> Are breweries typically insanely profitable? My understanding is they are like a commodity/staples business with tight margins.

I own a bit of a brewery and have learned a bit about the business in the past 7 years.

No, breweries are not insanely profitable. You might think that they are if you simply look at grain to glass and forget about everything in between.

Those in between parts are real estate/rent, equipment, chemicals, packaging costs (equipment, labor, consumables), employees, taproom expenses, marketing, and finally, the worst, distribution expenses.

It's been a fun ride and I'm glad I'm involved, but insanely profitable just isn't the case.