Looking for a great craft beer? Just head Down the Road..

I have a confession.  I am addicted to kickstarter.com.  I supported my first project about 3 years ago and did not think much about it.  It was funded and I went on with life.  Recently, a friend of mine was talking about all the great projects she has supported and it peeked my interest again. I logged on and was happily hooked on funding projects that gave people a chance to make their dreams come true.  I had to put some measures into place in order to control what could be a costly habit.   I decided to primarily support only local projects.  You want to start a mobile farmers market? a new Vietnamese food truck? a jewelry business?  Please take my money and go forth with your wonderful creations.  In return, I have received cool rewards like tofu buns from Fugu Food truck and a necklace from Organic Natural Linen.  Now these businesses are up and running. They exist because people, like myself, gave them a helping hand.  Since they are such amazing businesses, I will continue to support them through future purchases and they continue to provide great products.  It is a win/win.  Supporting local...it has worked out great for me so far.

About  2 weeks ago, I found a local project that I ranked a "must support immediately" and I did just that. When they become huge, I want to proudly boast "I helped get that going way back when!"  I am talking about the newest craft beer to enter the local market: Down the Road Brewery.  Owner, Donovan Bailey has been home brewing for 20 years.  What started as a hobby, turned into a passion.  There is nothing more admirable than hearing about a brewer that started in his/her own kitchen.  The home brewer is a person that spends countless hours in their house melding flavors together until perfection is created.  They serve friends and family, eager to hear their thoughts and opinions of the newest creation.  When I head to a local brewery, I know I will no doubt love the beer if their story begins with "I was a home brewer for years".  Why?  Because they built their business on old school values, taking time to master their craft and perfecting their beer before presenting it outside their inner circle.  In our little local world, home brewers have turned into amazing breweries such as SlumBrew, Nightshift and Idle Hands.  Down the Road brewery will soon be joining their ranks.   As luck would have it, just hours after supporting his kickstarter to raise funds to get his brewery up and running, I met Donovan at the Hyper Local Brew Fest in Somerville and was able to sample his flavors.  With one sip I knew my investment was a wise one! The flavors of his beer were bold and different.  A new creative twist on traditional brews.  Along with a couple of others, he has two of my favorite types of brews: a Russian Stout and a Belgian Ale. I could live on these alone.  I fancy myself as someone who knows good beer..and this guy is making good beer.  Donovan is also committed to using as many local ingredients as possible, which we all know if very important!  He had a great energy and appeared to genuinely enjoy serving up his brew to me and my friends...when I told him I supported his brewery, he took my photo!

This is Donovan..I stole this  from his kickstarter page

So here is the deal.  Donovan needs our help to get this beer out there.  If you are a reader of this blog, you must love all things local. There are many different levels of funding available with very cool rewards attached.  A backing amount of $25 you will get a pint glass, stickers and a coaster that will entitle you to walk out of the new brewery with 64 ounces of goodness!  The more you give, the better the rewards.
You can learn more about Down the Road Brewery and fund the project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1264064961/get-down-the-road-brewery-moving-down-the-road He only has 46 more days to get this project going!  There is no such thing as too much beer..let's get Down the Road beer in our local bars as soon as possible!

~L