The first container opened to the wonderful sight of our Brewhouse Mash/Lauter Ton.   It was packed in there pretty tightly, with about a 2 inch clearance on each side and about 4 inches from the ceiling.  We had been warned to bring wire cutters for the stabilizing wire that was used to secure the equipment, but no amount of talk could have prepared us for that crazy wire maze.  Wires were seriously run everywhere and to everything.

After taking our sweet time, we finally got it out, to reveal much of the brewery platform and misc equipment.  Just after placing the Mash Ton in the brewery, the second truck arrived almost two full hours early.   There definitely is something to be said for punctuality.

After hauling most of the misc equipment by hand, we cleared the way to remove one of the 60 BBL Fermenters and the 60 BBL Bright.  We needed to drag each the vessels to the edge of the container in order to get at them, and the tight clearances on the sides and top made for some tedious work.

We cleared out the first container and the second truck backed in to reveal the Brewhouse Kettle/Whirlpool.  Now that we had the procedure down, it went a bit more smoothly.  We pulled the Kettle out along with the second 60 BBL Fermenter and some more misc equipment.  The kegs were stacked on their sides and lashed down with chicken wire.  Getting all of them out was not fun, especially in the back of what felt like a heated shipping container on a hot Texas summer day.

We finished unloading around 1:30 pm and said goodbye to our second and drastically more impatient truck driver.  The rest of the day was spent inspecting and marveling at our shiny new brewery equipment.  All in all, the unloading process was mostly seamless with hardly a scratch to mar our efforts.  We hope you enjoy these random pics from that great day.

The concrete was hard and thick and the main sewer line was 5 and 1/2 feet down, but we got there.  After all the hard labor was through, we tapped into the line and ran the PVC for our three trench drains and misc plumbing.  The rough-in went without a hitch and we are ready for the next step, pouring back the concrete and finishing out the water lines.

Meanwhile, we have been upgrading the electric service, since all those pumps and compressors use some serious juice.  We are doubling our capacity from a 200 amp to a 400 amp to make room for our current needs as well as any future expansion requirements.  More pics of the electric upgrade as they come.

Keep checking back, many more pictures and progress to come.  We’ve got the finish out for plumbing and electric coming up as well as the pictures from the holy brewhouse unloading day.

Now that all the prep work is mostly done, we’re looking forward to the next major phase in the buildout.  Next up, we’ll have plenty of pics of our progress as we cut up the floors and dig out the plumbing for our trench drains and misc plumbing.  Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

Circle Brewing has a home!  After months of debate and negotiations, we have finalized our lease on the brewery location.  You’ll be pleased to know that it is located up North, near the intersection of Braker Ln. and Kramer Ln.  The address of the new home of Circle Brewing Company is 2340 W Braker Ln, Suite B.  Check it out:

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We’ve also taken a few pics of the inside of the place to give you an idea of what we’ll be working with.  It’s 8,100 sqft, so we’ll have plenty of room to work and expand.  The location is perfect for us, with easy access to both Mopac and I-35 for deliveries throughout Austin and an easy reach to Round Rock and beyond.

We hope you’re as excited about our progress as we are.  Jud and I can’t wait to get to work on building out the space.   Don’t worry, we will be taking plenty of pics of the buildout and documenting every step in the development, so stay tuned to the website and the blog for updates.

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.

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.