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Friends JR Bryant and Ryan Schwarz had long been “lonesome dreamers,” searching for that big idea, that thing the world never knew it always needed.

They bounced ideas off one another and their respective wives for years, but it was Schwarz’ wife Laura who -- after hearing so many bad ideas -- came up with the good one. While watching her kids play at a claw machine, she wondered, Wouldn’t it be fun if an adult could play this for something they wanted?

And thus, the Brew Buck’it, a claw machine filled with beer, was born.

Technically, the Brew Buck’it uses a magnetic hand instead of a claw, and the beer is symbolic. For a buck per play, players can try to grab an empty beer bottle with the magnet. If they nab a bottle, they can take it to the bartender and redeem a beer of the bar’s choosing.

The first and only machine is outside the Old Mattress Factory, 501 N. 13th St., and will stay there during the College World Series. Bryant said they’re hoping to soon sell Brew Buck’its to bars in the metro area and elsewhere.

“The biggest dream is to sell the concept exclusively to a beer manufacturer,” Bryant said. But for now he’d be thrilled to see the Brew Buck’it in as many bars as possible.