Building a Brewery: Week 10

Don't worry Chicken Little, the sky isn't really falling. There have been a handful of interesting shakeups in the brewing world since last we spoke, but rest assured New Main Brewing is still committed to opening an outstanding craft brewery in the Arlington-Pantego-Dalworthington Gardens area within a year's time. Take a deep breath, crack a beer, and let's dive in.

Podcast

Our new free episode is available now, so go download it, and tell all your friends, too. This week we took a serious look at some of the brewing industry's latest shockwaves. We touched on MillerCoors buying a majority stake in Granbury's own Revolver Brewing, we were all in agreement that whoever runs the Specs Twitter account should maybe read emails all the way through before claiming Grapevine is closing its doors (it's not, don't worry), and we all giggled in nervous anticipation that Michael Peticolas may actually be affecting change with the TABC in regards to brewers' distributing rights. When thinking of what all these industry shakeups might portend for New Main, I'm reminded of Tyler Durden's ominous closing line from Fight Club, "You met me at a very strange time in my life..." Seems like he had everything under control at that point, so I'm not too worried.

Houston trip

I made the jaunt down I-45 to meet with a few friends and family members this past weekend. I got to hug my nieces and nephews, hang out with my big sister, tickle my friends' babies, and just recharge the batteries a little, ya know? For those of my other friends that I didn't see in Houston, I'm sorry I just breezed through without a word. I didn't want y'all changing plans last minute this close to the start of a new school year, and I promise I'll make it up to y'all with a Houston-only beer party soon. I was also able to sit down with a gentlemen whom many in our friend group regard as a mentor and role model to discuss New Main's business plan and direction. I gained valuable insight, I refocused certain things that I need to communicate better, and took great notes on some things that need a little more attention and thought. In the words of Tony Magee of Lagunitas, "It's good to have friends."

Location

As we continue to refine our business plan and financial projections, I'm basically going through a crash course in business management and planning. One thing that I'm slowly realizing is there are a lot of places to spend money, but some choices are wiser than others. We are still considering a few options for our brewery location, but we've also found a few new prospects that might allow us to spend previously earmarked dollars where they really count (brewing & fermenting equipment). We still don't have an official location locked down yet, but I'll let you know the second we do. I would like to host a few volunteer events before we open so that we may once more rely on our friends to help clean, decorate, build, and organize the brewing facility. Of course, there will be beer.

Upcoming Events

We have a few great local events coming up that I'm excited to share with y'all. We will be at Pantegofest on September 24th pouring samples of our beer and hopefully selling some New Main apparel. We will also be pouring beer at the Viridian for their Farmers Market and Craft Beer Experience event October 15th in Arlington. We'll release a little more information closer to each of these events, but mark your calendars now. We can't wait to meet y'all and pour you some beer!

As much fun as it is to talk about planning our brewery, our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the people affected by the recent flooding in Louisiana. We can only imagine how difficult life must be for y'all right now. If you have the means to help, please consider supporting the relief efforts of the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, United Way, and all of the other angels helping in Louisiana's time of need.