Category: Brewery Startup

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Brewery Startup

Unloading Brewing Tanks Time Lapse Video

On November 2nd, 2012, the first truck carrying our brewing tanks arrived at the brewery. The video below is a time lapse of what it was like to unload the first two trucks. It was a little nerve racking unloading the equipment that was supposed to be the bones behind the whole operation. Thankfully all the tanks got unloaded without any major issues.

[youtube height=”528″ width=”940″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buGaToZEvIo[/youtube]

Music Credit: Like a Physical Space (Oblivian Substanshall) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

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It’s been a year since we unloaded them. We’re amazed to think about everything that’s changed in that time. From the ridiculously long build out, to the grand opening and Oktoberfest, it’s been a hell of a ride. Thank you to all the craft beer drinkers that made this last year possible!

It would be a few months after this before we got the tanks lifted upright and put in place. Be sure to check out this this post where we detail the progress around lifting the tanks and show off another time lapse video of the lifting process.

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Brewery Startup

What an Opening Week!

Our first official week in business has come to a close. And what a week it was! We started off with our grand opening on Wednesday, July 17th. We thought we might have a pretty busy night, but we didn’t think it would get as crowded as it did (see proof).

We want to thank everyone who came out to the grand opening and this past week. You all made our first week in business a huge success! The support we receive from the community, including all the other breweries, is amazing. Lexington is a great place to be.

Media Coverage

In case you missed it, we were fortunate enough to have a lot of media coverage the past couple weeks. Here’s a rundown of all the articles and photos:

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What’s Next?

First and foremost, we addressed a number of small kinks that were exposed this past week. We still have a few more to iron out, but we are dedicated to ensuring everyone’s experience in the taproom is as excellent as it can be. The staff and owners were extremely impressed with the amount of patience customers granted us when we’d experience the occasional hiccup, especially those first couple days. Thank you, is all we can say.

Next, a couple more beer styles are almost ready to go on tap. We’re excited to announce these in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

We’re lining up food trucks for a more regular schedule during the week. Currently, we’ll be posting a weekly taproom schedule to social media accounts so you can easily find out what special events are going on, what food trucks will be here on what days and what our operating hours are for the week. Eventually we’ll have an electronic calendar on the website that you’ll be able to check at any time.

If you’ve been in the taproom, you’ve probably seen the digital beer menu above the bar (Yes, we’ve increased the font size significantly). It connects with several social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Untappd, and FourSquare), so you can interact with it in real time. We’re also working on displaying the live feed of our tap list on the website. When we get that working, you’ll be able to see exactly what beers we have on tap at any time. Once complete, it will work on any mobile or desktop browser.

Finally, we’re working hard this week back in the brewery. It’s obvious what beer styles you want more of, and we’re brewing new batches as quickly as we can to keep them on tap.

Our Grand Opening on Twitter:

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Brewery Startup

Painting and Bar Progress – March-April 2013

Arrow with border painted

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This series was supposed to be a monthly update on the brewery build out process, but seeing as it’s now the middle of April, we’re running a little behind. As with any business start up, there are always a few hundred things to keep you busy. Unfortunately, that means things like writing blog posts sometimes take a back seat.

Here’s a recap of what’s gone on at Blue Stallion Brewing in the past month and a half:

Newsletter Launch

We launched the Blue Stallion Beer Club newsletter on March 18th. If you haven’t already, you can subscribe now. Subscribers will immediately get to view photos of the lounge build out, which we aren’t publishing publicly. It’s a very dynamic space in the tap room and we’re excited to show it off when we open.

In addition to being first to hear our grand opening date and what beers will be featured on our initial tap list, subscribers will also get invitations to special events and member-only deals. Blue Stallion Beer Club members will find out about everything first. For example, subscribers received advanced notice of the new Blue Stallion sign and painting progress a week ago.

Hiring Bartenders

We announced that we’re hiring bartenders for the tap room on April 4th. We’ll stop accepting applications on Sunday April 21, 2013. So if you or anyone you know is interested, you can find more details and instructions for how to apply on the job posting.

Signs and Stickers

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, then you’ve probably already seen some shots of the outdoor sign Zac’s been working on for a couple weeks. He spent his spring break painting a 12′ x10′ version of our logo to hang on the granary facing Newtown Pike. We love how it turned out.

We also received our first batch of stickers. We’re still working on the best way to get those out to fans of the brewery. Stay tuned for more on that front.

In the meantime, here’s a photo gallery chronicling the work done on the outdoor sign.

[gdl_gallery title=”Signage” width=”168″ height=”126″]

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Painting, Lights and Doors

It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do to the look of a room. We made a lot of progress in the tap room and brewery with getting the walls painted, doors hung, and lighting installed. Everything with new drywall is now painted and looks much better. New rooms also have drop ceilings and overhead lights put in.

We’ve even got lights in the women’s bathroom, lab, office, cooler area and bathroom hallway. We’ve got some track lighting and outdoor lighting to put up next. Seeing doors installed throughout the brewery gives the place a much more “finished” look. Check out progress photos below:

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Building the Bar

They key to any taproom is the bar itself. We think ours is going to be a great place to drink a half liter or two of craft beer. As you can see from the photo gallery below, the hardwood top is nailed down and ready to be trimmed. We’ve also got the area for the beer taps set up and holes cut. Once the bar top is finished, we’ll install the behind-the-bar counter and sinks. Then we’ll get to covering the front face of the bar. Details on how we’ll cover the front of the bar to come later… Until then, check out these photos of how the bar is coming along.

[gdl_gallery title=”Bar Build Out 1″ width=”168″ height=”126″ ]

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[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]

Subscribe to our mailing list for inside sneak peeks and member-only deals.

Stay tuned for more brewery build out updates, and while you’re at it, check out some Blue Stallion Brewing gear![/quote]

Categories
Brewery Startup

More Brewery Progress – February 2013

[frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BarPanorama02.jpg” width=”940″ height=”203″ lightbox=”on” title=”March 1st Panorama Shot of Bar Area” align=”center” ]

It seems like we got even more done in February than we did in January, and that was a lot! If you missed it in the last progress update, be sure to check out this cool time-lapse video of raising the brewing vessels.

The work done in the last month has completely transformed the brewery. It no longer looks at all like a warehouse space with some tanks on pallets. You really get a sense of what the finished build out is going to look like.

In the Tap Room

[frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BarPanorama05.jpg” width=”940″ height=”208″ lightbox=”on” title=”Bar Area Prior to Drywall” align=”center” ]

The large fire wall separating the brewery from the tap room has all its sheet rock up, which really changes the dynamic of the space. The dry wall for all the other rooms was also hung. This includes the cooler, barrel room, women’s bathroom, lab, office and mill room. In addition to sheet rock, the cooler is almost finished and the frame for the bar is complete.

We got large wall openings cut between the lounge area and bar that really open up both spaces. A nice steel staircase was also installed in the lounge area granting access to the mezzanine (yeah, we have a mezzanine).

Up next in the tap room: finishing the window holes we cut, installing the bar top, installing  beer taps, building cabinetry, painting walls, and ordering tables and chairs.

In the Brewery

[frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BrewingVesselsPanorama01.jpg” width=”940″ height=”212″ lightbox=”on” title=”Brewing Vessels Panorama Shot” align=”center” ]

Most importantly, we’ve made serious progress toward brewing our first batch of beer. The glycol lines for the uni-tanks were filled, which keeps the tanks at a constant temperature during the fermentation process. The pumps on the chiller were tested and pressure gauges on the glycol lines confirmed.

As far as the brewhouse goes, the difficult job of re-wiring the controller to all the pumps, switches and solenoids was completed. We also got the burner on the boil kettle running and tested the pumps on the mash tun, kettle and water system. We even got the exhaust stack for the boil kettle installed through the roof!

Up next in the brewery: receiving our TTB and ABC licenses, running the new flex auger from the mill room to the motor at the top of the mash tun, testing the chiller’s capacity to cool the uni-tanks and brite beer tanks, and getting the rake motor working on the mash tun.

In the News

[frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/BSB_HeraldLeaderArticle_1000px.jpg” width=”300″ height=”165″ lightbox=”on” title=”Blue Stallion Brewing Herald Leader Article” align=”left” ]If you didn’t catch it, Blue Stallion Brewing was covered in the Lexington Herald-Leader in February 8th’s Weekender section. The article covered the craft beer movement in Lexington and we got a cool picture printed of the partners standing under the mash tun. The online article even has a video of our own Kore Donnelly talking about his favorite (non-Blue Stallion) beer.
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Grand Opening

Now that we’re so close to brewing our first batch of beer, we can finally get more firm on our grand opening date. If you’ve seen the signs on the front of the building, you’ll notice we printed “Spring 2013”. Leaving the opening date vague was intentional because there are so many outside variables that come in to play when you open a brewery. Once we start brewing beer, we can announce our grand opening with much more certainty. Look for an announcement soon!

Photo Gallery

[gdl_gallery title=”Brewery Build Out 3″ width=”168″ height=”126″ ]

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[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]

Subscribe to our mailing list for inside sneak peeks and member-only deals.

Stay tuned for more brewery build out updates, and while you’re at it, check out some Blue Stallion Brewing gear![/quote]

 

Categories
Brewery Startup

Brewery Build Out Progress – January 2013

Blue Stallion Brewing System

Blue Stallion Brewing System

We’ve made a lot of progress at the brewery since December. A month and a half ago our biggest concern was when our plumbing permit would get approved so we could get the floor resurfaced. Fast forward to 2013 and 610 W. Third St is beginning to look like an honest to goodness brewery.

Standing Up Brewing Vessels

Since the floors were resurfaced and sealed with epoxy, one of the most exciting things we did was stand up all of the uni-tanks, brite beer tanks, and the brewing vessels of our 15 barrel brewing system. It was a laborious process that required some extra hands on deck in addition to some precarious feats of engineering. A couple chain hoists, 30 feet of chain, a dozen quick links and shackles, and two days later we had all 14 vessels off their pallets and upright.

Luckily we captured a lot of it on video. Below you’ll see over 6 hours of footage compressed down to just 3 1/2 minutes. If you watch the whole video you can spot where we ran into trouble a couple times.

[youtube height=”480″ width=”853″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QrHDnGQkJo[/youtube]

 

More Progress Highlights:

[list type=”check”]

  • Finished framing walls for the bar, mill room, laboratory, office and bathrooms
  • Received shipment of 6,000 lbs of grain and 500 lbs of hops
  • Cooler and keg washer are en route
  • Pulled cable to run HDMI signal to flat panel TVs in bar and lounge area

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Photo Gallery

[frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Partners_UnderMashtun.jpg” width=”650″ height=”IMAGE_HEIGHT” lightbox=”on” title=”BSB Partners Under the Mash Tun” align=”center” ]
(From L-R: Xavier, Zac, Nico, Jim & Kore)
The Blue Stallion Brewing partners thought it would be a good idea to stand under an 1,800 lb tank in mid air

Check out more photos of what’s been going on the past few months.

[gdl_gallery title=”Brewery Build Out 2″ width=”150″ height=”150″ ]

Still to Come:

We still have plenty to do to brew our first batch, including: electric, gas, and water hookups for the brewhouse, getting state and federal licensing, as well as finishing the glycol cooling system for the uni-tanks and brite tanks. We will give a progress report as we get closer to our inaugural batch.

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[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]

Subscribe to our mailing list for inside sneak peeks and member-only deals.

Stay tuned for more brewery build out updates, and while you’re at it, check out some Blue Stallion Brewing gear![/quote]

Update

Check out this time lapse video of unloading the tanks from the delivery trucks.

Categories
Brewery Startup

Plumbing Work Gets Approved and Other Updates

[column col=”1/4″][frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Plumbing-Approval-and-wall-smeared.jpg” width=”225″ height=”300″ lightbox=”on” title=”Plumbing Approval and back wall” align=”left” ][/column]
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It may not seem like that big of a deal, but the green sticker you see in the photo at left is cause for celebration here at Blue Stallion Brewing Company. When we first started planning and roughing out the necessary plumbing fixtures for the brewery, the anticipated timeline was a couple weeks to cut trenches, lay pipe and pour concrete.

Turns out when you’re adding as many new fixtures as we are, the steps for approval aren’t so simple. The approval process for the work we were having done is 6 weeks. That’s a lot of hurry up and wait time.

Basically, that meant we couldn’t start any of the cool phases of the build out until the permit application was approved and the plumbing work inspected. By “cool phases”, I’m referring to:

[list type=”check3″]

  • Resurfacing and sealing the entire floor of the brewery
  • Standing up the tanks and moving them to their final positions
  • Building the bar and cooler
  • Everything else…

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While we got a decent amount of work done in the past 6 weeks, we anticipated having a lot more complete by the end of the calendar year. The exciting news is we’re going to be able to show you some pretty awesome photos and videos of the build out process from here on out.

There’s a long list of things in need of completion before we brew our first batch of beer, but the plumbing approval means we can get going full steam on all that work.

[frame src=”http://34.132.242.92/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/T1i_2012_12_16_19320_sm.jpg” width=”500″ height=”332″ lightbox=”on” title=”Brewery Tanks” align=”center” ]
The brewery floor won’t look like this much longer. Those tanks should be upright very shortly.

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[quote align=”center” color=”#999999″]

Subscribe to our mailing list for inside sneak peeks and member-only deals.

Stay tuned for more brewery build out updates and while you’re at it, check out some Blue Stallion Brewing gear![/quote]