Friday, February 21, 2020

Revolver trots out BLDG 5 Tap Room at Texas Live

Opening night images from opening night at Revolver's BLDG 5 Tap Room at
Texas Live in Arlington (Photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

Completing work on a second location outside of Granbury, Revolver Brewing opened the doors to its new BLDG 5 Tap Room at Texas Live in Arlington on Thursday.

Revolver has been a presence in the North Texas beer scene since fall 2012, and while the company has undergone physical growth in Granbury during the last seven years, this is company's first foray outside its original borders.

"Around this time in 2012, we were scraping and leveling ground to pour the foundation for what would become BLDG 1 in Granbury," says Grant Wood, co-founder and brewmaster at Revolver. "Over the years, we've expanded in Granbury to BLDG 2, BLDG 3, and BLDG 4, so that's where the BLDG 5 name comes from. Basically, this is the fifth building of the brewery."

The name is just one way Revolver has worked to maintain a connection to Granbury with the BLDG 5 project, something Wood says was an important factor in the design and development of the new venture.

"We wanted to make sure we made a connection to Granbury," explains Wood, "so we brought some of the elements of Granbury to Texas Live. The picnic tables, the big bench, a bunch of toolboxes and old tools from the brewery bring in the feels, the textures of Granbury. It's the Granbury experience, plus."

Of course, a big part of the experience is beer, and to deliver on that Revolver has installed a three-vessel, 10-barrel brewhouse at Texas Live. Built by W.M. Sprinkman of Wisconsin, it's similar to what Revolver is using in Granbury, albeit "nicer, with a little upgrade and some automation," according to Wood.

On that note, brewing operations have yet to commence at BLDG 5 (beers currently on tap were brewed in Granbury), but the first brew day is slated to take place early next week. From there, it'll take six-to-seven weeks for production to get to where all beers are brewed in house.

"The first brew we'll make at BLDG 5 is a beer we call Five Flags," reveals Wood.  "It's a pale ale-type beer with five different hops from five different nations. It's a very old recipe, and one of the first I made in Granbury. It didn't make the cut as a commercial-scale beer at the time, so I'm kind of dusting it off and updating it a little bit."

Beyond that, consumers should expect a regular rotation of recipes to appear on the tap wall at BLDG 5. In fact, Wood doesn't foresee brewing any one beer twice for the first few months. At the same time, though, he's not discounting the possibility of a flagship BLDG 5 beer down the road.

"We have to be aware of what the public is saying," says Wood. "When we get liquid to lips and get feedback...then, maybe a certain beer will take off where people say we really like this, and it becomes a mainstay. Then, we'd have a beer on tap as BLDG 5's signature."

Revolver also intends to take advantage of the centralized location of BLDG 5, relative to Dallas and Fort Worth, by distributing select BLDG 5 beers at some point.

"Beers made here are primarily for the taproom," adds Wood, "but if some are particularly desirable, we'll get them out to have other folks tasting them."

As for other BLDG 5 amenities, a menu of bar bites is available to patrons, with selections created by fellow Texas Live tenant, Lockhart Smokehouse. A private event space called the Founder's Room is also under construction on-site, with this area to be used to host tastings, beer dinners and the like for upwards of 60-70 people.

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