Kickstarter

The Clamp and Gasket will be a craft brewery that will also potentially serve as a training facility teaching practical techniques of the small to midsized brewery and advanced home brewing topics. Here are the nuts and bolts of the project, or in our terms, the clamp and gasket of things. We want to create amazing craft beers that are true to style and really emphasize what craft beer is all about. Beyond beer with flavor and integrity, we want to create a culture of open communication between us and our customers, whether it is talking with them at various beer events, teaching classes in various aspects of craft brewing, or via our “virtual boardroom”. The Clamp and Gasket space will support a sense of community as well; providing opportunities to work with local farmers and schools to help us create a sustainable brewery, as well as an inviting meeting spot and a unique facility for public and private events.

We understand it is one thing to have a dream and another to actually have the skills to make that dream come true. Bryan has been working in the industry for over 7 years, in the Chicago area, and prior to that, a very methodical microbiologist. Karina has been a teacher for the past 6 years and is working towards an administrative certification. In her spare time she has been under the tutelage of Bryan, learning the ways of making great home brews. In addition to our skill repertoire, we also have a series of very inspirational fortunes that tell us that it is time to start a new adventure. We’ve been hard at work for over a year now developing the Clamp and Gasket, and we are confident that, with our skills combined, we will be able to make our dream a reality.

We Need Your Support!
The process of opening a brewery in Chicago is not for the faint of heart, and of course, we are working with some serious red tape. Our initial plan is working on acquiring the old Beverly Branch library from the City, which requires a lengthy proposal and proof of funding before we can even continue with the project. We do have a plan B for another location, but the funding requirements for equipment will still remain the same. Before we can start commercial production of our beer we need to be licensed with the State and Federal government. This process will require us to secure our brewery location with a lease and set up our entire brewing system before we can even apply for these licenses.
Then, we wait. And we wait some more until we get the green light. Our goal is to raise a minimum of $40,000. So of course, we can’t do this without you!
The way Kickstarter works is all or nothing. In order for us to receive the money we raise, we MUST meet our goal. If we do not meet our goal by July 31st, then we don’t get any money and you don’t get any beer or other fun things. And we know you really want the beer!
The money raised from this Kickstarter project will get us the start-up capital needed to get up and brewing. It will help us pay for things such as brewery equipment and ingredients for our first batches of beer.  

As soon as our project is funded, our RFP is granted (it is due August 3rd, wish us luck!), we will secure our brewery location, fix up the place, set up our brew house, submit our license application and then wait for approval before we start commercial production. We plan to have our beer on the streets within a year upon completion of building renovations.

All individuals donating money to our adventure will be invited to attend a release party upon completion. The time, date and location to be determined.