June 13, 2014 11.56 am This story is over 117 months old

Funding needed for Lincoln crowd brewing project

Crowdfunded brewery: Three Lincoln locals want to raise £50,000 in funding in order to launch an international brewing project in Lincoln.

Three Lincoln locals want to raise £50,000 in funding in order to launch an international brewing project in Lincoln.

The campaign, set up by Lee Thomas (28), James Fenwick-Smith (27) and James Hoy (28), aims to bring a brewing project of international scale to the city, and everything will be run by the public.

The Crowd Brewing Company would see a ‘crowd’ of business owners handling control of decisions from the style of beer to brew to the way it’s packaged and marketed over to an online community.

In addition to gaining managerial control of the business, lifetime membership (which costs a minimum £20 donation) will run on a funding for reward basis and perks are in the pipeline.

The entrepreneurial trio say that the project has been two years in the making and they have already managed to finance the fermentation vessels and a building big enough to produce 2,500 litres.

They have allocated 35 days in order to make the project a reality and will return any donations to the contributors should the target not be met in time for the deadline.

Organiser Lee Thomas said: “We have planned meticulously not only for brewing but also how to create the best possible platform for the crowd to engage with the brewery.

“The online community will have 24/7 access to all the brewery’s information as well as live video streams so that people can engage wherever they are in the world.

“The decisions of the crowd will ultimately decide the success or failure of a real world business.”

Lee added that while the three owners have a passion for brewing and producing a local success, their skills are a mixed bag of marketing and business.

“The three of us come from different backgrounds in terms of our education and training. Namely IT, production, business and marketing.

“So we have poached an experience brewer from an existing brewery outside of the county who will join us when the funding campaign is successful.

“We also have a host of contacts in the industry who have been vital in getting us to where we are now and will play a part in helping us move forward.

“Lincoln is bang on trend in taking up the excellent real ales and craft beers produced locally.

“We already have some great brewers in and around Lincoln and we hope that this project in allowing people to get more involved with the brewing industry will encourage people to not only try the great beers they help create through Crowd Brewing Company but also try more local beers as well.”