Prepared for lenders, CDCs, and federal agencies to SBA SOP 50 10 8, USDA 7 CFR Part 5001, and conventional underwriting standards. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never the borrower. 4,000+ engagements since 1998 covering $41.2 billion in evaluated project value. So far in 2026: 41 engagements and $1.54 billion evaluated — 17 SBA, 11 USDA.
Manufacturing feasibility joins market demand to production economics. The study establishes demand for the plant's output — contracted, identified, or market-derived — then tests the production model: capacity and utilization ramp, input cost structure, labor availability at the required skill level, and the capital budget against industry benchmarks. For breweries, distilleries, wineries, and bottling plants the analysis adds three-tier distribution economics, taproom and direct-to-consumer revenue modeled separately from wholesale, TTB licensing, and the production-scale thresholds at which the capital model works. Because USDA and SBA reviewers read manufacturing studies against job-creation and rural-impact criteria as well as repayment, the study documents employment, wage levels, and local economic effect to the standard the program requires.
Methodology combines industry production and pricing data, TTB production statistics and beverage industry data, RSMeans location-adjusted facility budgets, BLS occupational wage data for the staffing model, and RMA and IBISWorld operating benchmarks. The financial model carries the utilization ramp, input-cost sensitivity, and program coverage tests across the firm's standard stress discipline, with every assumption sourced.
Every Wert-Berater financial model is fully linked with no hardcoded values, so any reviewer can stress any input. Deliverables comprise a complete narrative report and the linked Excel model, with ten-year pro forma, sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent, interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent, and ratio analysis benchmarked against RMA and IBISWorld data.
SBA engagements are prepared to SOP 50 10 8, including its debt-service-coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global. USDA engagements follow RD Staff Instruction 5001 across the Business & Industry, Community Facilities, REAP, and Value-Added Producer Grant programs. Conventional engagements are built to the lender's stated coverage standard, typically 1.20x. Manufacturing reaches us predominantly through USDA B&I — where rural plant economics and job creation align with program purpose — alongside SBA 504 for owner-occupied facilities and conventional lending; Value-Added Producer Grant studies are prepared to 7 CFR Part 5001 where agricultural producers integrate forward into processing.
The firm's manufacturing and processing record spans USDA B&I and SBA engagements nationwide, including cold-chain, food-system, and industrial projects; manufacturing studies are prepared with the same fully linked financial models and stress discipline as every Wert-Berater engagement. Independence is non-negotiable: determinations follow the evidence and are not revised under pressure, and studies are built to pass lender, agency, and third-party review without exception items.
A feasibility study for a brewery, distillery, winery, or bottling operation must resolve questions that generic manufacturing studies do not reach. The analysis addresses the full production cycle from raw-material sourcing through finished-goods distribution, with each stage modeled at the specific scale the borrower proposes. Because beverage production carries both a manufacturing cost structure and a retail or hospitality revenue layer, the study treats those revenue streams separately rather than blending them into a single top-line figure.
Each item is sourced, not assumed, and every figure flows into the linked Excel model without hardcoded values.
Demand analysis for a brewery, distillery, or winery begins by establishing what the plant will actually sell and to whom, before any revenue projection is written. The methodology distinguishes contracted volume — purchase agreements or letters of intent from distributors, retailers, or institutional buyers — from identified volume supported by documented conversations, and from market-derived volume supported by consumption and competitive-supply data. Each category carries a different weight in the coverage calculation.
Market-derived demand draws on TTB production and permit statistics, which are public records that show active producers by state and production class. State alcohol control board licensing registries identify licensed wholesalers and the producers they represent. Trade association data from sources such as the Brewers Association and the Distilled Spirits Council provide shipment and consumption trends by category and region without requiring the analyst to invent growth rates. For taproom and direct-to-consumer channels, traffic-count data, tourism studies, and comparable-venue revenue benchmarks inform the attendance and capture-rate assumptions.
Competitive supply is mapped from the same TTB permit database and state licensing records, supplemented by distributor portfolio reviews where available. The study identifies not only existing competitors but permitted operations not yet in production, because a lender approving a five-year loan needs to understand the supply picture at maturity, not at origination. Every demand conclusion is stated with its evidentiary basis so a reviewer can assess the assumption independently.
Across brewery, distillery & beverage production feasibility studies, a small number of inputs drive most of the variance in debt-service coverage. Identifying those inputs and testing each one is the core of the analytical discipline. The sensitivity table in the deliverable isolates each assumption so a lender can see which variable, if wrong, breaks the coverage ratio and by how much.
Each program applies its own review criteria, and a study prepared without understanding those criteria will generate exception items regardless of its analytical quality.
SBA reviewers applying SOP 50 10 8 require that the study demonstrate 1.15x operating debt-service coverage and 1.00x global coverage, with the global test incorporating all obligations of the borrower and any affiliates. For a brewery or distillery, the reviewer will scrutinize the utilization ramp and the channel-mix assumption because both directly affect whether the coverage tests hold in years one and two. The study must also address the borrower’s management experience in beverage production specifically, not manufacturing generally.
USDA Business & Industry reviewers under 7 CFR Part 5001 apply rural-impact and job-creation criteria alongside repayment analysis. A beverage plant in a rural community must document the number of full-time-equivalent positions created, wage levels relative to the local median, and the economic multiplier effect on agricultural input suppliers where applicable. Value-Added Producer Grant studies add a requirement to demonstrate that the agricultural producer capturing the value-added margin is the grant recipient, not a downstream processor.
Conventional lenders typically require 1.20x coverage and place greater weight on collateral adequacy and equipment liquidation value. Brewing and distilling equipment is specialized and illiquid; the study addresses collateral concentration risk directly rather than leaving it for the credit memo. Across all programs, the independence of the analyst — with no fee contingent on the finding — is what allows the study to function as a credible third-party document.
The engagement begins with a fixed fee quoted within one business day of the initial inquiry. The fee does not vary with the finding, and no portion is contingent on loan approval or project proceeding. That structure is what allows the study to serve as an independent document rather than an advocacy piece.
Delivery runs ten to fifteen business days from receipt of a complete data room. The data room for a brewery or distillery engagement typically includes the business plan, equipment quotes or purchase agreements, lease or site-control documentation, any distributor letters of intent or purchase commitments, TTB license applications or existing permits, and the borrower’s historical financial statements where the entity has operating history. Rush delivery is available when a credit committee deadline requires it.
Every engagement is published to a secure client portal where the linked Excel model remains live. A reviewer can change any input — utilization rate, raw-material cost, interest rate, channel mix — and watch every downstream ratio recalculate in real time. There are no hardcoded values to hide an assumption. The narrative report accompanies the model and includes an explicit statement of conditions: the circumstances under which the conclusions hold and the factors that would change them. Sensitivity analysis runs at ±5, 10, and 15 percent on key operating assumptions, and interest-rate stress runs from +0.5 to +3.0 percent above the base case, giving the lender a complete picture of downside exposure before the credit decision is made.
The fee is fixed and quoted within one business day of the initial inquiry. It does not vary with the finding and is not contingent on loan approval. Because scope varies by project complexity, program type, and whether the engagement covers a single facility or multiple revenue channels, the firm provides a specific quote after a brief intake conversation rather than publishing a range that may not apply to a given project.
Standard delivery is ten to fifteen business days from receipt of a complete data room. The data room for a brewery or distillery typically includes equipment quotes, site-control documentation, distributor commitments or letters of intent, TTB permit applications, and historical financials where available. Rush delivery is available when a credit committee or program deadline requires a shorter window. Incomplete data rooms are the most common cause of delay.
Three factors distinguish beverage production from general manufacturing underwriting. First, revenue depends on channel mix — taproom, direct-to-consumer, and wholesale carry very different margins, and the mix shifts as volume grows. Second, federal excise tax liability is tiered by production volume, creating step-changes in cost that must be modeled explicitly. Third, brewing and distilling equipment is specialized and illiquid, which creates collateral concentration risk that a conventional lender must address before approval.
Yes, though the study must satisfy the requirements of both programs simultaneously. SBA SOP 50 10 8 and USDA 7 CFR Part 5001 share a repayment-analysis framework but differ on rural-impact documentation, job-creation requirements, and coverage minimums. A study prepared to the more demanding standard of the two programs, with program-specific sections addressing each agency’s criteria, can serve both applications without requiring a separate engagement.
No. A feasibility study is an independent analytical document, not an advocacy piece or a loan-approval instrument. The study presents evidence, tests assumptions, and states conclusions with their conditions. Approval decisions rest with the lender and, where applicable, the guaranteeing agency. A study that finds the project feasible under stated conditions may still result in a declined application if the lender’s credit criteria differ from the study’s analytical framework.
The study addresses TTB permit type and the production-volume thresholds that determine federal excise tax rates for the beverage category in question — malt beverages, distilled spirits, or wine. It also identifies state licensing requirements and their associated costs as line items in the operating budget. Label approval timelines are noted where they affect the projected revenue start date. The study does not provide legal counsel on licensing but documents the regulatory cost and timeline assumptions used in the financial model.
Qualify a project. Tell us about the project and the program. We will tell you the truth about it — scope, timeline, and fee confirmed before work begins.
Schedule a Zoom Call →Legal disclosure. Wert-Berater, Inc. offices are mailing addresses only. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the firm has elected to work remotely; its office locations receive mail and are not staffed for visitors or in-person meetings. Headquarters mailing address: 1968 South Coast Hwy, Ste 2382, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.
Wert-Berater, Inc. is an independent provider of feasibility studies and other related services. The firm does not provide financing or equity investment advice, and does not arrange, broker, or place debt or equity capital of any kind.
All appraisal assignments are performed by Bruce E. Jones, MAI, ASA-GC, BCA, CMEA, a member of the Appraisal Institute since 2006, a staff member of Wert-Berater, Inc. and owner of Special Purpose Realty Valuation.