Local brewery crafts crowdfunding campaign with local technology

Hudsonville's Pike 51 Brewery has announced a crowdfunding campaign to support expanded production capabilities, increase distribution, and purchase more equipment to create additional specialty brews.

The brewery, which grew out of Hudsonville Winery, opened in 2012. In the two years of operation it has experienced steady growth and has increasingly been recognized for the quality of its beer. To keep up with the momentum, Rob Snider, co-owner, says the organization needs additional funding. "Our crowdfunding goal is $50,000 which will help build our production levels up," says Snider. "We have had good success with quality.  We've entered our beers in nine competitions and had them place eight times. Our product is good but we can't make much."

The decision to  use crowdfunding is a result of changes in Michigan law that make it easier for individuals to be investors through crowdfunding portals. It's also a referendum on customer loyalty to the brewery, says Snider: "We needed to fund more equipment. We saw other breweries do it, and it is a good litmus test to see what customers think of us."

While there are no minimum investments, $50 will earn supporters a bottle of a private bourbon barrel brew, which will not be made available to the public. The campaign will end in mid-December 2014, and will be supported by Grand Rapids-based PayItSquare.com by OST as the fundraising platform.

Brian Anderson, business development manager at OST, says supporting local businesses is a great use for PayitSquare.com. "Our platform is really perfect for this type of crowdfunding," Anderson says. "It is completely free to set up a page. We only charge fees when people make their contributions online, and the fees are the lowest in the industry. We are thrilled to be supporting our local friends and neighbors."

The campaign features a wide variety of levels of support which can be viewed here. To learn more about Pike 51, visit their website here or their Facebook page here.

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor