Crowd-funding campaign for J Wakefield Brewing approaches $100,000

The J Wakfield Brewing crowd-funding campaign, being run on the crowdbrewed.com platform, continues to smash records. The campaign has been so successful that it fully funded the original goal of $55,000 within the first 24 to 48 hours and is now approaching the $100,000 level.

Based on the speed in which the campaign reached its initial goal and the amount of funds raised, the campaign will achieve the highest level of funds raised in the shortest period of time in craft beer crowd-funding campaign history, according to the company.

“This is exactly why we created and started CrowdBrewed”, said Mark Slattery, chief marketing officer of CrowdBrewed. “We love craft beer and have seen first hand the support that the craft beer community can rally. It’s a tight-knit community that will go out of its way to support their brothers and sisters brewing great beer in North America.”

CrowdBrewed.com is a donation/reward crowd-funding platform for craft brewers and industry affiliates who want to raise money for their breweries, to add new beers to their catalog, pitch a product and to spread the word to the crowd. Brewers and industry affiliates can create fundraising campaigns that tell their story and pitch their campaign to a crowd of donors in exchange for a reward or product. CrowdBrewed is also a place to discover new beers, learn about brewing and show your passion for the industry by getting involved.

“Ever since we first met Johnathan Wakefield at the West Palm Beach Brew Fest, we knew that we’d do everything in our power to help him achieve his goals,” Slattery said. “Not only are his beers some of the best in the country, but he’s a great guy that has become a friend to us, and we’re just as excited as I’m sure he is about his success.”

Although it’s a long shot, theoretically, if this rate of funding were to continue, the crowd-funding campaign would raise close to $1 million. This level of success could raise the attention of larger brewing corporations, as well as craft beer makers looking for the right crowd-funding platform for their project.

“From a marketing perspective, we did our best to hit the right demographics and worked with Johnathan to come up with the best rewards that his growing number of followers and other craft beer enthusiasts were just waiting to snatch up,” Slattery said.

What will Wakefield do with the excess funds? With the excess funds already raised, he is planning to upgrade the taproom with an improved bar, better seating and additional amenities that will keep his customers as comfortable as possible. The next step will be to add another fermenter, which will raise his brewing capacity and allow for more special beers, and create a “barrel program” to acquire used barrels to age their beer, again allowing for more unique and special beers.