It’s almost that time of year again, Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week is just around the corner.  A lot of great events will be happening again this year, and if you check out our calendar you can see where we’re planning to pour our beers at.  We’ve tried to take on an event most nights of the week so we hope everyone can make at least one to try a few samples of our beer.  We’ll be pouring a wide range of beers, Tokoloshe, Machete, Hop Marsh, Remus & Romulus, Colossus, Spelunking and a handful of others as well!  They all won’t make the trip to every location so as we get closer to PCBW, we’ll update our event postings and add the beers onto them in case you’re looking for one in particular.

The weather still hasn’t done us any favors and while the roof materials have made it onto the roof, the roof still isn’t on.  We just need a few nice days in a row so cross your fingers for us.  The layout is finalized, barring any code issues that could arise, kitchen equipment layout is being finalized as is the general menu, and we’re working on the interior design aspects of the pub.  Several people have asked us why our brewery is taking so long when others are popping up and seeming to move through the process faster.  We can honestly say we’re doing everything we can to move as quickly as possible.  Our project is much larger than most, involving bigger systems than most of the new breweries you’re seeing pop up and has involved the demolition of multiple buildings and significant repairs/renovations as we are taking our building back to square one so we can truly deliver on what we want to offer.  Unfortunately just about anything that could happen to extend our timeline has, ranging from weather issues, to contractor issues, investor issues, etc.  We can admit that we were a bit anxious and naive in our initial planning and have been brought down to reality through this process.  Things don’t happen when you want them to, but when they fit into the schedule of those you are working with and we failed to take that into consideration when planning our timeline.  We’re getting there though and we can promise you that we will reward you for your patience by bringing an awesome new hangout to downtown Butler.  We’re going to make the best beer and food we possibly we can, but it’s more than that.  It’s about the experience and we’re going to deliver the full package.  We know pouring you samples isn’t the same thing as giving you the full brewpub experience, but we want to hold you over as best we can as we appreciate all the support and excitement!

On a final note, in the future you’ll see some more label artwork, a new shop and eventually a brand new website that truly represents what our Adventurous Ales are all about!  Cheers!

With the winter season upon us and the holiday season behind us, I thought I’d take a few minutes to give a “state of the business” update.  We’ve been very busy trying to get things ready for our opening.  You may have seen our posts about getting stuff done with the building and events we were doing.  I hope you all had the opportunity to try some of our beers over the past few months, and have enjoyed our posts.

We are currently waiting on our roofing supplies to arrive so we can get a new roof on the building.  It is pointless to do anything in the building without a good roof on, as moldy dry wall is not fun.  Once the roof goes on, hopefully the lady above the building will stop throwing her cat doo doo (hehe) out of the window on to our building.  After the roof goes on, we intend a full assault on the building to get it ready for opening.  We will be putting in new larger windows, doing electric, HVAC, plumbing, and dry wall before you know it.  We have a lot to get accomplished, but we believe we can be ready soon!  We are still shooting for spring of 2013, but it may be a little closer to summer.  I know. I am sorry, but we are working on it.

Over the past few months while working on demolition, we thought it would be a good idea to make a few expedition batches and see what our minds could come up with.  You may have had the opportunity to try Tokoloshe, our Habanero Chocolate Porter, River Runner, our Kolsch, or even our Colossus Wheat beer made with orange blossom honey and chamomile.  There are others, and even more on our list to make.  We are always thinking of fun and exciting ways to utilize interesting ingredients in our beers.  We still have quite a few things up our sleeves.  We are currently awaiting our ingredients for a set of Rye beers.  We will be calling the Remus and Romulus Rye.  They will have the same ingredients, but brewed with different styles to make two totally different beers.  We are looking forward to that adventure.  We are also working on an Irish Red ale, and a Barley Wine made with a brand new hop from New Zealand that is supposed to be amazing.

In addition to the beers, we have been working with Craft Brewed Clothing to get our t-shirts out there and spread the word of good beer.  If you are a participant in that program, look for a Butler Brew Works shirt in the mail shortly.  We have been doing a few charity events and even helping to judge a few beers at brewing competitions.  We have also been trying to get to every brewery we can to see what our brethren have been up to, and to get advice from those who come before us.  We intend to get to a few more before we open.  We are currently in talks with the local home brew club to do an event in Butler later this year as a charity event.  Stay tuned for that as well.

So there you have it.  I hope this little update gives you a bit more insight as to what is happening in our world.  We will continue to keep you updated as to the goings on around here.  Until then, enjoy a craft beer and as always, Cheers!

The end of our gift card promotion is drawing to a close.  We appreciate all the support we’ve received and look forward to serving everyone in the near future.  There are roughly 15 left of the $75 for $50 and 9 left of the $150 for $100.  We don’t anticipate them lasting for very long so don’t wait around, we won’t be offering this good of a deal again.  Refer to the posts below if you need a refresher on how the promotion works and then head over to the shop page to complete your purchase.  Cheers!

Have a beer lover on your shopping list this year?  For a limited time we’re offering our gift card promotion in a smaller amount.  Pay $50 now and we’ll load the gift card with $25 three times, giving the holder a total of $75 to use at the brewery!  We’re still offering the $150 for $100 promotion, but this now gives you another option for the holiday season.  Some people have mentioned that they don’t want to create a Google Checkout account to use our shopping cart.  If that’s the case, send us an email with our contact form and we can call you to take your payment over the phone, no problem!  Keep in mind the cards won’t get  loaded for the first time until our grand opening.  See our previous post about the gift card promotion for answers to the most common questions.  Cheers and happy holidays!

We’re excited to announce the relaunch of our shop and an exciting new gift card promotion.  With our gift card promotion, you have the opportunity to purchase $150 to spend on Butler Brew Works products for $100.  We aren’t holding anything back either, if we sell it, your gift card can buy it.  Use it on pints of beer, kegs, growlers, food or whatever else you feel like.  If there is an exception, for example tickets to a charity event that we don’t keep a profit off of, we’ll let you know.  We knew everyone would have some questions about the logistics and reasoning behind the offer, so below is a little Q&A to help you out.  Read it over and then head to the Shop page to get started!

Q:  Why are you offering $150 for $100?

A:  We’ve had a lot of people approach us asking if we’d be doing a Kickstarter, that they are excited and want to be part of what we’re doing, but they don’t have a ton of money to be a traditional investor.  We really appreciate the support and wanted to give people an option to get involved.  In return for the support, we want to give you a fair return for your money and allow you to decide what you get back for it.

Q:  You aren’t open yet, how do I use it?

A:  So here’s how it will work.  If you purchase a gift card, we’ll send it out to you in December.  We’ll get them out to you before the holidays in case you want to give it as a gift.  Your gift card will get its first $50 loaded when we officially open, currently still on track for the Spring.  6 months later we’ll load the next $50, and then again 6 months later we’ll load the last $50.  Why load it 3 times?  Well first we can’t have everyone running in when we open with $150 on their card, you’ll drink us dry!  Spreading it out keeps it manageable for us and it gives you a reason to keep coming back and trying out new stuff!

Q:  What if you don’t ever open or go out of business before I use up my gift card?

A:  Fair question.  Our private funding should get the doors open so that shouldn’t be a concern.  As long as you keep drinking our beer we shouldn’t go out of business, but in the event we don’t open or shutter our doors, you’d be able to request your money back for whatever balance remained.  Typically you can find a phone number or email address to contact in that situation listed on a companies website, but let’s think happy thoughts instead!  Don’t worry, we’ve done the math, this promotion won’t bankrupt us.

Q:  If your private funding will open the doors, why raise money just to give more back?

A:  Well like we said, we want to give all our supporters a chance to get involved.  Let’s be honest though, a new business can always use a little more money.  Our funding will get the doors open, but our outdoor space won’t be ready when we open.  Some extra money up front can make that happen faster and could possibly allow us to bring a few more fermenters in to get more beer flowing.  We eventually want to start distributing in cans too so extra money means all that can happen faster.

Head over to the shop now to grab yours!

It’s a long interview, but a lot of great information.  Timeline and plans are discussed in addition to some talk about the history of beer and various styles of beer.

KDKA stopped by the brewery to check out the demolition and speak with Greg and Travis.  Check out the video at the link below!

KDKA INTERVIEW

Butler Brew Works Begins Demolition Paving the way for Downtown Revitalization

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 28, 2012

BUTLER, Pa. – Butler Brew Works will begin demolition of the old Reiber and Hot Dog Shop buildings on Jefferson street at 8 a.m., Wednesday, August 29, to make way for their new headquarters, which will include a brewery and taproom.

“Growing up in Butler, it saddens me that the buildings were beyond repair
and have to be taken down,” Nick Fazzoni, President, Butler Brew Works said. “I have hope though that in doing so we’re helping to move Butler forward and giving future generations a chance to experience the downtown we all remember.”

The new facility will offer a small menu of eats in the onsite taproom and a brewery that will distribute beer to local bars and restaurants in the Butler and Pittsburgh areas.

With the mission of brewing and serving up “adventurous ales,” the owners of Butler Brew Works hope their business will breath new energy and life into the city of Butler.

“We’ll start small with the hope that the city will grow with us, new industries will grow around us, and jobs and revenue will follow along with that,” Greg Deal, Chief Executive Officer said. “There’s a movement to get back to the American dream and the craft beer industry really is exactly that.”

-More-

Butler Brew Works 2/2/2/2

About Butler Brew Works:

Founded by three friends from Butler, Pa., Butler Brew Works creates

“Adventurous Ales” for people who love really good beer. Sourced from the finest local ingredients, their brew masters create unique beers for a variety of tastes. Butler Brew Works believes that everybody deserves to drink beer that fits his or her unique tastes. For more information, visit www.butlerbrewworks.com.

Contacts:

Anthony Hardman, Media Contact, Parker Sky Public Relations

anthony.hardman@parkersky.us

(216) 282-7066

Travis Tuttle, Chief Operations Officer, Butler Brew Works

travis@butlerbrewworks.com

  (412) 735-2404

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The auction has ended, but we received a bunch of last minute bids so we’ll be updating the page soon.  If you have a winning bid we’ll be emailing you in the next few days to let you know and work out the details.  Thanks everyone for your participation.  We hope everyone had a good time a got a little piece of history to hold on to.  Thanks again!

The Hot Dog Shop auction will be ending soon!  All bids need to be received by midnight Thursday, May 31st.  We will continue to update the bids as often as we can, but don’t wait to the last minute to put in your final bid in case we’re getting flooded with bids.  We appreciate everyone’s participation so far and will be putting all the money directly towards facade improvements at our property.  Thanks all, keep those bids coming!