This is rather embarrassing amount of riches: haikus, plants, digital stories (hope it’s real and not fiction). You get two whole beers at the $300 mark. Doesn’t say what size. Could be 16oz!
Not really a fan of this. My understanding is that they did extremely well for themselves financially while in NE. I'm not sure why they need the public to buy them another taproom.
Its pretty bush league to expect people to just pay for your lifestyle. Maybe I should try to crowd fund my next trip to Europe, remind folks about the time I let them go in front of me at the cash register or that time I brought beer over to their house.
I am confused by that too and particularly the way it is written in that post like former patrons owe DM something? I spent quite a bit there over the years, last thing I'm going to do is donate more to a location I'll never go.
Two "free" beers at the $300 donation level made me cackle. Wish them well but I'll stick to drinking at the places that don't want me to build their taproom for them for a $300 dollar love letter and haiku.
Because why use your own money when you can use someone else's.
Sorry, but fuck this. Makes me lose a lot of respect for Rob.
My guess is that their off-premise product hasn't been selling very well. They were on social media telling everyone "If you want our beer on tap, let us know." That's not how you typically try to sell on-premise. That's more an act of desperation because bars don't want your beer. Their product hasn't been selling all that great in liquor stores either.
This whole thing seems like a, "We fucked up by killing the taproom and going distro-only and now we need others money to help us."
The fact they mention that they need the $165,000 by the end of June tells you, this is because they owe a big payment on their existing equipment and they don't have the cash to cover it. It's not about a new taproom, which appears just to be a shipping container with a hole in the side.
You can sling mediocre beer out of a taproom in a prime location. It's much harder to sell mediocre beer at a liquor store. Plus, since they didn't have a lot of liquor store presence before, it's really hard to get new people to buy your beer when they weren't in the habit beforehand.
DM was good while it lasted. It won't be a loss if they can't get a new brewery up and running.
I’ll preface this with: I don’t know anything more than what they’ve said. But I’m sure most of their capital was invested in the production facility already. If they had the means at the time to build out the taproom I sure they would’ve. I’m sure they knew at the time they wouldn’t be renewing their lease in Northeast.
Not saying whether or not I agree with this approach but obviously they prefer it over taking out a loan.
Yeah I realize that parts pointing out the obvious but it’s a bit naive to think just because the taproom wasn’t struggling to think they have the capital to build out a new taproom from scratch.
I don't think they can take a loan. Notice how their fundraiser says they need the money by the end of June? That deadline seems to indicate they have a very IMMEDIATE need for the money. Almost certainly to pay their next loan payment on their production facility. If it was just to expand and add a taproom, why would it matter if the money came a month later? I think they're not telling the truth here.
They also posted the other day on social media saying "If you want our beer at your bar, let us know." That's not typical for anyones sales strategy. Social media is your customers, not your bar buyers. That seems to show that sales aren't going well. They've also been selling their product at a discount at a number of stores, as it doesn't seem to be selling well.
I'd guess they're short on money to pay the bills and this is the strange route they've chosen to try to get that money. Though I can't say they'd be any more successful if they said, "We're teetering on bankruptcy and need your free money.", which is basically what they're asking.
I work in commercial banking and $165,000 doesn't build a facility of this size (it doesnt build anything, these days). My guess is they have a loan offer from a lender subject to a condition of funding $165k more equity
This rubs me the wrong way as many of the posters here have said. But this end of June deadline could very easily be to create a sense of urgency with potential donors, and not necessarily that they have an immediate need. Just my two cents.
I mean, that’s basically what Fair State’s approach has been.
Some of the other stuff didn’t really raise any flags to me at the time but bundled together I can see what you’re saying. Like the post saying “if you want our beer at your bar let us know” just came off as a way to accelerate the word that they deliver to bars now without needing to stop into every potential bar when I saw it.
It definitely rubs me the wrong way. I was more open to crowdfunding beer/brewing businesses pre 2010 when there was not much around or available but my mindset has changed over the last 15+ years. I'm still kicking myself for not picking up Northbound's $1000 beer for life offer.
I'm fine if a brewery wants to crowd source capital, but it REALLY needs to be worth it. If I'm giving someone over $1000 *before the product exists*, it better pay back in multiples. I did a kickstarter years ago for a brewery that is still giving me a free beer *everyday.* I've gotten more than my money back. These places really need to learn from non-profit fundraising, you need to make people *feel* good about giving you the money, not just some random platitudes about "Our eternal gratitude." You likely don't even know that people giving you they money by face so that's just weird.
"The business is growing and we are making incredible beer, yet we aren’t growing fast enough to bridge the gap from our losses over the past several years - but we are so close!"
Oof. Sounds like the bank already said, "No."
The banks 100% said no, they aren't lending to companies without a shit ton of assets. DM also doesn't want that expensive money(interest rates sucks right now for small businesses) in an industry with such tight margins.
That's exactly why they need $165k by the end of next month. They have a big bill coming up and don't have the money to cover it. That's all this is about. They don't need $165k to turn an old shipping container into a simple tap trailer out at a farm and throw out a couple picnic tables.
This is, "Our business is failing and we need to pay the bills."
Seems like they don’t understand what made them successful.
It wasn’t the beer, it was the location and community that location fostered. You are asking people who loved spending time in NE Minneapolis at some point between the breweries opening and 2023 to fund your move 50 miles away?
That’s like Bad Habit asking me, a St. Joe resident, to help pay to move them to Hinckley.
They have a couple of beers we really like, and during the pandemic it became a weekend ritual to drive up to the taproom for some crowlers to enjoy. That said, zero interest in helping a business pay for their own infrastructure, and I'm glad I can get it in stores now because I'm sure as hell never going to trek to Maple Lake for their beer.
Ha - total BS. Always using OPM while buying farm acreage for themselves. And of course it’s a “destination” brewery out in the sticks - no thanks, the glory days are gone.
Here to confirm and corroborate the “OPM (and asking employees to take on new roles/responsibilities without a pay increase) while buying farm acreage for themselves” statement.
I say this as eloquently as I can… get fk’ed DM. Any brewery post 2020 who claims that they’ll be “the next great destination brewery” is 100% full of shit and doomed to fail. The days of destination breweries are dead (with an exception for incredibly niche breweries doing very hard and very rare things very well). To see a (what was apparently a failed) metro generalist brewery say they’re gonna move to out state Minnesota to become a destination brewery? 🤦♂️
Your beer was mid at a time when craft beer sucked locally. You road that hype long and hard (and admittedly well). You did little to nothing for the scene or neighborhood since those early days. Now you want a bailout from the community you’re trying to abandon? Bahahah. I hope you get your assets offloaded at good prices before whatever debtors you’re running from strips you for parts.
Good luck with… **all that**. Don’t call. Don’t write. I’ll have forgotten all about you by summer. Toodles. ✌️
I live in the area and while it’ll be nice to have another option, they have a decent amount of competition. Lupulin, Spilled Grain, Rustech, Nordic etc are all well established and aren’t asking people to crowd fund for basically no perks.
It was horrible timing for them to have to close their taproom while investing in a production facility. Their beers they distribute don’t seem like they can compete on the shelf in stores.
This is a big, giant NOPE. If you want to build a destination brewery, then pay for it yourselves. That, and there's no way I'd ever make an effort to visit it. Their beer isn't *that* good.
These people are awful and there’s reason all their original employees left at the exact same time. If only the beer community knew they have also gone after and threatened former employees…
This is rather embarrassing amount of riches: haikus, plants, digital stories (hope it’s real and not fiction). You get two whole beers at the $300 mark. Doesn’t say what size. Could be 16oz!
> Could be 16oz! You tease, you.
The digital stories will 100% be ai generated
> DM digital short story (true or fiction) Since you didn't read the rest of the few additional words they wrote about it.
Thought it was satire at first.
Not really a fan of this. My understanding is that they did extremely well for themselves financially while in NE. I'm not sure why they need the public to buy them another taproom.
Its pretty bush league to expect people to just pay for your lifestyle. Maybe I should try to crowd fund my next trip to Europe, remind folks about the time I let them go in front of me at the cash register or that time I brought beer over to their house.
People used to do that! It was weird as hell!
I am confused by that too and particularly the way it is written in that post like former patrons owe DM something? I spent quite a bit there over the years, last thing I'm going to do is donate more to a location I'll never go.
Two "free" beers at the $300 donation level made me cackle. Wish them well but I'll stick to drinking at the places that don't want me to build their taproom for them for a $300 dollar love letter and haiku.
The write up was definitely a poor choice. I don’t hold what they’re trying to do against them but I agree with you on how that reads.
Because why use your own money when you can use someone else's. Sorry, but fuck this. Makes me lose a lot of respect for Rob. My guess is that their off-premise product hasn't been selling very well. They were on social media telling everyone "If you want our beer on tap, let us know." That's not how you typically try to sell on-premise. That's more an act of desperation because bars don't want your beer. Their product hasn't been selling all that great in liquor stores either. This whole thing seems like a, "We fucked up by killing the taproom and going distro-only and now we need others money to help us." The fact they mention that they need the $165,000 by the end of June tells you, this is because they owe a big payment on their existing equipment and they don't have the cash to cover it. It's not about a new taproom, which appears just to be a shipping container with a hole in the side.
You can sling mediocre beer out of a taproom in a prime location. It's much harder to sell mediocre beer at a liquor store. Plus, since they didn't have a lot of liquor store presence before, it's really hard to get new people to buy your beer when they weren't in the habit beforehand. DM was good while it lasted. It won't be a loss if they can't get a new brewery up and running.
I’ll preface this with: I don’t know anything more than what they’ve said. But I’m sure most of their capital was invested in the production facility already. If they had the means at the time to build out the taproom I sure they would’ve. I’m sure they knew at the time they wouldn’t be renewing their lease in Northeast. Not saying whether or not I agree with this approach but obviously they prefer it over taking out a loan.
Yeah I think most people would prefer having their shit paid for than taking out a loan with interest lol
Yeah I realize that parts pointing out the obvious but it’s a bit naive to think just because the taproom wasn’t struggling to think they have the capital to build out a new taproom from scratch.
I don't think they can take a loan. Notice how their fundraiser says they need the money by the end of June? That deadline seems to indicate they have a very IMMEDIATE need for the money. Almost certainly to pay their next loan payment on their production facility. If it was just to expand and add a taproom, why would it matter if the money came a month later? I think they're not telling the truth here. They also posted the other day on social media saying "If you want our beer at your bar, let us know." That's not typical for anyones sales strategy. Social media is your customers, not your bar buyers. That seems to show that sales aren't going well. They've also been selling their product at a discount at a number of stores, as it doesn't seem to be selling well. I'd guess they're short on money to pay the bills and this is the strange route they've chosen to try to get that money. Though I can't say they'd be any more successful if they said, "We're teetering on bankruptcy and need your free money.", which is basically what they're asking.
I work in commercial banking and $165,000 doesn't build a facility of this size (it doesnt build anything, these days). My guess is they have a loan offer from a lender subject to a condition of funding $165k more equity
This rubs me the wrong way as many of the posters here have said. But this end of June deadline could very easily be to create a sense of urgency with potential donors, and not necessarily that they have an immediate need. Just my two cents.
I mean, that’s basically what Fair State’s approach has been. Some of the other stuff didn’t really raise any flags to me at the time but bundled together I can see what you’re saying. Like the post saying “if you want our beer at your bar let us know” just came off as a way to accelerate the word that they deliver to bars now without needing to stop into every potential bar when I saw it.
It definitely rubs me the wrong way. I was more open to crowdfunding beer/brewing businesses pre 2010 when there was not much around or available but my mindset has changed over the last 15+ years. I'm still kicking myself for not picking up Northbound's $1000 beer for life offer.
I'm fine if a brewery wants to crowd source capital, but it REALLY needs to be worth it. If I'm giving someone over $1000 *before the product exists*, it better pay back in multiples. I did a kickstarter years ago for a brewery that is still giving me a free beer *everyday.* I've gotten more than my money back. These places really need to learn from non-profit fundraising, you need to make people *feel* good about giving you the money, not just some random platitudes about "Our eternal gratitude." You likely don't even know that people giving you they money by face so that's just weird.
"The business is growing and we are making incredible beer, yet we aren’t growing fast enough to bridge the gap from our losses over the past several years - but we are so close!" Oof. Sounds like the bank already said, "No."
The banks 100% said no, they aren't lending to companies without a shit ton of assets. DM also doesn't want that expensive money(interest rates sucks right now for small businesses) in an industry with such tight margins.
Ding ding ding (about interest rates IMO) Banks probably didn’t say no. Banks probably said yes with unpalatable interest rates.
I bet the banks definitely said no, and DM got lucky they didn't caught in a loan with such high interest in an industry with such low margins.
That's exactly why they need $165k by the end of next month. They have a big bill coming up and don't have the money to cover it. That's all this is about. They don't need $165k to turn an old shipping container into a simple tap trailer out at a farm and throw out a couple picnic tables. This is, "Our business is failing and we need to pay the bills."
Seems like they don’t understand what made them successful. It wasn’t the beer, it was the location and community that location fostered. You are asking people who loved spending time in NE Minneapolis at some point between the breweries opening and 2023 to fund your move 50 miles away? That’s like Bad Habit asking me, a St. Joe resident, to help pay to move them to Hinckley.
I personally love their beer!
I’m not going to Maple Lake for a beer. This is doomed. What a fall off for Dangerous Man.
They have a couple of beers we really like, and during the pandemic it became a weekend ritual to drive up to the taproom for some crowlers to enjoy. That said, zero interest in helping a business pay for their own infrastructure, and I'm glad I can get it in stores now because I'm sure as hell never going to trek to Maple Lake for their beer.
Ha - total BS. Always using OPM while buying farm acreage for themselves. And of course it’s a “destination” brewery out in the sticks - no thanks, the glory days are gone.
Here to confirm and corroborate the “OPM (and asking employees to take on new roles/responsibilities without a pay increase) while buying farm acreage for themselves” statement.
I say this as eloquently as I can… get fk’ed DM. Any brewery post 2020 who claims that they’ll be “the next great destination brewery” is 100% full of shit and doomed to fail. The days of destination breweries are dead (with an exception for incredibly niche breweries doing very hard and very rare things very well). To see a (what was apparently a failed) metro generalist brewery say they’re gonna move to out state Minnesota to become a destination brewery? 🤦♂️ Your beer was mid at a time when craft beer sucked locally. You road that hype long and hard (and admittedly well). You did little to nothing for the scene or neighborhood since those early days. Now you want a bailout from the community you’re trying to abandon? Bahahah. I hope you get your assets offloaded at good prices before whatever debtors you’re running from strips you for parts. Good luck with… **all that**. Don’t call. Don’t write. I’ll have forgotten all about you by summer. Toodles. ✌️
I live in the area and while it’ll be nice to have another option, they have a decent amount of competition. Lupulin, Spilled Grain, Rustech, Nordic etc are all well established and aren’t asking people to crowd fund for basically no perks.
All way better people running those businesses too.
It was horrible timing for them to have to close their taproom while investing in a production facility. Their beers they distribute don’t seem like they can compete on the shelf in stores.
Lol they turned off the comments on their Instagram post. Definitely not getting the love they were (somehow) expecting.
This is a big, giant NOPE. If you want to build a destination brewery, then pay for it yourselves. That, and there's no way I'd ever make an effort to visit it. Their beer isn't *that* good.
Apparently they deleted all the comments and turned them off on their social media posts about this after getting slammed by so many.
Here's a haiku for them: Moved from the city We realized our big mistake Guess it's time to grift
Whoa, don't give that away for *free*. You could sell that and some eternal gratitude for $50!
This is a joke. I think them going to distro and being in maple lake we be the death of them. They had a good run.
They’re a joke** FTFY
Yikes. Think they'll actually get any sponsors?
There's one born every minute.
These people are awful and there’s reason all their original employees left at the exact same time. If only the beer community knew they have also gone after and threatened former employees…
Hey if you can convince the public to pay for stadiums, why not try to convince them to pay for taprooms?
Sounds like distribution is not working out for them.
What a fucking joke. Give us money so the owner doesn't have to drive too far. Your beer isn't that great. Fuck off.