Start-up Brewery... Interesting way to finance

Saw this on CNN Money today... pretty good idea if you ask me... something I may be looking into some day!

http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/23/smallbusiness/community-supported-beer/index.html?iid=HP_LN

Interesting idea. You'll never raise enough to start a brewery from scratch (you'll still need a pretty hefty loan or some other source of additional start-up funds), but it seems like a good way to get some working capital or fill in the gaps, or to help finance an equipment upgrade.

Weird idea.

"Community supported" is just a euphemism for "pay for it upfront".

Note that most of the "community support" was from friends and family of the brewers. I just don't see how this model would work consistently... you're asking people to buy the beer before they know anything about it - trusting that it will be good. Given the number of options for good craft beer out there right now, why should I as a consumer take that risk?

evrose said:

Weird idea.

"Community supported" is just a euphemism for "pay for it upfront".

Note that most of the "community support" was from friends and family of the brewers. I just don't see how this model would work consistently... you're asking people to buy the beer before they know anything about it - trusting that it will be good. Given the number of options for good craft beer out there right now, why should I as a consumer take that risk?

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I think you're missing the point of the article... yes you would need plenty of start-up capital etc and of course it was friends and family... who do you share your homebrew with?

It's a pretty cool way to get the brewery off the ground or get it to the point where it can start producing enough to be successful and lure in those outside consumers who have never heard of your brew. It's just an interesting idea for an initial investment for the brewery

evrose said:

Weird idea.

"Community supported" is just a euphemism for "pay for it upfront".

Note that most of the "community support" was from friends and family of the brewers. I just don't see how this model would work consistently... you're asking people to buy the beer before they know anything about it - trusting that it will be good. Given the number of options for good craft beer out there right now, why should I as a consumer take that risk?

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"To support a local establishment" would be my answer. If it's no good, at least I supported beer AND my community. That's a win-win in my book. Part of the fun of beer and brewing is the experimentation and trying nee things IMO.

I don't think I missed the point at all. I just question whether this model is something that could be consistently applied in a variety of markets, or whether this is a rare case where they were able to attract some interest. The fact that it's mostly friends and family who are paying for the beer upfront makes me skeptical. There's nothing "community supported" about this model, it's just a marketing tool to get people to pay for the beer ahead of time.

In other words - it's a marketing gimmick. If it works for them, great... some companies make good products in conjunction with great marketing gimmicks.

splattsmier said:

"To support a local establishment" would be my answer. If it's no good, at least I supported beer AND my community. That's a win-win in my book. Part of the fun of beer and brewing is the experimentation and trying nee things IMO.

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But what if the beer is crap? Why should I support crap beer? Just because they are local? Just because it's beer? That makes no sense...

I agree that part of the fun of homebrewing is experimentation and trying new things. But this isn't homebrewing, it's a company. When you start asking for money, the game changes.

evrose said:

But what if the beer is crap? Why should I support crap beer? Just because they are local? Just because it's beer? That makes no sense...

I agree that part of the fun of homebrewing is experimentation and trying new things. But this isn't homebrewing, it's a company. When you start asking for money, the game changes.

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If you've ever bought a crappy craft beer, you supported them. It's the same principle.

If you don't want to risk your money to help out some aspiring pros that's your choice. Your snide skepticism isn't necessary, though. I've supported a couple breweries locally through Kickstarter and I interned at one as well. I felt good helping out fellow brewers. The fact that they were local was the cherry on top. Not everyone likes every beer we made (myself included), and that's okay. But I wasn't forced to buy into it; I chose to.