First into the investors’ Clubhouse is Cary Prewitt of Guns & Oil beer. He is seeking $800,000 for 8 percent equity for his craft beer.
What better way to start an episode of “West Texas Investors Club” than with beer? Rooster McConaughey has been enjoying the same beer for 40 years and questions if there’s anything better out there. He hopes his “blue collar” lager can compete with the big brands. Last year, they sold $830,000 worth of beer but didn’t make any profit.
McConaughey admits the beer is “all right” but it doesn’t end up beating out his 40-year favorite. The challenge is to put the taste to the test at Corky’s Bar and Grill.
As they serve drinks, the customers don’t look too impressed. Gil Prather points out that the goal is to sell the beer, but he keeps giving it away. McConaughey and Butch Gilliam refocus the challenge by directly asking the customers what they really think about the beer…and Prewitt.
Social reactions from Guns & Oil’s appearance on “West Texas Investors Club”:
Signing a lease before knowin' the logistics of the rent? That's like buying the cow before tryin' the milk! #WestTexasInvestors
— Rooster McConaughey (@RoosterWTIC) June 22, 2016
No one can say the #WestTexasInvestors don't give ya'll a second opportunity to do it right #CNBC #Cary
— Daniel Pronych (@danielpronych) June 22, 2016
For the evening, 121 cans of Prewitt’s beer were sold, of which 115 given away. There were 16 big brand beers sold.
Since the challenge was derailed at Corky’s, McConaughey and Gilliam decide to take him to Proof, a more “high-class” bar, where it is received better. Guns & Oil takes the win for the night at Proof, making it a difficult decision for McConaughey and Gilliam.
They worry about his need to create a brand image (where the beer is made only in Texas) and question how he changed his tone at each bar—from rude to a salesman—, calling it an “identity crisis.”
Looking for a deal, Prewitt turns up the heat back at the Clubhouse. They want him to lose the brewery idea in Texas but he says that makes him seem “inauthentic.”
Taking a chance, they offer him a deal as part of an oil well for five percent, where he owns five percent of the well and they own five percent of the brewery, which he accepts.
What did you think of Guns & Oil?