Friday, November 17, 2017

Building a Brewery: November 17, 2017

Ah, don't you just love fall? The crisp, cool air, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, sweet holiday drinks, the ever-present reminder of the enormous hulking pile of work that needs to be done before you can open your craft beverage taproom and events center? Oh, is that last one just me?


Y'all, there truly is a lot to get done, but we've been chipping away at it steadily for the last several months. I'm sorry we couldn't make the group work party happen last month, but a certain waste removal company botched the dumpster rental so it would have all been for naught. Instead, my hard-working brother Andrew brought his pick-m-up truck and a big ol' trash trailer for us to load up. We took 2 loads to the dump, cut down lots of overgrown shrubs and bushes, and laid some brand new decking in the backyard. It's really starting to shape up into the beergarden of our dreams!

I have also been busy on the paperwork front. Our TABC permit is very close to being issued. We have been meeting and submitting plans to the Town of Pantego for various renovation items like our sprinkler system, new drain for the bar sink, hookups for the cold room, and the like. I've been spending an odd day here and there each week in the brewery to tackle some of the minor plumbing/painting/decking/cursing activities, and slowly but surely, a craft beverage taproom and events center is peeking out from under the pile.

Now comes the fun part. We need y'all to tell us which Texas craft beer, cider, coffee, tea, or other beverages you want to drink when we open our doors soon! We are honored that we get to share some of our brewing friends' fine beverages with our fans, but we'd also love to try something out that we've never had before. So we need y'all to email us with your suggestions at david@newmainbrewing.com for your favorite local craft beverages that you want to see on our tap wall (doesn't have to be alcoholic either, we'll carry craft sodas as well!). We'll try our very hardest to grab what we can for our soft and grand opening events. 

Remember, we want to support and grow the Texas craft movement, so please keep your recommendations inside the borders of the Lone Star State. Also bear in mind that we will not be signing with a distributor right out of the gate, so that means I'll have to physically drive to these breweries/cideries/coffee shops to pick up the kegs (and return them!). Please give me a heads up if I'm going to have to make a road trip out of the area so I can try to source more than one brewery or beverage manufacturer. Kill two brews with one stone, so to speak.

"But David, what if I don't have any recommendations? How can I help New Main Brewing get open?" 


Well I'm glad you asked, random citizen! The biggest thing you can help us out with right now is getting the word out about our upcoming opening. We are still trying to pinpoint an exact date for opening, but it will likely be the end of December or possibly the first part of January 2018. That's a month and a half of liking our Instagram posts. That's a good solid 6 weeks of bringing up New Main casually in conversations at work. That's 45ish days of tagging a friend in our Facebook posts. That's over a 1,000 hours wherein you can go knocking door-to-door to shout out your excitement for New Main Brewing. That's nearly 65,000 minutes that you could spend imagining yourself in our taproom with your favorite people around and favorite beverage in hand.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we know many of y'all will be travelling to celebrate with loved ones. Please drink responsibly, and designate a driver. And hey, while Uncle Jimbo is passing the mashed potatoes around the dinner table, maybe mention to everyone that you're excited to be taking part in the Great American Craft Movement with us at New Main Brewing in Pantego, Texas. We can't wait to open our doors and serve you a nice cold pint of friendship. Cheers!