Categories
Brewery Startup

Painting and Bar Progress – March-April 2013

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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.

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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.

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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
Announcements

Become a Blue Stallion Beer Club Member

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[column col=”2/3″]Are you itching to know when our grand opening date will be? Jonesin’ for our initial tap list? Can’t stand the fact we haven’t published any pictures of the build out progress in the lounge area?

Fret no more. Simply subscribe to our email newsletter and you’ll be the first to know everything! Plus subscribers will immediately get to view photos of the lounge build out. 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.

Just submit your email address on the next page.

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[button color=”#COLOR_CODE” background=”#COLOR_CODE” size=”xlarge” src=”http://bluestallionbrewing.com/newsletter/”]Subscribe Now![/button]
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Categories
Brewery Startup

More Brewery Progress – February 2013

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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

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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

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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

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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]