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Thanks! Yeah, that was awesome. Not really about us, but Ethan manages to sneak in a few plugs.

Between that and Blue Monk finally (finally!) being open, I think Buffalo is on its way to becoming a lot more beer-aware.

UNfortunately, he was pouring from a Dundee mixer... :eek:
 
Hey, how did you brewing go at Bidwell? And how can i get one of the blue cbw t shirts??

It went great! Well, we were short on our OG, but we were combat brewing and that was really just to have something nifty going on while people came up to talk to us. It was a pretty tiring day (I didn't sit down at all) but a lot of people came up to talk to us, so it was a lot of fun.


CBW! by Community Beer Works, on Flickr (I'm the doofus that's third from the left)

For those not keeping up with us on Bookface, here's the writeup of the day, and then our shiny new Flickr account, and a video too!



Alas, the blue shirts just for us: we have to feel special somehow, y'know? The brown, though (which I think fit the design better anyway), those are still available. PM me your size and we'll find a way to get it to you.

chumprock, yeah, well... who knows. Maybe it's what was brought along for the shoot.
 
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Totally self serving update! Heh. CBW shirts are now available on the intertubes. $15 local (Bryan, we should have emailed you already, or else it's coming soon), $20 shipped.

shirts_bidwell.jpg
 
olllllo: Hooray! Now get back into IRC.

ErieShores: Nope. No reason to compete with Niagara Tradition! We're going to be busy enough with just the beer for quite a while, anyway.
 
Yeah, I like NT but damn, it is so far for me to grab a racking cane or a pound of 2 row!
I have a co-worker that is looking to grow hops commercially. I told her I would keep an ear out for her, let me know if you are interested.
 
Ordered. It will live nicely next to my Mystery Brewing t.

I kind of wanted it to say: "I live in Buffalo $15.00"

Damn ollllllo, you must scour the internet looking for brewery t-shirts. I need to get me one of those t-shirts. My aunt lives in Buffalo, gonna have to arange a little x-mas present action there!
(I also have a mystery brewing t for it to reside next to)
 
By the by, this week's update talks about a lot of the crap that goes into opening a brewery that you might not think about. Being a good brewer will be, for most people, the easiest part of the process.
 
just saw this thread for the first time. congrats, looks like you are not too far from Buff State, wish i still knew some people there so i would have a reason to only be a couple blocks away!
 
Wish you guys the best of luck! Whenever I visit my old hometown of Buff...I'll be looking for your beer!
 
That will be awesome, let me tell you. Unfortunately, we were told explicitly by the TTB that once we file for a license we cannot brew at our building. Since we're doing that next week... this is going to stay unsullied by wort for quite some time, sadly.
 
We cannot brew in our building. We could probably get away with using the equipment offsite, but that would require moving it all, and also finding somewhere to hook the Psychobrew system into (as it uses natural gas instead of propane, and quite a lot of it). So, essentially, not worth it.

To be clear: this is not a wink wink nudge nudge situation. We are doing exactly as the TTB says because we want this to be as quick and painless and possible, and doing things of a questionable nature seems dumb (really dumb, for real). I had been hoping to use my homebrew equipment in the building, as it is inside and not goddamn cold, but again: nope.

Oh! I forgot to post the video I made when we closed on the building. Enjoy, and buy lots of Lost in the Trees music.

 
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I wasn't suggesting doing it at that site. I meant moving it home to use the equipment, but like you said seems like too much hassel.
 
Oh, I know. I just want to be very clear as often as possible that we're not pulling any shenanigans (this board is filled with 'well if it's a TIP JAR it's not SELLING' posts, after all...)
 
Oh, I know. I just want to be very clear as often as possible that we're not pulling any shenanigans (this board is filled with 'well if it's a TIP JAR it's not SELLING' posts, after all...)

Yeah, I've seen plenty of that. So many people try to find loopholes that just don't exist. I just wasn't sure if there was some rule saying that you couldn't use the equipment at all, not just a limit on the space. How long are you expecting it to be before you can start brewing?

I'm looking forward to trying your beer. I have family in Syracuse and Rochester, so a trip to try your beer will be part of a future trip, probably as part of a western NY beer tour.

Good luck.
 
I just stumbled onto this post and read the Buffalo News article. Can't wait to see you guys open up, this town is plenty big enough for more beer!
 
Thanks! We're definitely going to have some exciting things coming up soon while we wait for our TTB application to get processed.

Also, people should check out this month's issue of Buffalo Spree. It's a beer issue, with an article on Flying Bison, some homebrewer profiles, an article about the brewing history of Buffalo (that CBW is mentioned in, and I'm quoted in, so I may be biased) and more. It's a pretty good issue.

Also also:

181945_196759897017207_124445514248646_758718_4931155_n.jpg
 
Have you guys heard about the new microbrewery excise tax change? I guess schumer wants to give microbreweries a tax break.
 
Yeah, if people would care to write in to their Senators and proclaim their support of the BEER Act, that would be swell.

Here's a bit on Fox News [ame=http://video.foxnews.com/v/4539680/brewers-introduce-beer-stimulus-plan/]about it[/ame].
 
I just got done reading this whole thread and it sounds like you guys are well on your way to brewing your first beer! I'm rooting for you!

Unfortunately though, I'm in Manhattan Kansas so I probably wont get to try your beer unless I make it up to the northeast.

Keep it going guys!
 
Unfortunately though, I'm in Manhattan Kansas so I probably wont get to try your beer unless I make it up to the northeast.

Just ask Silverado to get some on tap. :drunk:

I used to be stationed at Ft. Riley and spent way too much time at that bar.
 
Just ask Silverado to get some on tap. :drunk:

I used to be stationed at Ft. Riley and spent way too much time at that bar.

Hahaha. It must have been awhile ago. It has since been renamed to Bushwackers. I'm not sure if it was sold or not, but I believe it was.
 
Hi Sigafoos,

Goodluck with your brewing endeavor!!! I'm working with a couple partners to open a tiny brewery and farm, and we just sent in our paperwork to establish our LLC!! Hooray!

It's my responsibility to get the psychobrew system, or build one that is capable of the same brewing capacity. I'd like to buy it, but building one of that magnitude and just using their kettles would be so much more gratifying. I had a couple questions about the operation and parts:

I notice the thermo well placement in the kettle walls... is this where you would position your thermocouples for the pid? If it is, then I ask why. It seems that if you recirculate the wort through the entire mash process, then you might be getting too much heat when the burner turns on, because the controller isn't looking at the temp coming out of the freshly heated wort, it's looking at the temp of the middle of the mash.

My other question is, are the automated gas valves the on/off type, or are they modulating? If they're on/off valves it seems like it would be easier to control the gas flow. So, if you wanted to do a step mash, you could crank down the manual gas valve a little so you're not scorching the wort when it comes out of the mash. I would think it would scorch the wort if you do a rise from 120 to 152 and you're burner is constantly on full blast the entire time the temp is rising. But, even the on/off type valves have two valves, one for safety reasons. If you interrupt the flow of the gas then the 2nd valve shuts off. So if this is the case, how do you turn down the manual gas valve to prevent scorching if the safety valve will just close? Any idea what brand and model the valves are?

Sorry for a paragraph, but there's so many questions. Thank and good luck!
 
I'm sorry I've been AWOL. In my defense, opening a brewery is hard work, and my kid wants to see me now and then too.

UPDATES:

- We have our TTB license

- We've submitted our SLA application.

- Construction is ongoing, turning the building into a brewery.

Our best guess is that we'll be open in early 2012. This is exciting, exciting news.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

Just launched (not 20 minutes ago): Our Kickstarter project. You -- yes, you! -- can help fund the start of our brewery. You can even get a high five! (okay, okay, and a lot of other cool stuff.)

Even if you don't pledge anything, at least watch the video. It's hilarious. I mean, I wrote it, but then the WNY Media guys edited it and made it even better. Just watch.

And, of course, pledging... that'd be cool too. Pass it on to your friends. Let's make some beer.
 
I wish that could be one of the rewards! Kickstarter actually is fairly strict on what you can and can't do. We can't give away beer: so no free keg every time the Sabres win the Stanley Cup. (yes, that was a reward in our initial proposal) We also can't give away discounts, like a buck off every growler for a year. Even being hamstrung like thay I'm pretty happy with the result.

Thanks for your support! We have over $7,000 raised already, which is fantastic and incredible. Turns out people like beer. Who knew?
 
I think the rewards you have are pretty good. Free pint glasses, growlers, and t-shirts are pretty cool.
 
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