Fans of independent beer industry pioneers, Bridge Road Brewers, will soon have the opportunity to own a slice of the company through an upcoming crowd sourced equity raise.

The Beechworth-based brewery is seeking to raise $2.5 million to expand their production capacity, establish a 350-seat brewpub in East Brunswick, as well as achieve ambitious environmental sustainability goals, through carbon capture technology and a 96Kw solar array.

Ben and Maria Kraus founded Bridge Road Brewers in 2005 after experiencing world class beer in Europe and noticing the gap in the Aussie craft beer market. They have grown the brand from humble beginnings to become a leader of the craft beer industry, with national distribution of its products, a 340 seat tap house in Beechworth, and a team of 40 local staff.

Until now, they have self-funded the growth of the family owned and run business. On Tuesday they are inviting their loyal fan base to join them as owners as they take the business forward.

“We have identified exciting opportunities for the business to continue our growth trajectory, however they will require capital to execute on. When considering how to raise this capital, we reflected on our values. We are proudly independent and intensely passionate about what we do. We wanted our capital raise process to be a celebration of who we are collectively as a business and a brand. To us, the logical decision was a crowd sourced equity raise.” Ben Kraus

“We saw an opportunity to invite the people who have been integral to our success – our staff, our community and our customers – to join us in this next exciting phase of growth.” Maria Kraus

“The value proposition to prospective investors is the chance to own a stake in a business they love and believe in. Their investment will enable us to retain our independence and we will work hard to deliver considerable value to them.” Ben Kraus

The expression of interest announcement with equity crowdfund platform Birchal will go live on Tuesday 24 May 2022.