No Label Brewing Opens

KATY - No Label Brewing Company has opened and sold its first beer commercially at an event held last week at The Public House in Katy, just west of Houston.

No Label Brewing is still awaiting delivery of a larger 15-barrel system early next year, after which their production should grow considerably.

Peticolas Brewing Company

DALLAS - The Peticolas Brewing Company is currently under development, still searching for a location in the Dallas area.

Owner/brewer Michael Peticolas has secured a brewing system and expects to open sometime in 2011.

Double Horn Brewing Company

MARBLE FALLS - The Double Horn Brewing Company brewpub is under construction in the Hill Country just northwest of Austin.

According to Patrick Beach of the Austin American-Statesman, they are planning a March opening next year.

Heady Brewing Company

HOUSTON - Another Texas craft brewery has been found in the early stages of development, Heady Brewing Company of Houston. They are currently scouting locations within the 610 loop and expect to be open by mid-2011.

A brewery website is still under development.

Uncle Billy's Oasis Opens

AUSTIN - Uncle Billy's Brew & Que's second Austin location has opened at the new Oasis, Texas retail development on Lake Travis. The new location also includes full brewpub operations as well as dining space for groups overlooking the lake.

Freetail Looks for Second Location

SAN ANTONIO - On the eve of its second anniversary, Freetail Brewing has begun a search to expand with a second brewpub location. Under consideration are sites in New Braunfels, San Marcos, Houston and another location in San Antonio.

Dubbed "Project: Gemini," an estimated opening date may be as late as 2011 after site selection and fundraising is complete.

Ranger Creek Bottles

SAN ANTONIO - Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling has received label approval for its first commercial beers, to be released to draft accounts next month.

Ranger Creek will begin with a South Texas Lager, an Oatmeal Pale Ale (OPA), a Mesquite Smoked Porter and 750-ml bottles of a Belgian-style strong dark ale named La Bestia Aimable.

Jester King Commercial Suicide

AUSTIN - Jester King has received label approval for its first bottled commercial release, their Commercial Suicide. Commercial Suicide is an oak-aged dark English mild with only 3.3% ABV, and is already available at select draft accounts in the Austin area.

750-ml bottles should be available before the end of the year.

Austin Beerworks

AUSTIN - Another new Texas craft brewer has been discovered named Austin Beerworks, currently under active development and pursuing licensing. They will begin with a full canning operation, forgoing traditional glass bottles entirely.

They expect to be open and brewing by January of 2011.

Divine Reserve as Fall Seasonal

HOUSTON - Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve No. 9, their imperial stout pumpkin ale of last fall, will be the first of this series to become a regular fall seasonal release beginning next year, as reported by Houston's Barley Vine.

Divine Reserve No. 10

HOUSTON - Saint Arnold has announced the next beer in their Divine Reserve series (No. 10) will be released on Tuesday, November 2nd.

This edition of the series is a new English barleywine based on homebrewer Chris Landis' recipe as winner of the Big Batch Brew Bash competition this past spring.

Saint Arnold Expands Again

HOUSTON - Settled in their new downtown location, Saint Arnold is again expanding its capacity with the addition of four new 240-barrel fermentation vessels. The new fermentors should be installed and in normal brewing operations by the end of October.

The addition of this new equipment raises the annual capacity of Saint Arnold from 35,000 to around 50,000 barrels, nearly doubling their total capacity from only a year ago.

Jester King Craft Brewery Opens

AUSTIN - Jester King Craft Brewery has opened in Austin and is brewing their first commercial batch, according to a recent press release.

Owners Michael and Jeffrey Stuffings and brewer Ron Extract have begun brewing in their newly built facility located on 200 acres in rural Austin. They are planning on five different styles initially, including Boxer's Revenge, an oak barrel-aged wild ale, as well as a British-style dark mild, a rye IPA and "Franco-Belgian inspired farmhouse ales."

Jester King has also designed a 8000-square-foot rustic beer hall along with their brewhouse and plan to host tastings, festivals and special events at the brewery site.

Correction: Employee Ron Extract is assisting in brewery sales and distribution, not brewing operations.

The Covey Closes

FORT WORTH - Fresh off a medal at this year's GABF, Fort Worth's The Covey Restaurant & Brewery abruptly closed Friday night with only hours notice.

Owner and brewer Jamie Fulton has accepted an opportunity with a new brewpub project called Farmers & Brewers based in Washington, DC. No news yet on what will become of The Covey's equipment or location.

Update: The Covey's brewhouse equipment has been sold to a start-up brewpub in Bangalore, India, and Fulton will be consulting with them for a few months as they get operations underway.

Black Star Co-op Opens

AUSTIN - Austin's newest brewpub, the Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery, has opened for business at their Midtown Commons location at the intersection of Lamar and Airport Boulevard, as posted on their Facebook page.

The Black Star Co-op is the world's first cooperatively owned and operated brewpub and restaurant, with a Workers Assembly managing body of more than 2000 members.

Houston's TwoRows Closing

HOUSTON - TwoRows Restaurant & Brewery of Houston has announced it will close on October 2nd, as reported by Ronnie Crocker of the Houston Chronicle on his blog Beer, TX.

The closure is due to rising rent prices for the prime Rice Village site that TwoRows has occupied for the past 14 years, and the owners being unable to sign an acceptable lease agreement. Currently, there are no plans to reopen or attempt to move to a new location.

TwoRows was the last operating independent brewpub in the Houston metro area. Hired just this past April, brewer Ray Mitteldorf has expressed interest in partnering to develop another new brewpub.

Texas Brewers at 2010 GABF

DENVER, CO - Winners were announced over the weekend at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival, and again three familiar Texas brewers brought home medals.

Recognized Texas brewers include:

• Saint Arnold: Gold for Fancy Lawnmower as a German-Style Kölsch
• Real Ale Brewing: Gold for Rio Blanco Pale Ale as an Ordinary or Special Bitter
• Saint Arnold: Silver for Elissa IPA as an Extra Special Bitter
• Saint Arnold: Silver for Oktoberfest as a Scottish-Style Ale
• The Covey Restaurant & Brewery: Bronze for Cowboy Lager as a Munich-Style Helles

The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual event sponsored by the Brewers Association, the professional organization for the craft brewing industry. This year's competition included 3523 entries from 522 brewers with a total festival attendance of more than 49,000.

Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded for beers in 79 different style categories plus a separate pro-am competition.

Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling

SAN ANTONIO - Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling has officially opened and will soon begin supplying beer to local retail locations in San Antonio. Their initial product lineup will include four beers available on draft and in bottles starting in October.

Ranger Creek is owned by partners TJ Miller, Dennis Rylander and Mark McDavid, with head brewer Rob Landerman and assistant brewer Pete Landerman. Their custom-built 6000-square-foot "brewstillery" includes a 30-barrel brewing system and enough room to accommodate tours and tastings.

Ranger Creek will also produce Texas bourbon with much of the same equipment used for brewing, but due to barrel aging it will not be available until 2011.

Gulf Brewing Company

HOUSTON - Another Houston microbrewery has surfaced recently, the Gulf Brewing Company of Houston. Owners Joel Moore and Tip Strickland are looking to follow the historic Gulf Brewing built by Howard Hughes at the repeal of Prohibition.

No word yet on a final location or when they may be operational.

Rahr & Sons Resume Tours

FORT WORTH - Closed to the public since the February 12th snowstorm that collapsed their roof, Rahr & Sons Brewing will resume their public Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon tours and tastings beginning this Saturday, September 11th.

Tours will be held every Saturday at the brewery from 1pm to 3pm. Admission is $7, which includes a logo glass and free samples.

Kreuz Creek Brewing Company

SUGAR LAND - Another new Texas craft brewer is nearing opening, the Kreuz Creek Brewing Company of the Sugar Land/Stafford area of southwest Houston.


Owner and brewer Jeff King is already pretty far along with development and awaiting TABC certification. He expects to be open and brewing by October.

Republic of Texas Name Change

BUNA - Due to trademark conflicts with their original name, the new Houston-area start-up craft brewery Republic of Texas Brewery has changed their name to Texas Big Beer Brewery.

Thirsty Planet Opens

AUSTIN - Thirsty Planet Brewing becomes the first of the 2010 new brewers in Austin to commercially open. Their beers are now appearing at selected locations in Austin, and they hope to have a bottling line operational before the end of this year.

No word yet on any plans for a grand opening celebration. An on-site tasting room is currently awaiting a certificate of occupancy.

Eola School in Austin Chronicle

BREWERS IN THE NEWS

EOLA - The Eola School, Restaurant & Brewery (also known as the Bright Brewery) was featured recently in a recurring Austin Chronicle column entitled "Day Trips."

Republic of Texas Brewery

BUNA - Another new Texas craft brewery is under development named the Republic of Texas Brewery. With a location north of Beaumont, this brewery will provide the East Texas/Houston area with another local craft brewer.

The brewers John McKissack and his wife Tammy may be better known as "Johnny Max" and "the Queen" for their online podcasts at BrewCrAzY and Beer Talk Radio. A long-time homebrewer and BJCP certified beer judge, McKissack is committed to building his brewery debt-free.

A location is already being prepared in Buna, with a projected opening date of 2011.

Real Ale Hans' Pils

BLANCO - Real Ale Brewing has just released their second lager and new seasonal, the Hans' Pils. Modeled after a Northern German style, this beer is a bit hoppier than traditional pilsners at 52 IBUs.

Hans' Pils will be available on draft only for now, and only as a summer seasonal.

Wicked Beaver Brewing

WOLFORTH - The Texas Panhandle will soon have its first craft brewery in quite a while as Wicked Beaver Brewing is now under development and fundraising.


Brewers Michael Adams and Che Shadle are currently finalizing brewery plans for a site near Clarendon on the Greenbelt Reservoir, about 50 miles southeast of Amarillo. No date has yet been announced for a brewery opening.

Uncle Billy's Second Location

AUSTIN - Uncle Billy's Brew & Que updated their Facebook.com pages with photos of their planned second Austin location overlooking Lake Travis.


This second site will be part of the Oasis, Texas, commercial development of restaurants and specialty retail located high on the cliffs next to the Oasis restaurant. The new Uncle Billy's Brew & Que will include on-site brewing and is expected to open in late 2010.

The Covey on NBC

BREWERS IN THE NEWS

FORT WORTH - The Covey Restaurant & Brewery was featured recently in a premium television spot on local NBC affiliate KXAS (Channel 5) in their "Around Town" segment, airing just before the opening of Saturday Night Live.

The full video as well as a short online write-up is available on NBC's website as the feature entitled "One Brewmaster and a Chef: The Covey."

Rahr & Sons Label Redesign

FORT WORTH - Taking advantage of the down-time provided by their roof collapse, Rahr & Sons has updated their logo and beer labels. New graphics by GCG Marketing provided an opportunity to standardize the artwork and layout across all of their products.

Saint Arnold Moveable Yeast Series

HOUSTON - Saint Arnold announced today a new series of limited-edition beers to be named Moveable Yeast, each featuring their standard production beers but using contrasting yeast strains.

The quarterly releases will be:

• Weedwacker, the Fancy Lawnmower fermented with a Bavarian hefeweizen yeast;
• Altared Amber, the Amber Ale fermented with Belgian Trappist yeast;
• Bitter Belgian, the Elissa IPA also fermented with Trappist yeast; and
• Brown Bitter, the Brown Ale fermented with German alt yeast.

All these beers will be offered only on tap and in limited batches of 60 barrels each. The first release of Weedwacker is scheduled for release this August.

Adelbert's Brewery

AUSTIN - Yet another new craft brewery named Adelbert's Brewery is in the business plan and funding stage for Austin at a location yet to be determined.

Owner Scott Hovey plans to specialize in bottle-conditioned Belgian styles of beer, and hopes to be open by mid-2011.

Deep Ellum Brewing Company

DALLAS - Another new craft brewery called Deep Ellum Brewing Company is in the late development and planning stages for the Deep Ellum entertainment district of east Dallas.

Owner John Reardon is already searching for a professional brewer and staff, and hopes to be open by spring 2011.

Austin New Brewery Roundup

BREWERS IN THE NEWS

AUSTIN - Lee Nichols of the Austin Chronicle sums up the local new breweries expected to open soon in the Hill Country with his piece, "Beer in Bloom."

Included in this profile are breweries presently in the construction stage such as Jester King Craft Brewery, Circle Brewing, South Austin Brewing, Pecan Street Brewing, Hops and Grain, and Thirsty Planet Brewing, and even enterprises still in the planning and fundraising stages such as Orf Brewing, Moonlight Tower Brewing and Twisted X Brewing (formerly Barbed Wire Brewing).

Rahr & Sons Resumes Brewing

FORT WORTH - Brought to a halt from a snowy roof collapse months ago, Rahr & Sons Brewing has finally finished repairs and is brewing once again in their newly refurbished site in Fort Worth.

The new facilities include many new amenities and layout improvements that were able to be made during reconstruction. A new bottling line has yet to be installed but kegs should once again be moving out the door soon.

No word yet on resuming their popular Saturday tours and tastings. Construction has left the surrounding industrial area fairly rough, and they are awaiting some remediation before hosting the expected crowds once again.

Saint Arnold Celebrates 16 Years

HOUSTON - Saint Arnold Brewing Company celebrated its 16th anniversary this weekend with events both at their newly occupied facilities as well as corresponding events in other cities.

The celebrations include the third annual Saint Arnold Olympics at the Houston brewery location as well as a downtown Austin pub crawl on June 19th and special keg tappings all week at select locations in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Armadillo Ale Works

DENTON - Former professional brewer Bobby Mullins announced via Facebook/Twitter that he will open a brewpub in Denton called Armadillo Ale Works. The brewpub is still in the planning and development stages, and no opening date has been set.

Barbed Wire Brewing Name Change

AUSTIN - Startup brewery Barbed Wire Brewing was forced to abandon their name after receiving legal papers from Sutter Home, who is attempting to trademark their Barbed Wire wine, as reported by Patrick Beach of the Austin American-Statesman this week.

Rather than enter a struggle for the legal rights, owner Jim Sampson and his partners decided an easier course of action was to change the name of their enterprise to Twisted X Brewing Company. This brewery is still in the planning and development stages.

Circle Brewing Brewhouse Shipped

AUSTIN - Circle Brewing reports that their recently purchased brewhouse has been shipped from its current overseas site in China. Their two 60-bbl fermenters and a 60-bbl bright tank are due to arrive at their Austin location on June 21st.

Bocklove.com

SHINER - Spoetzl has launched a new consumer website called bocklove.com. This site highlights more interactive features, videos and photos for fans of Shiner beers and the Spoetzl brewery.

Galactic Coast Brewing Company

DICKINSON - Another new brewery is in the late development stages just southeast of Houston and the NASA facilities located there, Galactic Coast Brewing Company.

Brewery rep John Ennis says they are playing things quietly right now, still awaiting official state and federal licensing. Having already acquired necessary equipment and capital, they plan to be the only microbrewery operating in Galveston County.

No word yet on a planned opening date.

South Austin Brewing Buys Brewhouse

AUSTIN - Owner and brewer Jordan Weeks of the startup South Austin Brewing Company just purchased a 30-barrel brewing system from a downsizing Pennsylvania brewer, as reported by Patrick Beach of the Austin American-Statesman.

The brewing equipment should arrive at South Austin Brewing's location by the end of the month. No word yet on whether this affects their anticipated opening date sometime in 2011.

Ranger Creek Brewing Location

SAN ANTONIO - Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling announced via their Facebook page today that they have signed a lease on a new property for their combined brewery and distilling operations. More details to follow as provided.

Real Ale Launches New Website

BLANCO - Hill country brewer Real Ale launched a newly redesigned and updated website this week. Online improvements include updates, brewery merchandise and updates about the latest products and events.

Texas Craft Brewers Festival

WACO - The Dancing Bear Pub is hosting its first annual Texas Craft Brewers Festival at their location in Waco on Saturday, May 22nd. The event is planned to highlight American Craft Beer Week and should feature the beers of seven craft breweries from around Texas, as well as live music and food.

Dancing Bear Pub is a local Waco beer bar with eventual plans for brewpub operations. The festival will run from 5pm to 1am, with tickets costing $30 per person.

Uncle Billy's Third Anniversary

AUSTIN - Uncle Billy's Brew & Que celebrates its third anniversary today at their Austin location just south of the lake, beginning at 3pm and lasting until close. New anniversary beers will be available, along with live music and food specials.

Great Austin Beer Festival

AUSTIN - An independent Great Austin Beer Festival is planned for June 26th at the downtown Austin Music Hall from 4-8pm.

Attending breweries are still being confirmed, but it appears this is not a Texas-centric event but will feature craft brewers from around the US and a number of imports. Admission is $30, with the price rising to $40 the day of the event.

TwoRows Hires New Brewer

HOUSTON - TwoRows Brewpub recently hired a new head brewer, Ray Mitteldorf, as reported by Ronnie Crocker in his Houston Chronicle blog, "Two Rows welcomes a new brewer."

Mitteldorf has experience brewing at several Central Texas and Houston-area brewpubs, including the now-closed Houston Brewery and more recently at the Dodging Duck in Boerne.

Circle Brewing Brewery Location

AUSTIN - Circle Brewing has found a location for their brewing operations in Austin and has finalized a lease at 340 W Braker Lane, Suite B. This location provides them with 8100 square feet of space in North Austin with easy access to both Mopac and I-35.

Boerne Brewery

BOERNE - The Boerne Star reports another start-up brewery in the planning stages in Central Texas, the Boerne Brewery, in the piece "New brewery to reflect unique Hill Country Heritage."

Owner and brewer Fred Hernandez will build and operate his tiny brewery from property he owns in Boerne. He anticipates brewing and bottling commercially by this summer.

Rahr & Sons Roof Collapse: Update

FORT WORTH - The damage due to the roof collapse at the Rahr & Sons brewery is more extensive than initially reported.


Estimates place roof repairs at 60 to 90 days for the building structure alone, with evaluation of the brewing and bottling equipment still pending access to the facility. Water damage throughout the brewery was extensive, with as much as a foot of standing water resulting from an open water main.

All bottled stock was taken immediately by Coors Distribution, and the product remaining in the fermentation tanks will have to be evaluated. Rahr is expected to be out of operation for at least three months, with their Saturday and Wednesday brewery tours and tastings cancelled until further notice.

Retail shortages of Rahr & Sons beer may occur in the short term, but the losses and repairs are expected to be covered by insurance.

Roof Collapse at Rahr & Sons

FORT WORTH - Record snowfall in North Texas (officially 12.5 inches) caused a partial roof collapse at the Rahr & Sons brewery overnight.


No one was injured in the collapse but the regular Saturday tour and tasting is canceled for this week. Production is suspended until further assessment.

Photos: Jamie Brunner / Rahr

Thirsty Planet Brewing Company

AUSTIN - Yet another start-up craft brewery is in the development stages for Austin, the Thirsty Planet Brewing Company.

Owner and brewer Brian Smittle seems to have already secured a physical location for the brewery in southwest Austin, with no status available for a production date.

South Austin Brewing Company

AUSTIN - Another Austin craft brewery has emerged still in the early planning stages, the South Austin Brewing Company.

Patrick Beach of the Austin American-Statesman reports that veteran brewer Jordan Weeks has already secured a location for an expected opening sometime in 2011. Weeks is planning "aggressive beers that appeal to the already sophisicated craft beer drinker, people who drink Stone and Avery and Lost Abbey. They’re going to be style-challenging."

Root Cellar Cafe Begins Brewing

SAN MARCOS - Operating as a restaurant and local bar since 2005, the Root Cellar Cafe & Gallery has begun brewing small in-house batches of beer to complement their menu.

Silas Parker, who spent time brewing with Bruce Collie of Wimberley Brewing, will be producing only half-barrel (15 gallon) batches that are bottled (no taps) for both on-site consumption and to-go sales.

Wimberley Brewing Company Reopens

WIMBERLEY - Temporarily suspending operations while moving to a nearby smaller location, the Wimberley Brewing Company has reopened as a pizzeria and brewpub.

Brewer Bruce Collie now operates as Brewster's Pizza, supplying locally made beer with New York-style pizza, and plans a reopening celebration sometime later this month.

Austin New Brewery Roundup

BREWERS IN THE NEWS

AUSTIN - Patrick Beach of the Austin American-Statesman gives a summary of what new local breweries Austin can expect in 2010 with his piece, "Make room for more craft brews in Austin."

In addition to the already established Real Ale, Independence, Live Oak and (512), this year introduces a host of new start-up brewers such as Jester King Craft Brewery, Circle Brewing, Hops and Grain, and Moonlight Tower Brewing, as well as the world's first co-op brewpub, the Black Star Co-Op Pub & Brewery.

512 Barrel-Aged Pecan Porter

AUSTIN - (512) Brewing has just received label approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for their first commercially bottled product, a whiskey barrel-aged and 8.2% "double" version of their popular Pecan Porter.

Only one 200-liter batch was produced of this special beer in 750-ml bottles only, so availability is expected to be very limited. No release date has been announced.

Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling

SAN ANTONIO - Another start-up brewing operation has been announced in San Antonio, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, a combined operation that will feature craft-brewed beer as well as locally produced whiskey.

Ranger Creek just announced the purchase of their brewing and distilling equipment yesterday. No date has been announced for the start of brewing operations, nor has a final location been provided.

Black Star in Austin Chronicle

BREWERS IN THE NEWS

AUSTIN - Lee Nichols of the Austin Chronicle profiled the Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery in a recent piece entitled, "From Beer to Infinity: A gold star for Black Star Co-op."

Included in the piece are not only profiles of the founder, Steven Yarak, but also head brewer Jeff Young as well as an explanation of the co-op's operation and descriptions of their planned beers.

Black Star recently announced the acquisition of its future location at Crestview Station, with construction to begin next month.

Shiner101.com

SHINER - To celebrate and promote its newest anniversary beer, Spoetzl has created the website Shiner101.com with text largely in Czech to correspond with the Shiner 101 Czech-Style Pilsner.

The Shiner 101 will most likely be made available on February 1st.

Moonlight Tower Brewing Company

AUSTIN -Another new craft brewery is in the early stages in Austin, the Moonlight Tower Brewing Company. Owner Erik Marr is still in the planning and research stages, with no date yet for an expected opening.

Jester King Purchases Brewhouse

AUSTIN - Start-up brewer Jester King Craft Brewery has purchased a new 30-barrel brewhouse setup for their "ranch brewery" in southwest Austin. At the same time, they also purchased four 30-barrel conical fermenters, and expect the foundation for their brewhouse to be poured this month.

Saint Arnold Releases 2009 Production Data

HOUSTON - Saint Arnold today reported that it sold almost 27,000 barrels in 2009, a 13% increase over the previous year. Houston's only craft brewery outpaced both the national rate for craft beer (up 5% in early 2009) and the overall US beer sales (down 1.3% in early 2009).

Year	Production	Growth
2009	25,710 barrels	13%
2008	22,749 barrels	28%
2007	17,811 barrels	30%
2006	13,638 barrels	25%
2005	10,946 barrels	20%

“All growth in 2009 was in existing markets, which is very satisfying for us,” said Brock Wagner, founder of Saint Arnold. “We have not added any new territories as we continue to focus on brewing for our local markets and communities. We would love to attain all of our production goals without ever shipping outside of Texas. We also benefited from our distributor switch in 2009.”

Production has not yet begun at Saint Arnold's new facility north of downtown. Once brewing begins, the initial capacity of 40,000 barrels can be expanded up to 120,000 barrels per year.

Rahr & Sons Launches New Website

FORT WORTH - Fort Worth's Rahr & Sons launched a newly redesigned and updated website this week. Improvements include more opportunities for online updates and links to current events and information.