Seventh Son Brewing launches Kickstarter campaign for final funding

Last time I spoke to the Seventh Son Brewing Company, they were planning to be open… well, right about now.

However, it seems they aren’t going to be open for several more weeks – and they also need your help raising additional funds to complete the project.

Seventh Son partners Collin Castore, Jen Burton and Travis Spencer quietly launched a Kickstarter campaign today to raise $25,000. According to the campaign site, the funds will be used for “a few projects that will help the brewery to shine. We would like to add a layer of insulation to our roof to make our building more energy efficient, customize our delivery vehicle, incorporate additional landscaping, resurface and stripe our parking lot, and purchase custom dyes and patterning for our floors.”

Backer rewards range from stickers ($2) to a brew named after you ($1,000). Another new Columbus brewery, Oval Brewing Company, successfully raised $31,100 from Kickstarter earlier this year.

While a lot of Kickstart campaigns launch to fully fund a project that has no pre-existing funds, Seventh Son already has money behind them. Most of their funding comes from a Small Business Administration loan, but they do have several private investors – who get more than stickers in exchange for their dollars.

You can back the Kickstarter campaign here. Kickstarter offers all-or-nothing fundraising, so if Seventh Son doesn’t raise the full $25,000 by August 3rd, they get nothing, and backers pay nothing.

BONUS: Track Seventh Son’s fundraising progress through Columbus-based startup Kicktraq, a cool data tool for Kickstarter project owners (and interested observers.)

UPDATE: I learned a little more from the Seventh Son folks about the reason for the Kickstarter and their current progress. In an email, Collin said:

We are looking at [the Kickstarter campaign] as funding; but just as importantly as a way to get people excited about the brewery and the beer. It lets you tell the story and also pre-sell shirts, koozies, naming, etc., that get people talking about and excited about our brewery. We are working every day and doing everything we can to get the doors open; but as with any construction project things can drag. Even if we are waiting for some additional infrastructure for brewing and bottling we are hoping to be open as an event space in very soon (July). [The funding will be used for] a more energy efficient roof, some cool finishing touches in the outdoor beer garden, and a start to a small community garden. If we do exceptionally well we would love to resurface our parking lot. We’re going to be the new site for the Columbus Flea events and also have food truck lunch days in the lot. The Flea partnership should be a lot of fun, because we’ll be able to make a special shandy or summer sipper for while you shop.