Zio Carlo Under New Management

FORT WORTH - Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub is now under new management as owner Carlo Galotto has agreed to new partners to help complete his brewpub south of downtown.

Former Rahr & Sons brewer Austin Jones has been hired to oversee the brewing operations with Adam Gonzales hired as the general manager.


Brewing is expected to start within a month or two after repairs to the existing system, with a possible rebranding of the restaurant and brewpub at some point in the future.

Original Flying Saucer Moving

FORT WORTH - The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium located in Sundance Square, the first of the multi-state franchise, is moving out of its original location.

Currently located downtown in the historically protected Land Title Block building since 1995, the move is required because of restoration of the 1889 building to its original layout. The Flying Saucer will relocate across Sundance Square to the present site of 8.0 Restaurant & Bar, which will close on February 24.

Developer and restauranteur Shannon Wynne owns both the Flying Saucer and 8.0, and decided to retire the 8.0 concept in favor of a nearby larger, redesigned Flying Saucer location.

The Flying Saucer will continue to operate in its present location through the end of the Main Street Arts Festival, and will reopen at its new location sometime in late April.

Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub Opens

FORT WORTH - After years of development and delays, Zio Carlo Magnolia Brew Pub opened this week on Magnolia Avenue district south of downtown Fort Worth.

Although on-site kitchen and brewing facilities are still under construction, owner Carlo Galotto opened to serve commercial craft beers until his own beers are available.

Rahr & Sons in Star-Telegram

FORT WORTH - Rahr & Sons was the subject of a recent feature appearing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram entitlted "Fort Worth brewery finds silver lining in snowstorm cloud."

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

Profile of Rahr, Covey on DFW.com

BREWERS IN THE NEWS

FORT WORTH - Local brewers JB Flowers of Rahr & Sons and Jamie Fulton of The Covey were profiled by Barry Shlachter for the local entertainment and lifestyle website DFW.com in a piece entitled, "2 local brewers have caught lightning in a bottle."

Shlachter also profiled brewer Alan Sparkman of Arlington's brewpub Humperdink's in an accompanying piece entitled, "Humperdink's brewmaster Alan Sparkman started as a banker."

And Shlachter provides a short guide to the local beer scene in Fort Worth in a third piece, "6 burning questions about our beer sphere."

Fourth Annual Fall Beer Fest

FORT WORTH - The Fort Worth Flying Saucer has scheduled its fourth annual Fall Beer Fest for Saturday, October 17th, from 2pm to 10.30pm in the Sundance Square parking lot adjacent to their downtown location. Five tents will feature more than 20 specialty beers on draft, usually including a rare surprise or two.

Rahr & Sons Fifth Anniversary

FORT WORTH - Rahr & Sons celebrates its fifth anniversary tonight at the location of its first account, the Flying Saucer in downtown Fort Worth, from 6pm to 9pm. Special anniversary glassware will be available with the purchase of Rahr & Sons beer.

Zio Carlo Brewpub Abandoned

FORT WORTH - The proposed Zio Carlo "Italian brewpub" of Fort Worth has been abandoned for now by the owner due to financial concerns.

Rahr & Sons Wins Business Award

Rahr & Sons won the Clear Channel Outdoor Excellence in Business Award in April at the 2009 Fort Worth Entrepreneur Expo. The award recognizes the success of a local small business, with Rahr & Sons' revenues growing 31% in 2008 and currently 71% over the same Q1 of last year.

The award consists of a marketing package valued at $25,000 that includes local billboard advertising with 24 weeks of coverage and the services of Clear Channel Outdoor's creative team in the design of promotional materials.

New BJ's Planned for 2009

At least two new BJ's Restaurant & Brewery locations are planned for Texas in 2009. New locations are planned for the Dallas area in Mesquite near Town East Mall, as well as one in north Fort Worth near the Alliance Town Center.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewery is a California-based brewpub chain that has entered the Texas market in only the past few years. Because of a quirk of Texas law, the beer at Texas BJ's locations is all brewed under contract with Saint Arnold of Houston.

Both locations are expected to open by late summer 2009.

Winemaker Shop Changes Hands

Fort Worth's long-time homebrew supply store The Winemaker Shop will be closing its doors for good on December 27th. It will reopen under new ownership as Fort Worth Homebrew at an new and expanded nearby location.

The Winemaker Shop is Fort Worth's oldest home winemaking and brewing supply store. Originally opened in 1971, it was purchased by Emery and Janet Baca in 2005, who expanded its inventory and became involved in many local homebrewing events and competitions.

Fort Worth Homebrew is scheduled to open January 2nd, 2009. The new location will be the same business park as the current location (Suite 2826, SE Loop 820).

Flying Saucer Fall Beer Festival

The third annual Fall Beer Festival was held on Saturday at Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth. Sponsored by the adjacent Flying Saucer, the event featured a variety of popular craft beers including Texas brewers, national brewers and imports.


Several cask-conditioned versions of local and other Texas beers were included, as well as Saint Arnold's latest Divine Reserve No. 7. Flying Saucer management estimates attendance at this event to be at least a third larger than the same event last year.



Also present by Flying Saucer invitation was the Arlington homebrew club Knights of the Brown Bottle with literature about homebrewing and live brewing demonstrations right on downtown's Main Street.

Flying Saucer Fall Beer Festival

The Fort Worth Flying Saucer is holding its third annual Fall Beer Festival on Saturday, October 11th, from 2pm to 10:30pm. The event will be located adjacent to the downtown Flying Saucer in the Sundance Square parking lot.

Five beer tents with up to 20 draft beers will be set up outside. Samplings will be sold through a $15 tasting card, including a free tasting glass. As in previous years, some beers are expected to be exclusive to this event and not available elsewhere.

Update: The Austin Flying Saucer will hold a similar event on Saturday, October 4th, from noon to 10pm.

Rahr Website and Tour Changes

Rahr & Sons has launched an updated version of their website. Some portions are yet incomplete still under development.

Rahr & Sons has also announced that beginning August 16th, they will begin charging a $5 per person admission fee to their Saturday tours and tastings. The admission price includes a Rahr pint glass plus the complimentary beer.

Rahr & Sons Expansion

Rahr & Sons has just received three new 70-barrel fermentation tanks at their Fort Worth brewery. When fully installed, these new tanks will bring Rahr & Sons' annual brewing capacity up to about 6000 barrels.

Iron Mash in Fort Worth, Jul 26

The date for the 2008 Iron Mash has been set as July 26th in Fort Worth, held on location at the Rahr & Sons brewery.

The Iron Mash is a homebrew competition sponsored by the Cap and Hare Homebrew Club. In the spirit of the Food Network's "Iron Chef" program as well as the "Iron Man" endurance triathalon, the Iron Mash features teams required to develop recipes and brew beers based on ingredients revealed only on the day of competition, and do so on one of the hottest days of summer in Texas.

Entry details and deadlines can be found on the Cap and Hare website.

New Homebrew Club

A (relatively) new homebrew club has emerged in North Texas, the Horsemen of the Hopocalypse. This is a small group that has been meeting for less than a year and is generally based in Fort Worth, Tarrant County and a few places just west of there.

Ginger Man Hosts "Taste of Texas"

The Ginger Man hosted its first "Taste of Texas" beer tasting at its newest Fort Worth location yesterday, February 16th. A similar event is planned for its Dallas location next Saturday, February 23rd.

This tasting featured a selection of beers from various Texas brewers, including Real Ale, Live Oak, Saint Arnold and Rahr & Sons. Presenting their beers and fielding questions were Kendra Harrell (North Texas Sales, Saint Arnold), Chip McElroy (Brewer and Owner, Live Oak) and various staff members from the local Rahr & Sons brewery. Representatives from Real Ale were scheduled but unable to attend.

Points of note from the tasting include:

• Real Ale's next planned commercial beer will be called Real Heavy, a Scottish-style wee heavy due out later this year.
• Due to the recent hop shortage, Live Oak's Liberation IPA will be cut back to a seasonal offering. To compensate for customer demand, their year-round Pale Ale recipe will be modified slightly to near IPA strength and flavor.
• The next edition of Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve will depend on expected new equipment recieved at the brewery, both for timing and for style. Early delivery will mean added capacity for the next release of an in-house recipe this summer; late delivery will mean the next release will be taken from the winner of the Big Batch Brew Bash in May.
• Rahr & Sons featured a keg of their End of Winter Warmer, a limited release of their standard Winter Warmer aged in Maker's Mark bourbon barrels.

This "Taste of Texas" beer tasting is an annual event with the North Texas Ginger Man locations.