Business: Brewery
Location: St. Paul
Offering Date: January 19, 2017
Fundraising Goal: $450,000
How is it possible for a start-up craft brewery to make history before its doors open? Make sure those doors are attached to a historic brewing landmark! That’s what Clutch Brewing Company owners, Max Boeke and Jordan Standish, did when they signed their leasing agreement in early 2017 to occupy the historic Schmidt brewery located on West Seventh Street in St. Paul.
But before making history, Standish and Boeke were all about making beer.
More than a decade ago, the friends turned business partners began homebrewing as a hobby. Standish, a former beer distributor for powerhouse Flat Earth Brewing Company, and Boeke, head of his family carpentry and construction business, combined their skills set to create the first batches with curiosity and crudely fashioned homebrewing equipment. As time passed, Standish and Boeke upgraded their equipment and became deft in brewing.
Years of weekends spent homebrewing paid off as word spread about Standish and Boeke and their batches of wickedly tasty and unique interpretations of IPAs, stouts and porters. With their brews gaining popularity, the creative duo launched Clutch Brewing Co. to reach a broader audience.
In starting Clutch, Standish and Boeke were strategic in finding its voice in Minnesota’s crowded microbrewing market. As musicians, they understand the importance of integrating the arts to facilitate identification with communities. And community is at the heart of the operation. The owners have committed to partnering with local artists to display art in Clutch on the Mezzanine level of the highly anticipated Keg and Case Market located in St. Paul’s iconic Schmidt brewery.
But reaching out to the arts community is only the beginning.
Standish and Boeke want to engage everyday people in Clutch’s development by becoming Founding Members. Through the relatively new MNvest legislation, Clutch can offer shares of their company to beer lovers and anyone who believes in the importance of businesses being community-focused. When history is being made, it is important to be on the right side of it.
To learn more about Clutch Brewing Company and ways to invest, click here.
MNvest is a Minnesota law permitting investment crowdfunding, a new way to fund Minnesota's growing businesses. Similar to reward-based crowdfunding sites (like Kickstarter), MNvest enables Minnesota businesses to legally advertise investment opportunities to all Minnesota residents.