Pilot Project operates as a brewery incubator that provides production capacity, distribution licensing, and programming to help new brewing entrepreneurs launch brands. The company used an $8 million seed raise to acquire assets and expand operations into Milwaukee, including a 70,000-square-foot production facility and the attached Bottlehouse restaurant. Founded in August 2019 by Dan Abel and Jordan Radke, Pilot Project has launched 13 brands in nearly three years, including five women-owned businesses, the second Black brewery in Chicago, and an Indian-inspired brewery. The Milwaukee facility removes a previous capacity bottleneck, enabling higher velocity for onboarding and scaling new concepts and brands. The new space will open in phases over the next nine months, with parts available by November for events, tastings, and hosting existing Pilot Project brands. Pilot Project says it holds the license to distribute for itself and plans to incubate both local Milwaukee brands and geographically dispersed concepts, including a planned Flora Brewing launch.

Total raised

$8M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Oct 2022