His frugality enabled him to limit his investment in machinery to a relatively economical NT $ 2 million. Without the means to hire additional help, he sat atop a mountain of responsibilities-brewing, bottling, labeling, and sales-while Prof. Duan tweaked the formula of hops, yeast and other ingredients towards perfection.
「北台灣麥酒」的行銷路線是「直接訂購宅配」及「特色通路」（如咖啡館或手工雜貨舖）並行，然而，精心研發的創業之作「經典啤酒」和「雪藏白啤酒」卻是叫好不叫座，約有 2 年的時間都在賠本狀態下慘澹經營。