Factotum Brewhouse

I totally agree with you. I'm so tired of these kickstarter campaigns..."give us money so we can start a business." What happened to good old hard work and getting private backers who actually trust in ROI?

 

You could also buy a membership

For a limited time, Factotum Brewhouse is selling memberships in their Local 303 club. For the $495 membership fee, you'll get a free brew session, your first beer every day the taproom is open will be FREE, a beer-cation for members only, and first dibs on extra festival tickets/events. Memberships this year will run through May 1, 2016 so you'll get a few extra months for this first year.

 

It's one thing if you're someone like Chad or Troy (or even John "Black Fox" at DD) but I could count the other brewers I'd consider fronting membership $ on a couple of fingers. You have to either have a reputation or big balls to do a membership before opening these days.

 

hold on, there's also 3 free beers a week, thats 156 a year, provided you go in every day the tap room is open. If you only go in once a week, its 52 beers, and that's like a $260-ish value. More this year because it runs thru 05/2016. And that's before the beer-cation, whatever/where ever that is. But in essence you could just about make your $400 make-a-big-batch-of-my-homebrew session essentially free.

 

It could be - I'm just not giving any random place any advance "club/reserve" money unless I know they're any good. Especially over the long haul. There's a place on every corner and half are producing mediocre beers and/or are very inconsistent with their offerings.

 

well--I guess you could go in and have a couple before you plonked down your 500 scoots...that's probably what I would do, anyway... :>)

 

It sounds like we all agree. This is a stupid idea in its current configuration. I think I'll continue to drink home-brew beer FOR FREE everyday of the year...

 

Some more info from the Westword Beer Man Blog: http://www.westword.com/restaurants...ens-today-as-a-beacon-for-homebrewers-6580282

Looks like your $400 also gets you "about a $100 in credit at the taproom" and you can "take home a keg or two" of beer. Again, oddly un-specific amounts to have for a program that is your backbone of business.

I could be excited for this place but only for a very specific reason that I doubt is shared with many people. @themill and I own a 55 gallon whiskey barrel that we currently are on our second batch with. In order to fill that barrel we have to enlist in several homebrewer friends and friends of friends making 5 gallons at a time which as you can imagine is quite the process. IF this program got us our 55 gallons to fill this barrel it would actually be easier and cheaper than brewing 11 batches east costing around $65 (we made a big Imperial Stout and Quad). I wouldn't care if they 'owned' it afterwards since we just got it off the internet anyway.

Again, a very specific situation that applies to maybe 4 other people on earth. Factotum is for us!

 

They do say they reserve the right to refuse any recipe.

 

Per the Westword article - having students from the nearby Regis University brewing program brew there makes sense. So does having soon to be brewery owners wanting to dial in their recipes. But this place is about the homebrewer, right?

With the absurd sticker price and little return on the investment I just fail to see any sort of rhythm with churning out new, exciting beers left and right via collaboration with your average homebrewer. The rent is too damn high!

 

So did anyone go to the opening? I'm curious how the beers actually are?

 

Some might and some will, I just don't see a sustainable number of homebrewers taking the deep dive around the clock. The remaining couple hundred dollar-ish that does not go to ingredients/pours seems like too high of a pricetag for glory. Also, at that price it will inhibit repeat customers, some of us have a mortgage/rent to pay and expensive craft beer hobbies to maintain.