Crowdsourced beers? MobCraft builds inventory through customer submissions, votes

December 16, 2013Chris Crowell

Crowdsourced-MobCraft-beers — MobCraft’s previous crowdsourced creation: The Chocolate Banana Stout. Slight banana on the nose, dark roasted malts a subtle hint of chocolate and a back of the tongue taste of banana. Fermented with 70 lbs of pureed bananas.

A new brewery in Madison, Wis., is looking to corner the craft brew market by being one with said market. MobCraft is pitching its crowdsourced beer platform, where interested homebrewers or fans can submit ideas for beers the company will brew. There is then a vote on a monthly batch. The beers are brewed, packaged in a four-pack of 22-ounce bottles and are then available at the Madison brewhouse or shipped to you through online retailers.

Starting with this month’s batch, the fifth overall, users from outside the city of Madison can cast a vote and make the final purchase through an online liquor store and have the beer shipped to them. Votes were accepted through Dec. 14 on MobCraft’s website.

“MobCraft is all about giving the people what they want. We want homebrewers, beer nuts or anyone who wants to try something new to have a say in the beer we make,” said Henry Schwartz, owner and founder of MobCraft Beer LLC. “Our new website is up and running where users can submit ideas, vote and learn about the beers we are making each month. It helps people get even closer to the beer they drink.”

MobCraft Beer founders Henry Schwartz, Andrew Gierczak and Giotto Troia come from long lines of entrepreneurs and fermentation adventurers including craft beer and wine making. They push the traditional flavors of beer with gourmet spins from their passion of international travel and exotic ingredients. Thus far batches have included Arabian Date Night, a spiced barley wine, brewed with dates, vanilla beans and aged in a brandy oak barrel, Praerie Fyre Amber Ale with ghost chilies, Most Mobbed 2XIPA and many more.