Shawn Grose and his brother Aaron hope to open Windmill Pointe Brewery next year in Eastern Market, an area once home to the Stroh Brewery Co. But rather than rely on beer history to promote their company, they are turning to power generation to help sell suds, as shown and explained in the video below.
Shawn and Aaron Grose
The startup venture earns coverage from Mike Ramsey in The Wall Street Journal:
The Grose brothers intend to outfit the microbrewery with stationary bikes wired to produce the energy needed to brew beer. They estimate that Joe Sixpack can pedal at a rate to produce two to three beers an hour. Customers can shed calories and save energy before kicking back to drink some of the beer they helped create.
“We are trying to change the mode of biking from recreation and transportation to energy production,” Shawn Grose, a former science teacher, said. “We’ve been talking about this [for] seven years, and there comes a time when you either keep on dreaming or bring that dream into reality.”
Time logged on the stationary bikes leads to award points that can be used to buy things from the gift shop, or to earn a free beer.
An Indiegogo fund drive this year fell far short of its $50,000 goal, raising $8,545 from 100 donors in two months -- enough to cover licensing costs, with $3,500 left over. The pitch there said the brothers need another $40,000 for brewing equipment and bikes.
They project a total startup cost of $125,000 for the "sustainable brewing adventure, as shown at right.
They also pledge:
We’ll collaborate with organizations that also make a difference in Metro Detroit. We’ve entered into a relationship with the world-renowned Pewabic Pottery to brew a beer that supports their educational foundation.
