STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For a borough of nearly half a million residents, Staten Island is underrepresented in at least one very important area: locally crafted beer.

While cities of Staten Island's size sip on local beer from as many as a dozen breweries, ours is still behind in the beer-per-capita ratio -- a ratio of growing intrigue and economic potential.

This fall, that could change.

Kills Boro Brewing Company, the passion project of three Staten Island home brewers and a restaurant owner, is currently looking for investors to help them open up their craft brewery, making them the second brewery in a place that once had many.

"The need is here, we've basically just become vessels for this idea," said Sean Torres, the brewery's marketing manager and one of the founders of Staten Island's homebrew club, Pour Standards.

If they meet all their fundraising deadlines, Kill Boro will open this November next to Craft House on 60 Van Duzer St. in Stapleton. The brewery will be attached to the restaurant, with a glass wall that will give diners a view of the brewery's operations.

They'll start with four beers: a coconut cream ale, a white IPA, a foreign extra stout and a pale ale with Galaxy hops.

Their schtick? They'll have a variety of unconventional but crafty beers for brew lovers and beer virgins alike.

Three of the brewery's four founders -- Torres, Phil Gardner and Patrick Wade -- are longtime homebrewers. They've already been making award-winning brews like their Figeddaboudit Belgian Dubble with Fig, which won first place in the 2015 Homebrew Alley; and their Jolly Ol' Extra Special Bitter, which won first place in the 2014 New York State Fair. They'll also release some limited edition and seasonal beers throughout the year.

The fourth founder, Vincent Lima, is the owner of Craft House, which will expand its restaurant to accommodate the Kills Boro equipment.

The brewery's name is a nod to Staten Island's rich beer history dating back to the influx of German immigrants in the mid-1800s. It was said that beer from Staten Island was the best because of its water, which flowed from springs to the various "kills" around the Island.

It comes in the spirit of those early breweries -- to introduce new tastes to residents and be a part of the community. One of the most prominent breweries of the time, the Bechtel Brewery, created a cave to store and ferment its beer -- that cave was located on Van Duzer Street, where Kills Boro will set up shop.

So what do Staten Island's current craft beer kings, Flagship Brewing Co., have to say about the impending competition?

"Hate those guys. Just kidding," said Jay Sykes, Flagship's co-owner. "There's so much more room for people to be brewing great beer on Staten Island. They're helping to convert people over to great locally made beer. It's fantastic."

Kills Boro has to raise $490,000 in startup costs before it can complete the necessary permitting to officially open -- it's possible this will take longer than seven months. But they're pushing forward with the help of recent legislative efforts designed to encourage breweries to open.

For example, last year Gov. Cuomo signed a law authorizing retail stores to conduct tastings of liquor, beer and cider. The law also exempts micro-breweries from redundant tax filing requirements.

"In every corner of the state, New York's craft beverage industry is thriving and we're committed to helping it further grow to create more jobs and more economic activity," Cuomo said at the time.

He's right about that. In 2015, American craft brewers' retail dollar value was estimated at $22.3 billion, according to the Brewers Association.

Torres believes Staten Island is thirsty enough to support two breweries. Kills Boro will be pitching to investors around the borough over the next couple months.

"We're targeting Staten Island first because we want our community to be a part of establishing our brewery," Torres said. "We're confident that Staten Islanders could fully fund this."