Accident at Franconia Brewing

McKINNEY - A fermentor ruptured under pressure and was blown through an interior wall yesterday at Franconia Brewing, injuring several people.

Two visitors were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The incident occurred minutes after the regular Saturday tour concluded, with about 100 visitors still on-site. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Photo: Winston Edwards (Connoissaurus)

Franconia employees were treated for only minor injuries. No word yet on when the brewery will be operational once again.

Franconia Plans to Bottle

MCKINNEY - Franconia Brewing is developing plans for a bottling format to include special 1-liter flip-top returnable bottles, according to Jesse Hughey of the Dallas Observer.

Several North Texas liquor stores have agreed to participate in the environmental-friendly bottle program but negotiations with larger retailers continues. Franconia bottles are expected to be available before the end of the year.

More Texas Brewers in the News

June is proving to be a busy month for media coverage of Texas breweries. Saint Arnold has all but dominated local press this week with two additional stories, one in the Houston Chronicle entitled "More than just brew: Saint Arnold knows beer, but it also knows community." The Houston Business Journal also covered Saint Arnold's purchase of their new facilities in "St. Arnold drafts former HISD building for brewery."

Saint Arnold also takes a prominent spot in the June issue of Texas Highways magazine. A partial of their print feature "On Tap: Texas' Top 5 Microbreweries" is available online.

Franconia Brewing also received some notice this week with a piece in the Dallas Morning News entitled "Franconia owner banks on beer budgets."

Franconia Brewing Launches Website

The new McKinney brewery Franconia Brewing has launched their new website, including full details about the new location and operations.

Texas Brewers in the News

A snapshot summary of the 2008 Texas craft brewery scene entitled "Beer mugs runneth over" appeared in Tuesday's edition of the San Antonio Express-News.

Written by Travis Poling, reporter and beer columnist for the Express-News, the article touches on the status of new breweries such as (512) Brewing, Southern Star and Franconia, as well as the upcoming Freetail Brewing brewpub in San Antonio. Also mentioned is the recent Ben E. Keith acquisition as well as a number of out-of-state craft beers likely to appear here soon.

Additionally, a report by Lee Nichols appeared in the Austin Chronicle last Friday entitled "A Disaster Brewing," recounting the origins of the drastic current hop shortages and how local Austin brewers such as Live Oak, Uncle Billy's, North by Northwest and Real Ale have been impacted.

Franconia Brewery Now Open

Texas' newest operational brewery is now the Franconia Brewery, located in McKinney. Franconia was built and owned by Dennis Wehrmann, former master brewer at the Addison Two Rows location.

Franconia will sell in draft and keg only for now. Originally planned are four beers: a light lager, a wheat ale, a third beer that will either be a kölsch or a schwarzbier, and one as yet unnamed that will be sold exclusively through the Two Rows chain.

The McKinney brewery will be run by Wehrmann and his brewer, Gavin Secchi. A website is still under development.