We spoke with James Coulter, co-owner and head brewer at Zymos Brewing, about the brewery's experience switching to Breww. From pricing and getting set up to integrations and day-to-day operations, James shares what's changed over the past two years, including the financial and time savings he's experienced.
Tell us a bit about Zymos Brewing. Where are you based, and what does the brewery look like today?
We are Zymos Brewing out of Littleton, CO, we are a small 5 bbl operation focusing on the taproom model.
What were you using before Breww, and why were you looking for something different?
Before adopting Breww, Zymos had experience with two other brewery management platforms, Ekos and Beer30. Ease of use and pricing were the main reasons for considering a change.
"Previously we have used Ekos and Beer30. Our biggest reason for switching was easy of use and a bundled price."
Were spreadsheets or manual workarounds part of your previous setup?
James had previously used spreadsheets at another brewery operation. At Zymos, with a small team, his preference was for a digital solution that could help reduce the workload.
"I had used spreadsheets at a previous operation but with our small team wanted a digital solution to reduce my work load."
What made Breww stand out when you were choosing a new system?
"The simple pricing structure and how all-in-one the offering was."
How important was pricing, and what difference has it made over the past two years?
Cost was a significant consideration for Zymos when choosing its brewery management software. James reported that switching to Breww reduced the brewery's monthly software costs by almost $300.
"Switching to breww saved us almost $300 a month."
What was the process of getting set up with Breww like?
Zymos chose to make a largely fresh start when switching systems, rather than carrying across its entire previous setup. According to James, entering recipes accounted for most of the setup time.
"Setup was pretty simple, we did a mostly clean restart with switching over. Most of the time was spent adding recipes."
How has Breww changed day-to-day operations across the brewery?
Beyond the monthly cost savings, James has experienced improvements in day-to-day productivity.
In particular, integrating the brewery's monitoring has reduced time spent entering samples, while Breww has also helped save time when filing federal taxes.
"It has definitely streamlined my productivity. Being able to integrate our monitoring has helped and reduce some of the hours spent on sample input. It has also saved time with filing federal taxes."
What measurable or practical improvements have you noticed since switching?
For Zymos, the move between digital brewery management systems was primarily driven by pricing and the features available.
James also draws on his earlier experience using spreadsheets to manage brewery operations, describing the difference that digital software has made to his workload.
One particular time-saving feature he highlights is the ability to transfer kegs quickly using the Breww app.
"Between moving from one digital system to the other it was mostly a function of price and offerings but looking back at when I was using spreadsheets for everything this has been an immense upgrade and reduced a large amount of work load. Just being able to quickly transfer kegs via app save a bunch of time."
What would you say to another Colorado brewery considering Breww?
"I have recommended Breww to several breweries both locally and via reddit. I usually mention the saving both financially and hourly. How for a single price you can get inventory, analytics and sales."
The Zymos Brewing experience
After two years using Breww, Zymos reports saving almost $300 a month on software costs, alongside time savings in monitoring, federal tax filing and keg transfers.
For James, the main reasons for switching were ease of use, straightforward pricing and the all-in-one offering. These are also the benefits he continues to highlight when recommending Breww to other breweries.
Want to see what Breww could do for your brewery?
Explore our brewery management software, see what's included and find out whether Breww is the right fit for your operation.