OurBrew - seeking advice around a new idea

[Danis]

Hi guys I am new to this site but thought I would post a forum as me and two of my mates have just started a new idea called OurBrew and we are looking for feedback.

Basically we are trying to get 3000 beer drinkers together and with the help of a brewery make a brand new beer from scratch with the crowd having weekly votes and discussions deciding style, name, tasting sessions, launches, everything.


Check out our website www.ourbrew.co.nz and I would love to hear some feedback - any suggestions, comments or advice.

[Stu McKinlay]

It looks like a bit of fun but I reckon you'll end up with a pretty insipid mainstream beer at the end of it.

Will the voting be MMP, FPP, STV? What's in it for fans of the more esoteric styles? How do I campaign for an Imperial Stout?

I guess it is more about the feelgood brand than the beer (oh, and making some $$$$).

[Danis]

Yeah it could definitely end up being a lager or pilsner. But hopefully a lot of people will be real beer drinkers and be willing to try something new. Though it seems Macs and Montieths have paved the way for people to experiment a little bit.

[nzbrewer]

Stu

maybe this could be a way to get more people to join SOBA, but more importantly if all SOBA members agreed on your Imperial Stout recipe and name, and all voted for the same thing then the weighting should make sure the beer gets through.

the crowd approach doesn't work, you end up with mediocre, a reflection of the crowd, the big brewers are already catering for this group, with very acceptable products (for this crowd)

[Danis]

Appreciate your comments but you said "the crowd approach doesn't work, you end up with mediocre, a reflection of the crowd"

Doesn't that therefore mean it works?

And this hasn't been done before, maybe the crowd will surprise you, especially at tasting sessions when they can actually taste beers without any packaging or advertsining getting in the way.

[Tony]

Danis that is exactly our point! We (SOBA) are not 'the crowd' (although we would like the crowd to come round to our way of thinking), we are a society that advocate the drinking of quality, non-mainstream beers. We like to experiment and brew our own (in the most part), but also drink good quality micro-brew beers. If you are the type that would settle for the mediocre, because that is what has been decided on, by the masses, then be my guest.

Read the posts on various debates on beer styles, etc and you may get an impression of the depth of feeling and the various tastes that are out there.

Question: Are you a you a brewery employee (hag)?

NB: apologies if I have spoken out of turn for any other SOBA members out there.

[Danis]

No I do not work for a brewery, just a kid with an idea and thought I would try get some feedback from you guys.

Appreciate your points Tony and each to their own I guess. Hopefully some people see will the merits in what we are trying to do, exploring new ways of looking how beer (mainstream or otherwise) is produced and marketed.

[nzbrewer]

if you are looking for a recipe for the beer, I would suggested that the crowd has already decided that they like the taste of Speights.

[nzbrewer]

but I must say OurBrew has done well to get the coverage they have got in only a few short days. that piece that was in Springwise was massive, I got 8 seperate emails from different people asking me if I knew what was going on. and I still don't

[Danis]

Happy to provide any information email me at [e-mail]

[Steve Plowman]

I suspect starting off this concept with a beer might be a bit ambitious. It may work better starting with something simple like "oursandwich.co.nz" for example.

[Danis]

From other crowd sourcing projects around the world we realised it was key to find a product that was widely loved like football in UK or music in US (where this model has been successful).

Basically, people wouldnt be interested in voting and discussing sandwiches but beer spurs debate and opinion very quickly.

[Steve Plowman]

You have obviously never eaten a New York Ruben sandwich, I could talk about that all day, ham or pastrami, mustard or New York sauce...........