Boise Brewing celebrated May Day by going public.

On May 1, Boise Brewing announced its new stock offering, seeking to expand its reach on the market by offering up to $1,040,000 of common stock.

The brewery/restaurant/bar, a community-owned operation, was founded in downtown Boise in 2014. Founder and president Collin Rudeen said in a press release that he wanted to create a space that members of the community could become invested in — literally.

“It was my dream to bring high-quality craft beer to the valley and to let members of our community own a part of that process,” Rudeen said.

In addition to community ownership, Boise Brewing has invested in the community by housing a rotating art display of artists featured in Boise Weekly, something that Rudeen wanted to do to promote local artists.

To give back to the community, a portion of pint proceeds are donated to a local nonprofit every month, with more than $25,000 distributed to date. May sales benefit the Idaho Environmental Forum.

Boise Brewing is also a three-time winner at the World Beer Cup and five-time winner at the Great American Beer Festival. Black Cliffs American Stout was recently awarded a bronze medal in the American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout category. Jagged Shard won the silver in the Strong Red Ale category the previous year. Boise Light, a local favorite, continues to be the best-selling draft beer brewed in the state, according to Hayden Beverage, making up almost 65 percent of total beer sales for the company.

“It was with some trepidation that we began exploring a light craft beer, but after some experimentation our head brewer created a recipe that exceeded all of our expectations,” Rudeen said. “We still had the problem of getting it out into the market, so we figured if we priced it 1 cent less than Bud Light then maybe people would give it a try.”

The rest is Boise Brewing history.

The new stock offering will help the brewery make several upgrades to its restaurant. One of the main ones will be the patio, a summertime favorite among river floaters and Boise State game-dayers. The design for the patio includes a steel structure with plants and locally sourced hardwoods that Rudeen crafts himself.

Boise Brewing also offers several non-beer beverages.

“We’ve noticed that the younger generations have wider interests for beverages,” Rudeen said. “We still want them to come in and experience our live music, trivia nights, and other events, so we also offer non-alcoholic beer, mixed drinks, cider and wine.”