“If we were going to enter the market in 2018, it felt only right that we take a different approach, one where we felt we were offering something unique, something special,” says Brian Strumke, founder of Stillwater Artisanal.

And Strumke is planning to do just that with the opening of Production, the company’s first bricks and mortar operation, when it launches in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at the end of 2018.

The focus for Strumke, who founded Stillwater Artisanal in 2010, is to open a space that is defined by creativity, invention and experimentation.  This will comprise a fermentation facility and barrel-ageing room, along with a bar, events space, restaurant and more.

“This has always been a goal of mine,” Strumke tells us. “Production is an evolution of the project I started eight years ago. I want a lab, the ability to experiment. The gipsy side of what we do will continue, but this gives us something new.”

He explains: “Brewing at other brewer’s operations has been great for many reasons. But despite being a home brewer for years before starting this business, I’ve always labelled myself a beer designer rather than a brewer.

“It’s disrespectful to call myself a brewer when so many talented people are helping create these abstract beer ideas I come up with. But with Production, I’ll have the ability to explore beer styles I’ve not been able to fully immerse myself in, until now.

“And that means wild fermentation and barrel-aged sours. Being able to respect space and time, to give beer aged in wood the due care and attention it needs.”

Stillwater Artisanal has estimated the cost to achieve its goals at Production to come in around $1.8 million (£1.27million). Strumke is hoping to raise $1 million through contributions made by attracting Revenue-Share investors using Regulation CF authorized platform GrowthFountain.

This means Investors will be considered debtors and will receive 5% of Production’s gross revenues, up to a 200% cash-on-cash return, which is paid on an annual basis.

The company’s projections estimate that the capped rate of return will be paid back to revenue-share investors within nine years.

In addition, Strumke is offering ‘perks’ based on the level of investment made. These span from beer, discounts and merchandise to an all-inclusive, around-the-world beer adventure for you and three friends with Strumke, and much more, if you’re willing to stump up the $1million.

“At the start, Gipsy brewing was a way for me to lead into having a brewery. But as time went by, coupled with the success the beers had, I ended up in a situation where lots of fantastic brewers and breweries would open their facility for you to work in,” he explains.

Strumke adds: “And for someone like me, who is self-taught, it was very special to be making these abstract beer styles across the globe. These beers didn’t fall into categories, they were evolutions of beers I made in my backyard in Baltimore.

“So to be ranked second in the ‘Best New Brewers in the World’ category by RateBeer so early on in Stillwater’s life, and to be considered one the Top 100 breweries in the world is really rewarding.

“It’s weird for me though, at the same time. My goal was never to enter competitions as those categories are very strict and I came into beer wanting to disrupt the industry. If I’m part of a contest then I’m putting myself in a box, and that not me.

“So awards are nice as people have recognised the quality but I’m also surprised to receive them as our beers have always been so abstract.”

Strumke points out that the first five years of Stillwater Artisanal would have disappointed IPA fans. Not one was produced. Instead, he preferred to focus heavily on farmhouse style beers.

“I liked the idea of farmhouse beers as they are undefined. It’s more of a philosophy than a style. You’d have originally brewed with what was available to you on the farm. I appreciated the attributes of those beers in the sense that they’d be dry beers. That saison characteristic resonated with me,” he says.

Strumke adds: “But what happened was while, in my mind, I was trying to do new beer styles, people were lumping us into recognisable categories. That is frustrating for any artist. People would pass comment and say ‘Brian makes saisons’ and that pissed me off.

“I was being put into the box that had been built for me. So the logical response was to move away from that and brew a dry-hopped Lager, IPA and Smoked Imperial Stout. I wanted to show people I could make other beers and enjoy them too.

“Salvador Dali was criticised by the realist crowd for focusing on surrealist paintings. People said he wasn’t classically-trained. So he showed them he could do just that. That’s how I felt!”

And with the launch of Production, Strumke is keen to show people once more of what Stillwater Artisanal can do.

“The brewing scene is massively growing, like so many places,” he says. “In 2018 we weren’t going to open up a straight-forward brewery. Coming into beer in 2010, I knew I wanted to shake it up. And I think we helped do that. Beer now is a monster, and we want to shake it up again.”