Friday

I used to drink Schlitz. I didn't think it was a bad beer, and it packed a wallop.

BYCU

Innovation and beer: Have you ever heard of Kickstarter? It's an online entrepreneurial funding mechanism. People come up with business ideas but don't have the funds to implement them, so they sign up with Kickstarter, which enables to people to invest in the businesses. I've never done it, but I've heard good things about it.

After reading this, I considered the possibility of trying it:

The popularity of Rust Belt Brewing Co. has grown so much since the brewery's debut in late 2008 that its owners say it is time to expand.

Ken Blair, Daniel McCarthy and Nick Rosich, founders and owners of the Youngstown-based microbrewery, have launched a campaign to raise $30,000 to outsource some of its production to a contract brewer, revamp its human-intensive bottling process and expand into new markets.

The owners say if the campaign can raise those funds by April 14, they will move forward with their expansion plans.

Those interested in donating to the campaign can do so by visiting http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1411104243/craft-brewery-expansion-project.

Unfortunately, the payback on the investment wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought Kickstarter investments were, um, investments. Based on this fundraiser, they're merely donations. I glanced at a few other potential "investments," and they were the same thing: donations, with tokens of appreciation as the incentive.

It's still not a bad idea.