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.

Poll Results 2009

Poll 8 (January): Monthly Spending for Beer?

1. $20 to $50 (38%)
   
2. $50 to $100 (23%)
   
3. $100 to $200 (17%)
   

Total 34 votes


Poll 9 (February): Best Session Beer in Texas?

1. Rahr & Sons Ugly Pug (60%)
   
2. Spoetzl Shiner Bock (13%)
   
3. Live Oak Big Bark Amber (11%)
   

Total 45 votes


Poll 10 (March): Best Beer Store in Texas?

1. Hall's (37%)
   
2. Whip-In (18%)
   
3. Specs (16%)
   

Total 48 votes


Poll 11 (April): Best Spring Beer in Texas?

1. Rahr & Sons Bucking Bock (55%)
   
2. Live Oak Hefeweizen (16%)
   
3. Real Ale Devil's Backbone (14%)
   

Total 54 votes


Poll 12 (May): Favorite Beer Style?

1. Other (52%)
   
2. India pale ale (22%)
   
3. Stout (11%)
   

Total 68 votes


Poll 13 (June): Best Brewery in Texas?

1. Rahr & Sons (57%) #3 in 2008
   
2. Real Ale (25%)
3. Saint Arnold (12%) #1 in 2008

Total 64 votes


Poll 14 (July): Best Summer Beer in Texas?

1. Rahr & Sons Summertime Wheat (59%)
   
2. Live Oak Hefeweizen (18%)
   
3. Real Ale Fireman's #4 (13%)
   

Total 61 votes


Poll 15 (August): Is Spoetzl a Craft Brewery?

1. No (57%) 47% in 2008
2. Yes (35%) 47% in 2008
3. Perhaps (7%)
   

Total 40 votes


Poll 16 (September): Best IPA in Texas?

1. Rahr & Sons Stormcloud (42%) #1 in 2008
2. Saint Arnold Elissa (18%)
   
3. (tie) Live Oak Liberation (16%)
   (tie) Real Ale Lost Gold (16%)
   

Total 49 votes


Poll 17 (October): Best Oktoberfest in Texas?

1. Real Ale Oktoberfest (29%)
2. Saint Arnold Oktoberfest (25%)
   
3. Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest (22%) #1 in 2008

Total 27 votes


Poll 18 (November): Best Brewpub in Texas?

1. (tie) Uncle Billy's Brew & Que (36%)
   (tie) Freetail Brewing (36%)
   
2. The Covey (18%) #1 in 2008

Total 22 votes


Poll 19 (December): Most Anticipated New Brewer for 2010?

No response

Shiner 101

SHINER - Spoetzl will continue its anniversary series of beers past its centennial, with the next beer being a Czech-style pilsner designated Shiner 101. This new Shiner beer will be available in January 2010.

Saint Arnold Resumes Tours

HOUSTON - City permits were finally obtained this past week for the new Saint Arnold location north of downtown Houston, allowing the brewery to resume their Saturday tours after occupying the building in late October.

Weekly tours will be held each Saturday from 11am to 2pm and will cost $7. Weekday tours will start on December 28th from 3pm to 3:30pm, but this weekday schedule will be subject to changes depending on how it progresses.

Shiner Fröst

SHINER - Spoetzl's newest seasonal product will be the Shiner Fröst, a Dortmunder-style lager. It will be available January through March of 2010 and follow the Shiner Holiday Cheer as an annual offering.

Three New Austin-Area Brewers

AUSTIN - Three new potential brewers are looking to enter the Austin area within the next couple of years.

Flix Brewhouse, a new brewpub with a movie-tavern model, is planning to open in Round Rock by the summer of 2010. They plan to offer six house beers as well as a selection of 32 microbrews on tap, with an ultimate brewing capacity of 1000 barrels per year.

The Hops and Grain Brewery is currently in the fundraising stage for a microbrewery in Austin. A tasting of their beers is planned for December 10th at Rogue Equipment athletic store.

Pedernales Brewing Company of Spicewood seems to be developing labels for future products. No other information about this venture is available at this time.

No Label Brewing Leases Site

KATY - The Houston-area start-up No Label Brewing Company recently leased a location that will eventually become their brewhouse. The location includes old rice silos in Katy and will require cleanup and renovation to bring up to city code.

No date is available for when No Label Brewing plans to open.

Real Ale Phoenixx Double ESB

BLANCO - Real Ale Brewing has just received label approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for bottles of their seasonal Phoenixx Double ESB.

Bottles of this ESB should follow once their Coffee Porter is out, and be available at retailers by the end of the year.