Kara and Ben Fosland are opening a family-run brewery, Pleasant Prairie Brewing, in Scobey, Montana. Our goal is to create a space where people can enjoy quality, local beer and come together in support of the community and local causes. We are excited to bring a new business to town and hope you will consider supporting us!

We plan to have 6-8 beers on tap at any given time, with approximately half being mainstays and the others rotating. So there will be a variety to choose from. We also plan to provide house-made craft sodas for the under-21 crowd. As new parents, we appreciate the family-friendly atmosphere of many Montana breweries and we want to make sure ours is as well.

What are our plans for the money?

The money raised through this site will go specifically toward purchasing our brewing system, a Blichmann 5-barrel system. When we said we wanted to brew quality beer, we meant it. And this system will allow us to accomplish that. As you can imagine, there's no shortage of things to spend money on when you're starting a new business. And there are a lot of hacks and cost-cutting measures that you can use to get up and running. We've been unable to secure a used system thus far, and really, when it came to the centerpiece of the brewery, we felt strongly that we should buy new. We're doing our best to make sure we're spending money in the right places, and this is one item that we felt was worthy enough to ask for some help. You can see the brew system here.

Where Are We in the Process?

As you may know, we have already purchased much of the necessary equipment to begin brewing from Missouri Breaks Brewing, in Wolf Point, Montana. (That is, except for our brewing system). They are in the process of moving to a larger system, and we were able to purchase a good portion of the smaller system for our brewery. (And really, that's how this whole rollercoaster ride began). Fermenters, pumps, heat exchangers, conditioning tanks, are already covered. Our remaining "must have" is our brewing system (the focus of this fundraiser).

We currently plan to build a new building on the corner of Main Street and Smith Avenue in Scobey. We closed on the property on February 21, 2020, and are now working to organize construction. Of course, there are still many hoops to jump through with contractors, licensing and inspections, and then making all that delicious beer. But we're committed to doing all those earlier things in order to get to that last part.

What's in it for you?

Well, you will get exclusive early access to our awesome merchandise, along with some outstanding experiences and opportunities, including taking advantage of early access to our Mug Club! In the Mug Club you'll get a specially customized mug that we'll keep in the taproom for whenever you visit, along with a few other exclusive perks of being a member of the Mug Club, including $1 off each beer for the duration of your membership. At higher donation levels, donors will also be invited to exclusive special events, including tastings and private events prior to the brewery's grand opening. For those donating $500 or more, your name will even be included on our "Founders Wall" in the brewery. Pretty small price to pay for immortality, right!?

Getting your stuff...

We plan to ship t-shirts by mid-to-late May 2020 to get you outfitted in your new Pleasant Prairie Brewing gear as soon as possible. Pint glasses and growlers will be available for pickup or can be shipped, if requested.

The Bottom Line - Why Donate?

We've already bought into the idea of this business. But we want the community, and you, to buy into it too. We've been homebrewing since 2012, which we enjoy immensely, and we've been working for years to turn this brewery idea into a reality. We first seriously considered it back in 2016 and ran the numbers. But at that time, we just weren't in a financial position to take the leap. Knowing where we wanted to go, we've spent the last three years vigorously paying down debt (Ben's a lawyer, so two words: student loans). And so, in December, when we heard Missouri Breaks was selling their equipment, we were finally in a position where we could pull the trigger.

So it may appear at first glance that we're in the beginning stages of this process, but for us, we can finally see the end of a years-long journey to bring our vision into being. There have already been a lot of late nights, early mornings, and weekends spent dreaming and discussing, brewing, running numbers, evaluating suppliers, putting together budgets and operating expenses, and multitude of other things related to the enterprise. We realize there will be many more before we can open our doors. But we believe that this brewery can be a positive force in our community. We're committed to seeing this through and we'd love to have your support.

Keeping up with our progress

• Like our page on Facebook! Pleasant Prairie Brewing
• Follow us on Instagram! - pleasantprairiebrewing