Kickstarting a Brewery
Mystery Brewing Company (@mysterybrewing) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is trying to kickstart a craft brewery. The man behind the Mystery is Erik Myers (@topfermented). He has run into the same “problem” as I have, not much money but several dedicated fans that have offered cold hard cash to help him scale up.
Starting up a craft brewery takes a lot of money on top of the multitude of legal hurdles that must be cleared. To cut down on that cost significantly, many choose the route of contract brewing first. Sam Adams, Brooklyn Brewery and Terrapin Brewery are just a few of many that started out as contract breweries. Contract brewing basically involves paying an existing brewery to make the beer for you. This frees a budding brewery from having to invest in a building and equipment up front. This is the path that Erik wishes to take but he still needs a good amount of startup money.
Enter Kickstarter, a micro-investing tool. Find out how Erik is leveraging Kickstarter HERE & HERE.
Financing is not the only thing I have in common with Erik. The brews that we want to create also have similar traits. I can’t read Mystery Brewing’s mission and not feel a little like he read my mind.
Mystery Brewing Company – Our Mission:
Our mission is to create a cornucopia of high-quality rustic ales for the discriminating consumer, to test the boundaries of creativity and style, and to foster a knowledgeable community that can have an active hand in steering the future of our products.
How do we plan to do it? It involves using fresh, high-quality ingredients and a steady hand at the kettle. But that’s just half of it. The other half of it is right here. The power of the internet, social media, and networking is here to see. Think of this as your own internet brewpub where you can sidle up next to the brewmaster and ask a question — because you can.
Photo credit: Mystery Brewing Company