I hope you’re salivating.  As we get closer and closer to securing a location, our equipment is finishing up its fabrication in China.  Here are a few choice pictures of the brewhouse as it is being created from scratch.  Pretty cool stuff.  We can’t wait to put her to use.  We’ll keep you up to date on new developments as they happen.

We did it!  Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about Circle Brewing Company over the last year.  While we are still raising capital and actively pursuing additional investors, we recently hit our primary financial goal!

During that time, we have been working on securing our brewhouse and accompanying equipment.  Since we hit our mark, we were able to put in our order for our brewhouse…here is a picture of what that bad boy is going to look like when it is fabricated.  Ooooooohhhhh, it’s so good lookin’.

She’s a 30 BBL system, fabbed by Frank Ma and our friends over at PBST.  We can’t wait to have her delivered and fire this sucker up and brew some tasty Circle Brews.  Now that the order is in, we are looking to receive it in approximately 4 months.  So, start your stopwatch.

It’s on, Circle Brew Fans.  More updates to come soon as we secure our location and begin building out the space.   To make sure you get updates, make sure you sign up for our Circle of Friends or check us out on the Facebook.com.

Hey everyone.  We wanted to let you know about a mention Circle Brewing has in the August 28th issue of the Austin Chronicle.  So go pick up a copy or seven.  You can also check out the article online here.  Read more beer related news and reviews from the Chronicle article’s author, Lee Nichols, on his blog, I Love Beer Blog.

The equity raising is speeding along, as we have only 15 shares left til we reach our initial goal!  We have quickly and to our great enjoyment mastered our Dry Irish Stout recipe.  Still fishing around for names for her, so if you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free to email us or post.

In other news, we have an upcoming article in the Austin American-Statesman, to be published on August 12.  So, make sure you go pick up a copy next Wednesday and head over to your local framing shop.  If you can’t wait for the print version, the author, Patrick Beach, has posted it on his blog as well.  Check it out here.

We’re getting close to pulling the trigger, so keep spreading the word and checking back for updated info on our progress.

We’ve been brewing like crazy lately, sharpening up one of the first planned seasonals, our Dry Irish Stout.  It is coming along faster than expected, and we should have a finished product soon, leaving us a new Circle Brew to focus on.  Here’s a pic of her, gorgeous, isn’t she?

Keep spreading the word!  The countdown is at 31 and dropping.  We’ll keep you updated on the progress, and you keep supporting Circle Brewing.

As of today, we are 37 shares away from breaking ground! While that is not the total number of shares remaining, it is the threshold needed to proceed. We are close and getting closer to bringing Circle Brewing Company to market. After we sell the 37 shares, we will immediately begin gathering the equipment and building out the brewery. So, get the word out! The sooner we lock down those shares, the sooner you can walk into your local watering hole and throw down an icy cold Circle Brew.

We’ve also been brewing like crazy and will begin working on some recipes for our first seasonal brews. If you have any thoughts or ideas on that, please let us know.

We’re hammering away, and just wanted to give you all a quick update on the progress. Spread the word!

Well, it has been a long time coming, but we have finally brewed a batch of Blonde that we are pleased to call Alibi! Looks like 18 was our number. We’ll continue to keep brewing and to improve on our recipes, but mmmm…we’re there. So now we’ve got all three of our staple recipes, Alibi Blonde Bock, Envy Amber, and Blur Hefe, and are beginning to stockpile samples for prospective investors. Soon, we will begin to work on some new recipes that will be our seasonals. If you have any thoughts or adamant requests, by all means, email us.

In other news, we’ve got a little blurb coming up in the April/May Edition of the Southwest Brewing News. We’re looking forward to our first little bit of press and would like to specifically thank Hans Granheim for his help.

We’ve finally bent to the pressures and created a Facebook Page. So, check us out and sign up to be a fan on the page. We’re pushing to get the word out in any way we can and to as many people as possible.

So, get out there, Circle Brewing fans, and help us help you get Circle Brewing Brews on the shelves and in the bars.

We’re BACK! From the GABF that is. And I promised you some hardware, and yes, I delivered. While I am sad to report that my baby, the whiskey rye, was overlooked by the powers that be, under the banner of Uncle Billy’s Brew and Que and Brewmaster Brian Peters, we won a silver medal in the Kellerbier Category. Knocking out 22 other breweries in that category, we were able to leave the GABF as winners. So thanks to all that kept their fingers crossed.

Check out the pic of Jud and the random girl who jumped into the shot at the last second. What can we say, drinking was involved and Jud’s a chick magnet. Hilarious.

But it wasn’t all just medal winning, we also had a chance to taste the many beers of Colorado. While staying at Jud’s brother Nate’s place in Boulder, we visited some of the locals, Avery, Mountain Sun, and Walnut Brewery. We also tried countless others in the area apart from the countless hundreds, literally, at the Fest.

Taking the bus to and from the GABF was quite an adventure in and of itself. Here’s a pic of me at the bus station wishing there was still beer in my taster glass (it was actually plastic). While we are still pretty bad at taking pics for posterity’s sake, or even remembering to do so, we’re trying.

On the brewfront, the latest Blonde is carbonating as we speak and the newest round of Hefe is on the docket to be brewed this weekend. We’re experimenting with a variety of yeast strains this time, so we are quite excited about these batches. I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out. . .

We have really stepped up the brewing to prepare for the upcoming second round of equity investment. We wanted to stockpile a number of bottles of our Envy Amber, as it is the only recipe that we are completely finished tampering with, and ooooh is it good. Both Jud and I have to keep reminding each other not to drink too much of it because then we won’t have any for investors to taste. We’re now overlapping our brew schedules, to maximize the output and variation in experimentation on our Blonde and our Hefe. It has been a long time since the last post, but we have concluded from some heavy deliberation that we will go with a Texan Hefe as our third brew, and will save the Five Past Pilsner for our fourth roll out down the line. So, with the exception of this weekend, we have been and will continue to brew every two weeks.

The big news is that we are going to the GABF (Great American Beer Festival for the layman) in Denver this week starting on Wednesday. And yes, we’ll be back with tons of pics. The brew pub I work for is entering 5 beers in the competition this year, one of which I was particularly instrumental in creating, Woodeye Whiskey Rye, which I have dubbed my baby. The brew is basically a Rye IPA aged in a Wild Turkey Oak Barrel, and I have predicted a gold medal and don’t plan on leaving the GABF without a metallic symbol of its victory. Don’t worry, next year Circle Brewing Company will enter its own beer in the GABF and other renowned festivals, but not quite yet.

Our Alibi Blonde Bock is rocking. We are really pleased with the latest round, and by the time we get back from the GABF, it should be sufficiently lagered. The Envy Amber is spot on. Dry but a little malty sweet. Flavorful with a pleasant aroma, but not overly hoppy. Just great stuff. We hope to be able to share some of our brews with potential investors as we open the second round of financing to local investors on October 16th.

So, it’s off to the GABF! And don’t worry, we’ll be sampling enough beer to drink one for everybody.

Beerwise we are tightening up around here. The first batch of Blonde Bock is done and the second batch is fermenting! We were very pleased with the first round and are going a little lighter for the second set. We’re going to keep the alcohol by volume around 6.5%, but also want to have a thoroughly rich malty profile. This time around we also are experimenting with a different yeast strain, so we’ll see how that affects its balance.

The business is coming together well as we have been gaining momentum steadily since the last entry. Thanks to all the investors and friends who have come to visit in the past few months. It has been really busy and productive, and thanks for all your input. Everyone provided some honest and outside perspective which has proved quite useful. We are currently on the path to our groundbreaking in the coming months.

In other news, we’ve been mulling over our decision on our third beer style. We are debating whether we should continue with the Pilsner, due to a number of variables in the market. As an alternative, we are taking a very hard look at making a bold Texan Hefeweizen. The market is great for it and we think it would be a nice complement to the Amber and Blonde Bock. We are still debating it, so if you have any feeling on the matter, please let us know and send us your feedback.

Stay tuned in the next few weeks, we’ll have more info as we keep brewing and the biz keeps growing.