Indiana City Brewing Taps BOI Loan to Double Production

Indy native and passionate homebrewer Ray Kamstra had a dream of taking his award-winning beers to the public. In the summer of 2012, he and his wife successfully ran a $30,000 Kickstarter campaign that allowed them to start Indiana City Brewing Co. out of a historic bottling house on Indy’s Near East Side. After renovating the building, opening a taproom, and perfecting their production methods, Indiana City become one of Indy’s hottest craft breweries.

Ray attributes much of their success to the support and advice he received early on from other local brewers. According to Business Ownership Initiative’s President, Carrie Henderson, “Ray did everything right. He started small, controlled his growth, and used cash for early expansions. Not a lot of entrepreneurs are able to stay focused and pull this off.”

However, at some point in every entrepreneur’s journey, there comes a time when taking on debt is required to properly scale a business. Due to Indiana City’s strong brand and limited production, the demand for their brews was rapidly exceeding the supply.

Ray felt the timing was right to look for financing options to purchase additional equipment that would continue supporting their growth. After being disappointed with other financing options, Ray learned about Business Ownership Initiative’s microloan program through the Indy Chamber and decided it was the best fit for his business. This program allowed Ray to qualify for the amount of money he needed and with favorable terms.

Through securing a BOI microloan, Indiana City will be able to brew their most popular limited-release beers on a much bigger scale. According to Ray, “We’re excited to provide Indy’s beer lovers with more of their favorite beers and even more experimentation. Our 2018 plan is to double our production, and without that loan, it wouldn’t even be an option.”

Learn more about Indiana City Brewing Co at IndianaCityBeer.com

Learn more about Business Ownership Initiative's services for entrepreneurs at IndyChamber.com/Entrepreneurship