This afternoon we held a ceremonial “grainbreaking” to mark the start of our brewpub’s construction!
Normally these kinds of things are cheesy affairs with a pile of dirt and a bunch of suits in hard hats, but being the Austin co-operative we are, we decided to change the recipe. Not only did we drop the suits, we also swapped the pile of dirt for spent brewing grains!
We had the whole crew out for photos, starting with the Board of Directors.
Picture courtesy of Shawn Kennedy Photography.
Also present were our general contractor (IE2 Construction), architect (Matthew Nesbitt Architecture), and of course the Workers’ Assembly. Our brewer, Jeff, went even farther off course. He broke out his rubber boots and opted for a mash paddle instead of a shovel.
Picture courtesy of Shawn Kennedy Photography.
So what does all of this mean?
CONSTRUCTION IS UNDER WAY!!!
And what does that mean?
It means if you’re not a member it’s time to join the Co-op. If you are a member, make an investment today! Oh, and come out to celebrate this Saturday, May 15th, at the Construction Zone Beer Social.
Media Coverage
The trucking company dropped off a present at the Black Star offices this morning: NEW PINT GLASSES!
We’ll have them available for sale at the Construction Zone Beer Social. Priced at just $5, they’ll make a great new friend for the other glassware in your cabinet.
Great news! Through our offering of Member-Investor Shares we’ve now raised over $200,000 and are currently 54% of the way toward the total investment goal!
With construction under way, the clock is ticking and we’ve got $172,500 left to raise. That means we need every member-owner who can make an investment in these Shares to do so as soon as possible. Give us a call at (512) 452-BEER or email invest@blackstar.coop to make an investment today.
We are still hosting weekly Investor Q&A Forums each Thursday from 5-7 PM at our development office. If you’ve been thinking about the offering and want to tour the space, your time is running out. Soon it will be an off-limits construction zone, so plan on joining us this Thursday, May 13th.
Again, if you have any questions about the offering or are ready to make an investment, please give us a call at (512) 452-BEER.
| June 13, 2010 | ||
| 1:00 PM | to | 4:00 PM |
The Board of Directors will hold its monthly meeting for June 2010 on Sunday, June 12th. The meeting will be held at the Co-op’s development office, across the street from the brewpub location, and will start at 1PM.
| June 30, 2010 | ||
| 7:00 PM | to | 9:00 PM |
Back in April we first invited the beer-loving women of our Co-op to a special Ladies Edition of Bar Hours with the Board. It was so successful we’ve decided to make Ladies Bar Hours a regular part of our calendar! Yes, leave your male friends behind so the women can chat amongst themselves. Sorry, guys, you’ll have to make due with the June 12th Bar Hours @ Red’s Porch.
On Wednesday June 30th Bar Hours with the Board will be in downtown Austin at the Dog & Duck. The Dog & Duck is located at 406 W 17th St and we’ll be there from 7-9 PM.
As you know, these events are not formal meetings, but they are a great opportunity for member-owners (and prospective new members-owners!) to come share a pint with some of our Directors and enhance the membership linkage of our Co-op.
| June 19, 2010 | ||
| 5:00 PM | to | 7:00 PM |
Calling all South Austinites!
On Saturday June 12th Bar Hours with the Board will return to Red’s Porch in your neck of the woods. Red’s Porch is is located at 3508 S Lamar, and we’ll be there from 5-7 PM.
As you know, these events are not formal meetings, but they are a great opportunity for member-owners (and prospective new members-owners!) to come share a pint with some of our Directors and enhance the membership linkage of our Co-op.
See you there!
| May 20, 2010 | ||
| 5:00 PM | to | 7:00 PM |
Our offering of Member-Investor Shares is well under way. If you haven’t yet made an investment, now is the time!
A printed prospectus was mailed to all member-owners, and we’re following up with phone calls and emails. However, we always love meeting our member-owners in person and are holding weekly Investment Q&A Forums to talk about the offering, answer questions, and sign contracts (bring your checkbook!).
The Investment Q&A Forums take place each Thursday from 5-7 PM. Please join us for the next forum on May 20th at our development office, which is across the parking lot from the brewpub location at Midtown Commons. For more information, email invest@blackstar.coop or give us a call at (512) 452-BEER.
| May 10, 2010 | ||
| 8:00 PM | to | 10:00 PM |
Your favorite softballers are back again for game 6 of the season against the E 6th bad boys (and girl) New Brohemia.
When: Monday, May 10th, 8pm
Where: Kreig Field #3
Come support the Black Star Co-op Workers’ Assembly and other member-owners as they attempt to clinch the South Division of the Alternative Softball League.
We’ve discussed it in passing during tours and sit-downs, but I think it’s time to fully unveil the Black Star Co-op brewing equipment. Breweries are complicated systems with various tanks intended to heat, cool, and transfer large batches of liquids from one tank to the next. Often your type of brewing equipment can make a huge difference in the quality of the beer. Good Equipment + Good Brewer = Good Beer. What is good equipment? When the system is well engineered for efficiency, control, and sanitary considerations, you get a good brewery. When the brewer is strong, agile, mentally adept, and witty, you get a good brewer…unfortunately, you’re stuck with me:) But let’s focus on the brewing equipment.
We have purchased a new brewing system from Premier Stainless Systems. Here’s some of the details:
10 BBL Direct Fired Brewhouse (1 BBL = 1 barrel = 31 gallons = 2 sanke kegs full)
(4) 10 BBL Uni-tanks (for fermentation)
(5) 10 BBL Serving Tanks
Cellar Control Panel
5 hp Glycol Chiller Package
Malt Mill / Auger
750lb capacity Grist Hopper
2 hp Sanitary Portable Pump w SS cart & VFD control
Georg Fisher COOL-FIT ABS Plus glycol piping throughout
All the fixin’s
The system is currently being manufactured and should be delivered around the same time that the pub will open. This means we most likely won’t have house beers on tap right when we open (but we’ll still have commercial beer…so don’t freak out!), but you will get the added benefit of being able to see the brewery being assembled and watching the brewer frantically run around while the first couple batches are being produced. That’s almost as fun as drinking one of our house beers, eh?! After the brewery equipment is installed, inspected and TABC/TTB give us the thumbs-up, we’ll be brewing the heck out of our rational beers so we can start enjoying our community owned beer!
| May 22, 2010 | ||
| 3:00 PM | to | 6:00 PM |
Yes, it’s time for another Members’ Assembly meeting. The Members’ Assembly, which includes all member-owners of our Co-op, meets twice a year. Ok, ok, we technically meet three times a year, but one of those is a party!
On May 22nd we’ll have one of our regular business meetings. At the meeting we’ll release the annual report from 2009, give an update on the brewpub’s progress, and the Board will start a conversation with the membership about our Ends policies. The meeting will be held at The Scoot Inn and will begin at 3 PM.
Remember, we need a quorum of at least 50 member-owners before we can get started, so as with the last Members’ Assembly meeting, we’re offering a free beer to the first 50 member-owners who come through the door.