Target reached!
Amazing! We hit our £5000 target with a week to spare! I've now added a 'stretch ta...
Here Be Monsters Brewery Expansion
Holmfirth
Aim
To fund the expansion of Here Be Monsters Craft Brewery to a 6 barrel plant.
-=> YOU CAN STILL PLEDGE! <=-
We may have hit our £5000 target but the campaign isn't over until the fat lady sings! You can still pledge money to my project, and if you do you will still receive your beers / T-Shirts / Brew days if you pledge now.
Project aim
- To help fund the expansion of Here Be Monsters Craft Brewery to an 6 barrel plant.
- To get the brewery out of the back of a garage, into some proper premises, with more space.
- Create loads more lovely beer!
A bit of background
Here Be Monsters Craft Brewery is a tiny 1-man brewery based in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. It is run be me, Doug Scard. I produce a range of exciting and interesting modern cask and bottle-conditioned real ales.
I started selling my wares in December 2014 and was stunned by the initial interest. Since then it has been difficult to keep up with demand and I have often had to ration my beers so I can spread my stock around and keep people as happy as possible.
With my own fair hands I built my current brew kit, a 1-barrel (~200 litres) brewery, in the back of a residential garage. This brewery has served me very well but its capacity and the physical space I have available is beginning to hinder my ability to produce stock efficiently and in reasonable quantity...
...Hence my need to expand.
I have a small amount of money already available but this is not enough to set up even a modest brewery...
...Hence my need to approach you guys.
The near future
Breweries aren't cheap, however there are a few tricks to keep the expenditure down and I will be using as many of these as possible.
Initially, depending on the amount of investment I can secure, I will invest in a single fermentor to keep the initial outlay down. This will limit me to just one brew day a week at the outset, but it will make a significant cost saving.
One of the most significant costs for a new brewery is casks - you need a surprisingly large number. However I intend to brew at half-capacity - this means fewer casks will be necessary. Once this volume of beer can be sold quickly and easily I will use working capital to buy more casks and start brewing at full capacity (approximately 1750 pints per week). Eventually a second fermentor (~3500 pints per week) and even third (~5250 pints per week) will be bought from working capital.
The not-quite-so near future
Using a 6 barrel brewery with 3 fermentors I will be able to produce over 5000 pints of beer per week. This is far too much for one person to be able to deal with single-handedly, what with all the brew-days, sales and deliveries necessary for such a scale of production. At this stage (if not before) there will be employment opportunities for folk in the Holmfirth area.
Why pledge?
There are many great reasons to pledge...
- To get your hands on delicious beer at a reduced rate
- To get some special unique beer brewed only for pledgers as a special thank you
- To get a special bespoke beer brewed specifically for your event or club
- Get your mitts on a fabulous HBM T-shirt
- A rare opportunity to get involved in a brew day
- Even help design and brew your very own beer recipe
- If you are from The Holme Valley or adjacent areas you will be investing in your community
- Get a lovely, warm, fuzzy feeling in your tummy from being a generally amazing person
Perhaps the most important reason... I spent a day wandering around Holmfirth with a Selfie Stick talking to myself. Your pledge will help me recover from such an experience!!
The Rewards
Unsurprisingly, the rewards mainly involve beer or promotional materials.
I will be brewing a Crowd Funder Exclusive ("CF Exclusive") beer which will be available only to those people who pledge and request a beer-based reward. Bottles of this particular beer will make up a proportion of each beery reward amongst other beers.
I will also be creating a Rogues' Gallery of all the people and organisations who pledge on my project and this will be displayed with pride in the brewery.
If you live within the HD (Huddersfield) postcode your beers and/or merchandise will be delivered by hand.
PLEASE NOTE If you live further afield your beery rewards may need to be delivered by courier, the cost of which is not included in the pledge amount. If this is the situation I will contact you in due course to arrange further payment for delivery (or to make other arrangements such as dropping off in another, more accessible location).
Retailers Rewards
The rewards named "RETAILERS REWARD ONLY" are designed for pubs, bars and off-licences only. Please do not choose them if you are a normal, non-retailing pledger.
I have had many retailers contact me saying my beers outsell many of their normal leading brands. The only problem has been my ability to supply them with the quantity they need to maintain a supply for their customers. These rewards are a retailer's opportunity to secure an amount of stock at a discounted rate, whilst helping to ensure that future stock levels can be maintained.
In return for their pledge I will give retailers a discount of the stated percentage off the stated value of goods. For example, a pledge of £450 will secure a delivery of stock to the value of £500, equating to a 10% discount, thus significantly increasing your margin.
If my crowd funder campaign is successful your discounted stock agreement will be in effect immediately. This means you will start receiving your discounted goods in your next delivery. However, the rate at which your stock arrives will be limited by my current scale of production and ability to supply. However, I will make every endeavour to deliver the goods in a timely manner, as and when it is needed.
Please note that VAT is not included in your pledge and that this will be due on receipt of each delivery. For example, upon receipt of £450 worth of stock the VAT of £90 becomes due.
How will the money be used?
The money rasied will go towards:
- securing the premises
- commissioning the fabrication of the brewery vessels - hot liquor tank, mash tun, kettle. and a single fermentor.
- buying the pumps
- buying the pipework and hoses
- buying the refrigeration system
- buying quantities of start-up ingredients
- placing a deposit on a delivery vehicle
If I manage to overfund the extra money will go to buying more casks. If a lot more money is raised I may well buy another fermentor or additional casks.
* Disclaimer
A beer a day probably doesn't keep the doctor away. However, I have it on good authority that there is some evidence that 1-2 units of alcohol per day reduces cardiovascular risk; reduces blood pressure; improves cholesterol profiles; and in type 2 diabetes actually improves glycaemic control.
:)
This project successfully funded on 22nd October 2015