Happy Halloween!

We are gearing up for Halloween here at BLACK SHIRT BREWING CO by cutting some pumpkins and prepping our costumes. The weather here in Centennial has been crazy lately – lows in the upper 20s and highs in the 40s - old man Winter is just around the corner. In fact, last week saw the opening of both Loveland and Arapahoe Basin Ski Areas, better get the boards in for a tune and wax.

Chad and Carissa also arrived back in CO after spending some much needed and well-deserved time in CA. They brought back some fantastic beers and even better stories from breweries all over Southern and Central CA. Carissa even caught a shark on a crazy, last-minute, grab your shit lets go deep-sea fishing trip! Somehow, after the whirlwind vacation, they came back rested, inspired, and really motivated (aside from Carissa’s head cold).

First things first, our Architect is missing and assumed dead. We haven’t filed a report yet, but our guess is he got caught on the wrong side of a mob dealing. Additionally, we acquired some new equipment that made our scale too large for the building we have spent three months trying to get into (still a ridiculously small-scale, in case you were scared that we were no longer artisanal in size). We have taken it as a sign that we were never supposed to be in that space, and have decided to keep looking at other options. Again, BLACK SHIRT BREWING CO is without a home. We aren’t super happy to be starting again from what seems like scratch, but we must keep our heads high and persevere. The right space will find us and we are comforted in knowing that.

Happy Halloween from the entire crew at BLACK SHIRT BREWING CO, we hope it is safe and fun! Stay warm! Drink good beer!

BSB update|10-6-10

As of this morning, Chad and Carissa are enjoying their honeymoon in CA, currently sitting on a beach or in a restaurant in Mission Beach, San Diego. It is raining and has been since they flew in yesterday; however, the sun is on its way and the temps are going to rise steadily for the next few days. Back here in CO, Branden is well-rested after a whirlwind couple of weeks and is ready to put the focus back on BSB.

We are currently working with our architect Doug, the City of Centennial, and South Metro Fire Dept on a facility that we would like to turn into a BSB brewing facility. Our architect is drafting the site plan, reviewing codes and regulations to ensure that this facility will meet our needs and be compliant with every requirement. This location is close to Rancho Relaxo in Centennial and would allow us to brew and sell our beer wholesale. This facility does come with a major drawback – we wouldn’t be able to be open to the public. No tap room, no tastings, nothing. It would basically serve as our private workshop to make beer and get it out to the retail establishments and fine restaurants that we are focused on.

As of today, we are waiting on our architect to send us the appropriate drawings and forms stating that we are compliant with the city, then, we will forward that along to the city and wait for inspections. Once the inspections have been completed, we will know how to proceed. After we have signed the lease and begin moving in, we can submit our liquor license applications and our TTB application. The liquor license could take anywhere from 3-12 months, and we won’t be able to put beer out to the market until we have acquired that license.

So, for those who are eager to purchase our beer, we appreciate your patience and understanding. We are working as hard as we can to get the beer to market. Nothing is moving as fast as we would like, and everywhere we turn is another obstacle to overcome. But rest assured, we won’t stop until your glass is full of BSB!

Cheers!