Beer, right when you need it most

Hunter Elwood discusses Beerrightnow.com, his beer-delivery Web site. The site promises a selection of over 50 beers and delivery time under two hours. He charges $3 to deliver the first case, and $1 for each case after that.

It's Monday night. Some friends are coming over to watch the football game in a couple hours. Only one thing is on your mind - we're going to need beer.

That's where Hunter Elwood - and his Web site, Beerrightnow.com - comes in.

The site allows anyone over 21 years old to place a beer order from among over 50 beers and to have the case or keg delivered straight to your door within an hour or two.

"You can just log on to a Web site, and then within two minutes have your order ready, and then you can just sit back and relax and not do anything," Elwood said.

The Philadelphia-based site launched a month ago, and the 24-year-old Elwood is its president.

The service is currently only available in certain zip codes in Philadelphia - including 19104 - though Elwood hopes to expand to other parts of the state and perhaps the country.

Local beer vendors - like Springfield Beer Distributor, located near 27th and South streets - offer similar delivery services. Springfield, however, takes 24 hours to drop it off.

Already, the service has seen great success, Elwood said, though he said he didn't have a count of how many people have used the site.

"We've had next to no advertising, and, somehow, through word of mouth, it's spread," Elwood said. "But we're going to [advertise], and once that hits, the sky's the limit."

He anticipates $1 million in revenue this year.

Of course, the service won't be helpful to every student. Elwood said his company is very careful not to serve to underage drinkers.

Before entering the site, a user must click to confirm he or she is 21 years old. Then, someone from Beerrightnow will call the user to again confirm age before the beer leaves the warehouse. Finally, the delivery person will check for identification before handing over the goods.

"There are so many people who are 21 or over that it would be pointless to sell it to someone underage," Elwood said.

And if you're caught trying to order with a fake ID or without an ID, your house will be blacklisted from ever getting a delivery again.

Though the site is similar to other food-delivery Web sites - like Campusfood.com and Eatnow.com - Elwood said Beerrightnow is the only beer-ordering site available.

And he definitely thinks the need for this kind of service is there.

"I think an entrepreneur would find whatever market is needed, and I saw a need," he said. We're serving "anyone over 21, who likes beer, who doesn't want to have to drive."

Right now, the majority of orders have been for one or two cases, but students can use the site to order kegs for large parties too.

The delivery service is available Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The site charges $3 for delivery of the first case and $1 for every case after that, with a maximum $6 delivery charge.

Springfield's delivery service is free for Penn's zip code and several others in Philadelphia.

Prices for a case of beer on Beerrightnow range from $12.49 for Budweiser to $86.99 for Chimay, comparable to other local distributors.

Kegs range from $74.99 for Yuengling Lager to $173 for Guinness Stout.

Elwood plans to add many more beer options to the site in the coming months.

College sophomore Robby Harding said he used the site recently and was very satisfied with the service.

"It was convenient and easy and not very expensive," he said.

And even those loyal to Springfield's low prices said they saw Beerrightnow's niche - when parties run out of beer, and they need it fast.

"I think we'd be interested in using it," College senior Peter Fielding said. "Especially nights when we ran out of beer, when we'd need more beer than we planned on."

Comments (13)

So you think it will "end up in the hands of minorities ." Are you saying minorities shouldn't be able to have beer delivered to him? That's just wrong.

[QUOTE id="514dcbe8-bad1-4a1e-a2c3-738cef23a9d9"]How is this even possible? The lawsuits that will raindown when one of these beer deliveries eventually end up in the hands of minorities and death. The worst idea ever. How do you even get liability insurance for a beer delivery business? I am shocked that this business has even seen the light of day. I suspect we will be reading about a lawsuit in the future[/QUOTE] YOU ARE CRAZY STUPID!!!! THIS IS THE BEST IDEA EVER!!! GO SUCK ON A NUT

There is already a major brand out there for online beer delivery, TheBeerGuy.com. TheBeerGuy has been around for 5 years already, and services most of Canada. Their deliveries are under 1 hour, and their product is cold. From my perspective, this guy copied The Beer Guy, and it's not some original idea on his part. He should stop broadcasting it's his idea.

[QUOTE id="3736ae27-9e23-47ab-a364-c0677bed176b"]unless you are having an afternoon party, i dont think a delivery service that closes at 7 PM and takes one or two hours to deliver on saturday will do much good for parties that run out of beer.... and the fact that this article/advertisement took up 2/3 of the front page space is shameful - are you so desperate to get Friday readers that you seize the opportunity to write BEER in capitals across the headline even if the story is definitely inside material.[/QUOTE] yeah, and in a paper with probably half of its readership being under 21. apparently the fact that this guy runs his business in philly is enough reason to put it on the front of our school's paper. stay tuned for next friday's full font page ad for "that shady guy who sells crack at 49th and market." hey, at least it makes us feel more like a part of the community.

[QUOTE id="1c4813c7-8fe6-438c-b674-3e731d2ed197"]College 'sophomore' Robby Harding? Wouldnt that make him...19? I thought so. His birthday on Facebook is March 9, 1987. What was that about checking IDs again?[/QUOTE] Case of Molson Golden Ale $19. 99 Bag of Herr's Potato Chips $2.49 Incriminating your newly found business. Priceless

How is this even possible? The lawsuits that will raindown when one of these beer deliveries eventually end up in the hands of minorities and death. The worst idea ever. How do you even get liability insurance for a beer delivery business? I am shocked that this business has even seen the light of day. I suspect we will be reading about a lawsuit in the future

unless you are having an afternoon party, i dont think a delivery service that closes at 7 PM and takes one or two hours to deliver on saturday will do much good for parties that run out of beer.... and the fact that this article/advertisement took up 2/3 of the front page space is shameful - are you so desperate to get Friday readers that you seize the opportunity to write BEER in capitals across the headline even if the story is definitely inside material.

College 'sophomore' Robby Harding? Wouldnt that make him...19? I thought so. His birthday on Facebook is March 9, 1987. What was that about checking IDs again?

You stole this story from City Paper.

Hi, If you're going to visit Toronto, Canada soon I would recommend you this wonderful service in the city- beer, liquor and wine delivery service. Those guys will bring everything from the list of LCBO and The Beer store right to your door for less then an hour .I was very surprised how fast they are. I'll give you the phone number and the web-I hope it will be helpful :416-890-7451

http://www.always-dialabottle-toronto.com

host Oprah Winfrey cut short her summer vacation to visit New Orleans and personally assess how I could be best of service. At the NBC telethon to raise money for Katrina victims, rapper-producer Kanye West proclaimed that President Bush didn't care about bl

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