Coming soon: Black Star Pub/Brewery

A truly unique beer pub/brewery is on the verge of development here in Austin. The group behind its creation, called Black Star Co-op, claims that they are going to open the “world’s first cooperatively-owned and worker self-managed brewpub.” The Co-op charges $85 for a membership and by joining, members contribute to the building and hiring of the brew pub/brewery. In addition, members are given one share of membership stock and are able to vote on a board of directors that determines long term goals.

The Black Star Co-op was founded in January of 2006 by beer aficionado Steve Yarak. Since its inception, the Co-op has grown to include over 1,000 members. In its current form the Co-op is really more like a beer social where members meet up and discuss the progress of their master plan for a brewery. These beer socials are held monthly at various locations around Austin. The most current social will be taking place on Nov. 14 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at an undisclosed location. The reason for the secrecy is because the Co-op has purchased a site for their brewery and they plan to unveil its location a few days prior to the gathering.

The Co-op’s idea strikes me as both smart and exciting. A beer pub by and for beer fans will hopefully be a huge success. In fact, I’m seriously thinking about forking over the 85 bucks and becoming a member. For any one else interested in the Black Star Co-op I encourage you to go to one of their beer socials and learn more about this soon to be pub/brewery.

Credits:

black star image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208357@N00/148301514/