Beer, right when you need it most

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."

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