Revolver Brewing to open second brewery in Arlington, Texas
Revolver Brewing will open a second brewery on February 20 in an entertainment district in Arlington, Texas, as part of an effort to showcase its broader portfolio of beers with more consumers and flex its innovation muscle.
Revolver Brewing
The 10-barrel BLDG 5 brewery, which is one-sixth the size of its Granbury brewery, will give Revolver the ability to make smaller batches of beer and get new flavors in front of a bigger group of consumers more quickly. It will sit inside Texas Live!, a 200,000 square-foot dining, entertainment and sports complex in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one of the fastest-growing metros in the U.S.
It will be fronted by BLDG 5 Taproom, a brewpub and tasting room operated by Texas Live! that will serve beer from Revolver and other brewers. It also will serve a limited menu, including meats from Lockhart Smokehouse and feature outdoor seating that flows into the Miller Beer Garden courtyard.
“The idea here is that we view it as an extension of our Granbury brewery,” says Rhett Keisler, Revolver’s co-founder, noting that Revolver’s Granbury campus has four buildings, each named for the order in which they were erected. BLDG 5 represents the brewery’s fifth building and the first beyond Granbury, a city of about 10,000 just more than 50 miles southwest of Arlington.
“This is a big opportunity for us,” Keisler says. “Since we know not everyone can make it down to Granbury, we’re trying to bring a little bit of Granbury up here.”
Opening a second brewery “is all about putting our beers in front of new people; educating them as to who we are and what we’re about; and expanding our reach,” Keisler says.
Jim Watry, chief executive officer of Texas Live!, says BLDG 5 Taproom “will create a completely unique experience and a special opportunity for our guests 21+ to enjoy brand new batches of beer created right here at Texas Live!”
For Revolver, the new venue will allow the brewery to better showcase its lineup of beers for visitors, particularly prospective retailers and wholesalers as it continues to expand. The brewery also will operate a private event space.
The Blood & Honey maker has continued its march outward in recent months, expanding sales in into Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. Now distributed in eight states, Revolver also makes Full-Tang IPA, a tangerine IPA; Hop Device, a hazy IPA; Mi Cheve Mexican lager; and the recently released Backyard Bee, a Kolsch-style honey ale.
It finished 2019 up 6.5% in sales volume, outpacing overall Texas craft, which declined 0.7%, according to Nielsen all-outlet and convenience data. Its performance mirrored that of its fellow Tenth and Blake breweries, which each outperformed their home markets last year.
The new brewery, Keisler says, will give Revolver another boost, allowing its brewing team to experiment with small-batch experimental brews and get them in front of consumers and solicit feedback quicker.
“It’s really pushing everything we’re all about,” he says. “It’s going to allow us to stretch our legs on some new beers and innovation while putting us in front of a lot of people. It’s going to be a great challenge, and we’re excited for it.”
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