Ghost Eye seen as new North Texas beer brand

Image: Ghost Eye Brewing Co.

If you recently caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar North Texas beer brand, it may have been a sighting of a newly-established entity that goes by the name of Ghost Eye Brewing Co.

Russell Rodriguez and Krizia Isaac form the husband-and-wife team behind Ghost Eye, which currently operates by way of a collaboration with Trinity Forest Brewing Co. of Dallas. Essentially, the two entities share a license while brewing under an alternating proprietorship agreement with Hop & Sting Brewing Co. of Grapevine.

Ghost Eye recipes were first introduced at Big Texas Beer Fest in November 2021, and since then the company has quietly been pouring at events with Trinity Forest as it works to build a following. Draft offerings to-date have included Ghost Eye IPA, Ghost Eye Stout and Ghost Eye Pilsner. Those are just the beginning, as Rodriguez has plans for additional IPAs, sour beers and lagers going forward.

For now, though, you can expect to catch Ghost Eye at festivals and pint night events around town, including appearances at the following locales:

April 18 - Pint Night at Guitars & Growlers, McKinney.
April 21 - Pint Night at Local Tap & Table, Dallas.
April 23 - Pint Night at Mudhook Bar, Duncanville.
April 30 - Wine, Arts & Craft Brew Festival, Midlothian.

As for the future, Rodriguez says the long-term plan is to open a brick-and-mortar location in Duncanville. If all goes well, construction is slated to begin on the spot this summer.

To learn more, visit the company's website at www.ghosteyebrewing.com. You can also stay up-to-date by following Ghost Eye on Facebook and Instagram.

The Trinity Forest is calling, with beer

Image credit: Trinity Forest Brewing Co.

Debuting in late July, the region's newest brand of beer is one that hopes to promote the protection of a local urban oasis some North Texans may not know about.

Trinity Forest Brewing Co. (TFBC) is a Dallas-based company whose namesake is the Great Trinity Forest, a 6000-acre woodland that stands as one of the largest urban hardwood forests in the country. Located a mere 10 miles southeast of Downtown Dallas, the park's trails and bounding waterways (Trinity River, White Rock Creek) are home to a variety of outdoor activities.

It's also an area being eyed by TFBC for a permanent location, a seemingly suitable site choice for a brewery built on the concept of enjoying the outdoors with a craft beer in hand.

"We know where we want to be," says Ricky Del Bosque, co-founder and head brewer at TFBC. "Our long-term goal is to establish a destination brewery just outside the City of Dallas near the Great Trinity Forest."

While development activities continue on that front, TFBC will brew its recipes under an alternating proprietorship agreement with Hop & Sting Brewing Co. of Grapevine. An initial offering, Trinity Forest SMaSH IPA, is already out on the market, as is Trinity Forest Blonde Ale. Others, including a hazy IPA, will roll out as TFBC expands its lineup over the next few months.

"I want to brew all around good beers, but also beers that are trending at the moment, hence the upcoming Trinity Forest Haze IPA." explains Del Bosque. "Beyond that, I'm looking to get label approvals for a red ale, a porter, and a double IPA for fall and winter."

As for availability, TFBC's beers will be draft-only to start, but consumers can expect limited runs of packaged products in the near future.

"We're going to stick with kegs for now while we build our brand," says Del Bosque, "but we're able to can at Hop & Sting, and it would be crazy not to take advantage of that!"

For now, though, seek out TFBC brews on tap at select locales in and around Dallas.

Toasty Bros. debuts brand with Damage Dealer

A pour of Damage Dealer from Toasty Bros. (Photo: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D)

Fresh off a late February label approval, Toasty Bros. released its first beer this past weekend, tapping Damage Dealer Double Stout at Denton County Brewing Co. on Friday.

Toasty Bros. is a Denton-based firm currently brewing its products under an alternating proprietorship agreement with Hop & Sting at Grapevine Craft Brewery. Toast Tiensvold is the man behind the beer, with local pride being a guiding light for the business.

"The plan is to brew one small batch at a time and sell the beer primarily in Denton," says Tiensvold. "There may be a few exceptions, but we want to grow a local following. The idea is to become what I call a 'community-supported mom and pop brewing company.' My wife and I love this city...we live here, work here, and play here, and we want to open up a taproom here in the city someday."

Image credit: Toasty Bros.

As for Tiensvold himself, he's not new to the North Texas scene. Most recently working as a brewer at Denton County, Tiensvold also spent time at Whistle Post Brewing Co. of Pilot Point. In addition, he's an alumnus of the Home Brewers League at Barley & Board, having tapped his take on a French-style saison (called Maison Saison) last July.

For Toasty Bros.' initial offering, Tiensvold chose an imperial stout brewed with six different malt varieties. The result is a complex brew featuring layers of dark roast, coffee, and baker's chocolate that finishes dry and chewy with an abundance of black patent bitterness. In other words, it's a beer that harkens back to a time not so long ago when stouts tended to be big and bitter, rather than sweet and, perhaps both literally and figuratively, half-baked.

Next up, Tiensvold has a pair of IPAs in the works, as well as an "easy drinking ale" called Long Tacky Old Slacks (with both original and dark versions). Expected release dates for those and other beers to come can found on the company's website, located at toastybros.com.

In the meantime, another keg of Damage Dealer will be tapped on Friday, March 8, at The Bearded Monk. Billed as a meet the brewer-type event, Tiensvold will be on hand to talk all things Toasty Bros., while raising a toast to the area's newest brand of beer.

Manhattan Project to share space with Bitter Sisters

Image Credit: The Manhattan Project Beer Company.

A name familiar to many in the homebrewing community, The Manhattan Project Beer Company has revealed that it will begin commercial production in October 2016.

Karl and Misty Sanford first teamed up with fellow founder Jeremy Brodt in 2010. At the time, the goal was simply to design a special beer for Karl & Misty's wedding, but after working together the group found it had a unique sort of synergy that led it to formally establish The Manhattan Project in 2013. Since then, the trio has gone on to win over 25 awards at local, regional and national homebrew competitions for both Belgian and American-style brews, including a version of the beer that started it all, a Belgian-American brown ale known today as Inception.

As for how The Manhattan Project will get its beer on the market, the company has entered into an alternating proprietorship with Bitter Sisters Brewing Company. Like other similar agreements, this essentially means the two companies with both be licensed to brew at the facility presently occupied by Bitter Sisters in Addison.

Of course, this won't all happen for another few months, but that doesn't mean you can't get a taste of what the company is all about a little sooner. The Manhattan Project plans on offering free samples of its products at events around the city between now and October, with one chance occurring this Sunday, May 15, at Brew Riot in the Bishop Arts District.

For more information on The Manhattan Project, follow the company on social media (Facebook, Twitter) or visit its website at www.manhattanproject.beer.