Own your brewery - is crowdfunding good for the British brewing industry?

This rise in popularity of craft ale has brought with it a desire and passion for many to start brewing their own ales. This isn’t like the homebrews of the 80’s, rancid strong liquid only fit for stripping wallpaper. These guys are cooking up some seriously sophisticated, flavoursome beers.

And now with social networks and crowdfunding websites home brewers can realise their dreams becoming successful nano-brewers, craft brewers or even brewpubs.

America is seeing a huge trend in nano-breweries with hundreds popping up across the country. And the UK is hot on their heels.

Kickstarter, CrowdCube or self-funding projects publicised through social media channels are becoming more prevalent. But what effect will this have on the British brewing landscape? More choice, innovation, collaborative working and small businesses having access to funds that wouldn't normally be available?

Or on the flip side what’s the potential negative impact on the sector? Inexperienced people jumping on the craft ale bandwagon with no real expertise or business sense damaging the renaissance the sector is currently enjoying. What about market saturation, is this a risk? And let’s not forget many of these ales won’t reach enough people with limited distribution and will probably lack spare funds after investing in their brewing capabilities to actively market their products.

Only time will tell what the true impact will be on the industry but for now consumers can enjoy a astounding array of quality ale.

Cheers.