MacLeod Ale Brewing Co. Founders Club

That's something new... I would probably go for the $1000 option if I lived in a walking distance Their beers are actually solid too!

 

If Bagby in Oceanside did this, I would probably sell a guitar and go for it as I expect to drink mass quantities of beer there.

 

yeah. if i were closer and if i was crazy about their beers. i've been before. their beers are quite nice. but i'm not passionate enough about british cask ales. if this were Beachwood and I would do it in a heartbeat

i think i would feel guilty going in and just drinking for free every day. but i guess i could get over it

 

Assuming they stay in business as long as I keep waking up everyday, that's a hell of a deal. I live 20 minutes away but just am too much of a IPA/wild ale snob. If they brewed either of those, I'd probably drop a G easily right now.

 

I really have nothing to say as this is ridiculous

 

What exactly makes it ridiculous?

Sure, on the surface, it seems like a big spend, but consider two points:
1) If you assume a $5 pint, it doesn't take long to recoup your spend. If it's nearby, both the $500 and $1000 levels could recoup their investment within a year if they're loyal enough. After that, you're drinking free beer for as long as they're in business.
2) It encourages loyalty amongst their fans, which is no different from what any other brewery with a club attempts to do, they've just chosen a different model. Beer geeks are ridiculously promiscuous in chasing ticks and hype, but beer geeks aren't the be all, end all of beer consumption. If MacLeod can appeal to a few neighborhood beer geeks, as well as capture people who like good beer but aren't necessarily in the BA/RB/TB crowd, the campaign could definitely work.

There aren't a lot of breweries that I'd bite on this for, but I think the concept has merit for both MacLeod and their fans.

 

Interesting concept. I'd probably donate if I was close as it seems like it would be a great value over time. Having said that, I think they really should have added some lower priced donation levels if they wanted more support from the broader community.

 

What is ridiculous?
First, this place has been open all of 2 months? and asking people to donate for lifetime of free beer. Who knows if they will even stay open after they get initial investment.
If they want investors to help in expansion they should look for a limited partner as opposed to asking for donations for free beer.
The business model here makes me very hesitant of this place staying open long enought to recoup a good portion of my donation.
There are numerous other deterrent to the whole membership, but I will refrain from excessive negativity.

 

That's not a new thing, The Rare Barrel, Modern Times, and J Wakefield both offered clubs before they had even opened their doors. Hell, Wakefield hadn't even built a brewery yet. Not to say that MacLeod has the same pedigree or clout as JWB, but they're not the first to ask for money early in their lifecycle.

For that matter, there are no guarantees that a lot of other breweries will stay open. I'd venture to guess that a significant number of craft breweries are under capitalized and couldn't weather a series of setbacks without some form of loan.

What makes the investor model better than the crowdfunding model? Don't get me wrong, I thought that the way Stone initially pitched their IndieGoGo campaign was offensive, but they retooled it and raised over $2MM via beer presales and whatever else. Crowdfunding is a completely viable model and while I don't like it in certain situations, it has not yet hit its peak and more and more companies will attempt to use it.

When you get down to brass tacks, what's fundamentally different about buying a Hoarders Society membership for $700 versus a lifetime of free beer for $1000? Sure, The Bruery projects a specific beer lineup while MacLeod is just saying "you'll get beer," but the Bruery has changed their projected releases enough that it's not as if that's set in stone. You can make points about the relative stability of the two breweries, but it still breaks down to a matter of buying $700 worth of bottles on faith vs. buying $500 or $1000 worth of pints on faith.

Why though? Because they want to give crowdfunding a shot before going a debt or investor route?

 

You got plenty to say