Drink-a-Pint

$50 in 2008 doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to. Hell, I can’t even fill up my Jeep Liberty for fifty bucks, but apparently I can become part-owner of a new brewing company.

That’s the plan for BeerBankroll.com, which my friend James sent my way the other day. They’re looking to combine “crowd funding” with brewery ownership to “create an online community for beer lovers to share their ideas and at the same time create a brewing company.”

I’ve heard of this being done for everything from thoroughbreds to even the Montreal Expos, to varying degrees of success, but this is the first I’ve seen it done for something like this.

Here’s the lowdown:

“How do we start on this journey you may ask?  Well, the first step is to raise enough capital to start a brewing company.  We are not looking to become huge right away or even within several years.  The smart way to attack a project like this is to start relatively small and build into something special.  Within a few years, with the power of people like you backing our company, we want to compete with breweries like Dogfish Head Brewery and Pyramid Brewery among others.  Eventually, down the road, we hope to become a brewery with a name that is recognized worldwide.

We have no timetable on when we want to reach certain milestones.  We are leaving a lot of that up to our members.  We will take it as slow or as fast as our members want us to, depending of course on our funding situation.  Many decisions will be in our members hands and there will be times when we won’t vote on anything for a month or two, and other times when we will vote on several issues within one or two weeks.

We would like to start out as a brewery and pub (brewpub) with the idea of expanding each year.  However, this is open for discussion and we would like to see what our members think.  Once we have raised $100,000 after administration and overhead costs we will begin discussions with a consulting firm, which members will vote on.  After that we will use the consulting firm as a guide for our community.”

Sounds like a fun idea and it’s something that could make a neat gift for your favorite beer enthusiast, but I’m sitting on the fence with it for now because there are still a couple things which feel a little bit vague:

• “Once we have raised $100,000 after administration and overhead costs we will begin discussions with a consulting firm…” - At $50 per person, that’s 2,000 contributors. Not too hard to achieve, but how much of that money is going to “admin and overhead?” There are three people spearheading this. Is each getting something for their efforts as part of those costs? Then, how much would be needed for a “consulting firm?”
• “In exchange for your $50 bucks (c’mon, it’s not that much!) we’ll give you a yearly membership to BeerBankroll where you’ll get to live the ultimate dream - you’ll be part of a community managed brewery…” - What if it takes them more than a year to raise the initial $100,000? Do I have to pay $50 again to still have a vested interest in year two? I know $50 bucks isn’t a lot, but I need to know I’m getting something for my cash.
  
• “Don’t forget every new member get’s the world’s coolest T-shirt completely free. Plus, every 10th member wins a $10 iTunes gift card, every 50th member wins a $50 Best Buy gift card and every 1000th member wins a 32″ LG HDTV - how good is that?!” - Hmm… ok, I know I said I need to know I’m getting something for my cash, but this isn’t quite what I meant. I thought I was investing in a brewery, not entering the lottery?

In addition membership fees are not refundable for any reason and, if the company is not started for any reason, the remaining money after administration and operating costs will be donated to charity.

So, to invest or not to invest? That’s totally your call. I’m waiting this one out for a couple months to see how things shape up, but I’d love to hear from anyone who signs-up. It’s definitely an idea with some real potential, but I think there are still some “t’s and i’s” that need to be clarified before I sign up for a $50-per-year ride. Hell, while $50 won’t buy me a tank of gas, it will buy me two cases of Kona Brewing Company Fire Rock Pale Ale… yum… pale ale…