers two cash cycles: fast cash at the taproom counter and slower cash from wholesale accounts.
| Need | What drives it |
|---|---|
| Additional tanks or a larger brewhouse | Demand exceeding capacity |
| Canning or bottling line | Moving from taproom-only to retail shelves |
| Barrels and aging inventory | Spirits that must rest before release |
| Taproom build-out | Opening or expanding a tasting space |
| Packaging and label runs | Minimum orders bought in advance |
| Seasonal batches | Ingredients bought before the season |
For illustration only: a small brewery is turning away distributor requests because its current tanks cannot keep up. Adding two larger fermenters and a small canning line costs about $120,000 together. Production would grow after installation, and revenue would follow shipments by several weeks. This number is invented, not a quote or typical outcome.
Producers often sell through several channels, and each has its own cash behavior. Taproom and tasting-room sales are collected the same day. Retail and restaurant accounts pay on invoice, often after a few weeks. Direct-to-consumer shipping, where permitted, brings payment up front but adds packaging and freight costs. Event sales, such as festivals or private tastings, bring a burst of cash and a burst of staffing costs.
For a distillery, the question of release timing matters. A producer may sell a young product to generate cash while the premium product ages. That is a business decision with a cash-flow reason behind it, and working capital can ease the pressure to release earlier than you would like.
Seasonality also plays a part: summer and autumn visitors bring taproom traffic in many parts of the state, and holiday gifting drives packaged sales near year-end. Raw material purchases ahead of those peaks are a normal use of cash.
We fund $25,000 to $5,000,000 and can fund in as little as 24 hours. We consider FICO 500+ and use a soft pull. We do not require tax returns; we ask for about three months of business bank statements. Sole proprietors can apply.
Distilleries can apply. Statements and the purpose of funding are what we review.
Equipment is a common use of working capital. State the plan in your application.
Businesses with revenue moving through a business bank account can apply.
They appear as deposits in your business account, which statements show.
Three months of business bank statements and a 5-minute application. FICO 500+ considered. $25,000 to $5,000,000, funded in as little as 24 hours.
Apply Now →It takes about two minutes and it will not affect your credit score.
No obligation • No impact to your credit score
