Moving our Twinpanzee Brewing Co fundraising campaign to a new home!

Well it's time for a move!
After taking some great advice, we've decided to move our fundraising campaign to IndieGoGo. Why are we moving our campaign to IndieGoGo?

Flexibility and increased visibility!

The flexibility part of IndieGoGo allows our supporters to make a pledge using ANY credit card or your PayPal account! You don't have to register for an Amazon account and don't have to link it to your Kickstarter account. IndieGoGo allows users to makes it easier to make a pledge by using whatever credit card you have or by using your PayPal account.

The visibility part of our move allows us to get away from the spawn of "I wanna make potato salad" campaigns on Kickstarter. Our project seems to have been buried under similar "I want to make beer" type campaigns that sadly have taken away from more deserving projects. Although Kickstarter claims to review projects prior to allowing them to go live, Kickstarter is overflowing with these type of nonsense projects hoping to cash in on goofy campaigns.

For this reason, we are kindly asking all of our current backers to PLEASE cancel your Kickstarter pledges and make a similar pledge on our IndieGoGo project. You can get to our project via the following links.

IndieGoGo URL:
- http://igg.me/at/twinpanzee

Twinpanzee URLs:
- Twinpanzee.com/indiegogo
- Twinpanzee.com/fund


We know it's a HUGE risk to relaunch our fundraising campaign on a different site, but we feel the flexibility and visibility on IndieGoGo will better help us meet our goals. We're going to leave our Kickstarter project page up and running until it expires next Thursday (August 21st) as a way to redirect users to our IndieGoGo project page. Because we're far from reaching our $25,000 goal, none of our backers will be charged...promise!

So please help us get the word out and visit our new home on IndieGoGo. We've adjusted our reward levels in order to make sure we can reach our newly set goal. Thanks so much for your support and time and we hope you'll check out our new fundraising campaign at IndieGoGo. All the best and remember to please support your local breweries & cheers to VA beer!

Maha & Antonio ask you to, "Please follow us over to IndieGoGo. We'll toast you if you do! Thanks!"

Kickstarter Update #4: Twinpanzee in Northern Virginia Magazine & 1st Beer Tasting a SUCCESS!

First Beer Tasting a SUCCESS!

We had our FIRST official Twinpanzee Brewing Co beer tasting this past Saturday at PING! We had a phenomenal time meeting new Twinpanzee fans, pouring our tasty brews and chatting about beer. We're truly thankful to everyone that took time out of their weekend to attend our beer tasting. We got some great feedback and our primate egos were fed with many great compliments about our three beers. We'll have some pictures of the event soon, but for now here's cool collage courtesy of one of our early supporters:

Image courtesy of Nate Hill

It was great to see that almost everyone stayed for the merchandise raffle where we gave away Twinpanzee growlers, t-shirts, glasses, stickers and bottle openers. The raffle was a great way to give attendees a sneak peek of our Kickstarter rewards. If you attended our beer tasting and would like a growler, t-shirt, glass or other merchandise, please make a Kickstarter pledge and choose your reward.

Thanks again to everyone that attended and a HUGE thank you to the PING family for hosting our beer tasting event at their beautiful restaurant. Please show your love for PING by supporting their restaurant and ordering one of their many craft beer offerings to go with your gourmet lunch or dinner!

Twinpanzee Brewing Co Continues It's Media Blitz!

Last week Ariel Yong from Northern Virginia Magazine wrote up a great article about our brewery-to-be. Thanks to Ms Yong's article, our beer tasting was able to generate over 200 RSVPs! If you haven't had a chance to read the article, please visit the following link:

http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/gut-check/2014/07/09/twinpanzee-brewing-company-will-try-to-bring-craft-beer-to-the-college-set-free-tasting-preview-this-saturday/

The article does an incredible job of telling the public about Twinpanzee Brewing Co and what we're trying to achieve via our Kickstarter project. Speaking of our Kickstarter project...

Current Pledge Status - Please fill the glass!!

Because of your generous pledges, we passed the $5K mark and are well on our way to $6K. Thank you to all of our Kickstarter supporters and to the folks that have taken the time to watch our movie. Today marks the beginning of our 4th week on Kickstarter, and we really need YOUR help to fill the glass!!

Please help us fill the glass!!

Please pledge what you can as we really need your help in reaching our ultimate goal! Every pledge counts so please share our project page and encourage family and friends to make a pledge. We received our rewards and let me tell you, they look GREAT! The growlers look amazing, the pint glasses are really cool and the t-shirts are pretty darn slick!

Please pledge what you can and help us spread the word about our project! Thanks so much for reading and let's hope we can make Week #4 the week we hit our 1st funding goal.

Thanks again and have a wonderful week.

Please remember to support our Kickstarter project by making a pledge at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatdaddy/twinpanzee-brewing-co-a-family-owned-nano-brewery

Thanks in advance for your generosity & cheers to you!

Wahoooo!! Someone added us to Untappd!!

Well nerves be damned we had an AWESOME beer tasting event!!!  I'll sum everything up in a later post, but here's the coolest part...

SOMEONE ADDED US TO UNTAPPD!!!

Our beer tasting brews on Untappd! SO COOL!!

It's SO cool to see our brewery's name, our brews and reviews about our beer!  Right now my ego is growing and growing as I love seeing the ratings and reading the user feedback. Honestly, I think I love reading the reviews to better understand the wide range in people's taste and beer preferences.

It's a cool glimpse into the mind of beer fans and I can truly say that it's inspiring me to work even harder to make the BEST beer possible and to make Twinpanzee Brewing Co a reality.

A special thank you to the person that added us and our brews on Untappd! We really really appreciate it!

Please remember to support our Kickstarter project by making a pledge at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatdaddy/twinpanzee-brewing-co-a-family-owned-nano-brewery

Thanks in advance for your generosity & cheers to you!

Nervous about today's beer tasting event!

Our first beer tasting event is only 6.5 hours away and I'm a nervous wreck!  Last night I was mentally checking everything off in my head over and over and was unable to sleep.  Beer ready?  Check!  Jockey box ready? Check!  CO2 tanks full? Check!  Merchandise ready?  Check!  Am I ready?  Uh...when am I ever really ready?!?!  :-)

Our jockey box and CO2 equipment

The weeks leading up to today were filled with a ton of work: brewing, transferring beer, kegging, carbonating, contacting the media, taking RSVPs and reaching out to a TON of people to make our first tasting event a reality.  To make things even more interesting, we were unexpectedly contacted by the supplier of our Kickstarter rewards at 9:30am on Friday...and were told that our growlers and pint glasses would arrive by Noon that same day.  Thankfully we were home and were able to receive and unpack our really cool growlers and pint glasses (which along with our t-shirts, stickers and bottle openers will be raffled off at today's beer tasting!).

Official Twinpanzee Brewing Co growlers and pint glasses have arrived!

I think my nerves come from the fact that I really really want today's beer tasting to go off without a hitch and to see people enjoying our beer. Especially the last part, I really want to make sure that everyone enjoys the beer as it's really the first time we're having a really large group of people sample our beer. 

Today's beer list with last-minute drawings by the Head Primate himself.

Before today, the most people that have sampled our beer was around 30-40 people. Today's event has over 200 RSVPs!!!!  Can you feel the pressure?  Maybe it's the lack of sleep combined with the nerves, by my usual food loving self has been feeling full. As soon as I wake up, I'm usually thinking about a cup of coffee and a tasty breakfast.  This morning, the thought of coffee or food is making me really really nauseous and all I want is water....that's it.

Oh well, I promise you all that by the time the beer tasting starts we'll be ready to go and I'll be happily pouring our beer.  Crossing my fingers that everything goes off without a hitch!  Wish us luck and thanks for reading!



Please remember to support our Kickstarter project by making a pledge at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatdaddy/twinpanzee-brewing-co-a-family-owned-nano-brewery

Thanks in advance for your generosity & cheers to you!

Kickstarter Update #3: Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July from the Twinpanzee family!

Thank YOU very much! With your help, we zoomed past the $4K mark and are well on our way to $5K and higher! We truly appreciate everyone's help in sharing our Kickstarter page and we are VERY thankful to everyone that has generously made a pledge to our project.

Twinpanzee Brewing Co In the Media

We've had an AMAZING week with two phenomenal Twinpanzee Brewing Co articles on both DCBeer.com and BetterBeerAuthority.com. If you haven't read the articles yet, please visit the following links:

• DC Beer - Fairfax's Twinpanzee Brewing Seeks Kickstarter Funding
  http://www.dcbeer.com/news/fairfaxs-twinpanzee-brewing-seeks-kickstarter-funding
  
  
• Better Beer Authority - Brew & A with Twinpanzee Brewing Co
  http://www.betterbeerauthority.com/2014/07/brew-with-twinpanzee-brewing-company.html
  

We capped off this week with a new interview by Northern Virginia Magazine and are thankful that people are interested in hearing our story. There are some other interviews scheduled and we'll continue our media blitz to share the Twinpanzee Brewing Co story. Please take a few minutes and click on the DCBeer and Better Beer Authority articles.

Just One Week Away From the July 12th Beer Tasting!

We're just ONE WEEK away from the Twinpanzee Brewing Co tasting event at PING in Arlington, VA. If you haven't already done so, please RSVP for this tasting event by sending us an email (Twinpanzee@gmail.com) or via our Facebook event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1431663470432916/

4060 Campbell Ave. Arlington, VA 22206

Once again thank you all for your help and support and we look forward to seeing you all on July 12th. Have a safe and fun 4th of July weekend.

Cheers and remember, make your beer a VA craft beer!

Please remember to support our Kickstarter project by making a pledge at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatdaddy/twinpanzee-brewing-co-a-family-owned-nano-brewery

Thanks in advance for your generosity & cheers to you!

Kickstarter Update #2: Let's Rally to $4K this week & our July 12th beer tasting!

It's Monday, but we're doing a happy primate dance...

We're starting off week #2 of our Kickstarter project with some great news for all those that have donated: Boxes upon boxes of Twinpanzee Brewing Co rewards have started to arrive!! We have some great looking t-shirts, official Twinpanzee Brew Co stickers, snazzy bottle openers, and uber cool coasters all sitting in our home. The Twinpanzee pint glasses and growlers proofs have just been approved and we anticipate they'll arrive in time for our complimentary beer tasting on July 12th at PING.

Complimentary beer tasting?

Yep, you heard right! We're celebrating our Kickstarter campaign by pouring three tasty Twinpanzee Brewing Co brews at PING on July 12th from noon-2pm. If you're 21 or older and are in the Northern VA area, please RSVP using the following Facebook event page link or via the Twinpanzee@gmail.com email address.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1431663470432916/

Please continue to share our Kickstarter page with friends, family and coworkers!

We're working hard to hit the $4K mark this week as we ramp up our primate powered media blitz. Here are a few easy to remember URLs for our Kickstarter page and July 12th tasting event:

Kickstarter:
Twinpanzee.com/kickstarter

Tasting Event:
Twinpanzee.com/taste

We hope to meet as many people as possible at PING on July 12th. Until then, have a wonderful week and please please please help us to spread the Twinpanzee Brewing Co love!

Thanks & CHEERS to everyone that has already donated & shared our Kickstarter info!
~Antonio


Please remember to support our Kickstarter project by making a pledge at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatdaddy/twinpanzee-brewing-co-a-family-owned-nano-brewery

Thanks in advance for your generosity & cheers to you!

Kickstarter Update #1: Only 2 days old and feeling the love!

Thank you...those are the first two words that come to mind as we near the end to our 2nd day on Kickstarter.

We are astounded that we are only $50 from hitting $3K! This further strengthens our belief that Twinpanzee Brewing Co will reach the ultimate $100k goal. It's because of all of you that you're making a the dreams of a Fairfax County boy (born & raised) come true.

Twinpanzee Brewing Co will come to Fairfax County, and it will be because of YOU! Thank you so much for your generosity and please share our link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fatdaddy/twinpanzee-brewing-co-a-family-owned-nano-brewery


Big primate hugs,

~Antonio, Maha & the chimps

Our Kickstarter project is LIVE! Please donate & share our link!

Well after what seems like many many weeks of planning, our Kickstarter page has finally been approved and is LIVE!  Please use the following re-direct link to visit our Kickstarter page:

http://Twinpanzee.com/kickstarter

We need YOUR help in spreading the word and most of all, we need your generous donations to bring Twinpanzee Brewing Co to Fairfax County.  You'll learn more about the Twinpanzee family via the amazing movie created by Take A Penny Productions.

Please please please share our link and donate whatever you can. If you love locally produced craft beer, then please donate and share our Kickstarter link.

Thanks so much and CHEERS to good beer! 

Lights, camera, beer....ACTION!

In a serious British narrator's voice:

Observe the ever elusive "urban beer making primate" or as they're known in latin: Magister Primates Cervesarius.  See how the primate reaches for his specialized tool and mixes ingredients in an almost instinctive way to produce a most enjoyable beverage to be shared with his community...

What are we talking about?  Well this Easter Sunday, the fine folks at Take a Penny Productions generously donated their Sunday to film the Twinpanzee Brewing Company family and friends in their natural habitat.  We talked beer, we shared our story, we laughed all while enjoying some tasty Twinpanzee brews and delicious food.

Megan and Aaron of Take a Penny Productions interviewed the entire primate family and friends in order to help document and share the entire story behind the Twinpanzee Brewing Company.  We laughed, we talked, we tapped a tasty keg of Roggenbier while talking beer with two of the most professional and patient people to ever have the courage to follow and document "urban beer making primates".

Megan (left) and Aaron (middle) interviewing
Frank, a Twinpanzee friend (right)

A great group of friends stopped by to help share the history and story behind Twinpanzee Brewing Company while all the members of the primate family were individually interviewed for our film.  Even the youngest primates, THE twins behind the "Twinpanzee" name eagerly shared their own stories and vision for our upcoming brewery.

Most of the footage will be used for our upcoming Kickstarter campaign while some clips will be used for a upcoming documentary film called "From Grain to Growler" being created by the fine folks at Take a Penny Productions.  We can't wait to see our film and we are even more eager to see "From Grain to Growler" which will feature many Virginia craft breweries.  If you have just a second, please take the time to visit and "like" the Facebook page of Take a Penny Productions and share their information with friends, family and coworkers that need video and media services.  Here's their URL:

http://facebook.com/takeapennyproductions

It was an incredibly fun time and the relaxed-laugh-filled environment was a testament to the skill, kindness and professionalism of Aaron and Megan from Take a Penny Productions.  After a few hours, we wrapped up filming and continued to enjoy the sunny Sunday with great people enjoying ever full glasses of tasty Twinpanzee Brewing Company beer.  We can't wait to see the finished film and to share some brews at the screening!

Thanks for reading and remember to drink fresh and drink local VA craft beer.  Cheers!

Making new friends

In all of the hustle and bustle of working a full-time job and using free evenings to plan the brewery, it's nice to make some new contacts and talk beer whenever the opportunity presents itself.  The title of this entry uses the word "friends" which alludes to something I'm learning as the wife and I are trying to get our brewery-to-be off the ground.  It's all about networking and making new contacts.

Every person we talk to, each new contact we make helps us get the word out about Twinpanzee Brewing Company.  Every time we share a business card and people see our logo (and understand the reason behind two happy apes), we have made a new contact.  All of those contacts will hopefully remember us when we finally open our doors and most importantly, they'll come try our beer.  After-all our beer is Craft beer brewed by primates with discerning taste and style.

Many of the contacts we make are full of great information, wisdom, guidance, experience and knowledge that all serve to help our company as we (the wife and I) learn.  For each person that I've had the distinct pleasure of chatting with or shaking your hand, thank you.  Thank you for taking the time to talk beer and to learn about Twinpanzee Brewing Company.  You motivate us to work hard to bring our dream to fruition as we see the smiles and looks of joy when we say, "We're starting a brewery".

Just today I was at meeting for new entrepreneurs where I had the distinct treat of having a room full of over 60 people cheer and applaud after I introduced myself and said, "I'm working on opening the first full minority owned microbrewery in Fairfax County."  The applause and cheers made me smile and served to further fuel this dream.  At that moment I wished our brewery was already open so I could invite this room full of new accolade giving fans to try one of our tasty brews.  After the meeting I handed out handfuls of business cards to eager new contacts whose smiles and eager handshakes made me feel like we had made new friends.

It's this motivation that is our driving force to someday open our doors to you and pour you a pint of one of our many tasty brews.  Thank you.

Cue in the David Bowie...cha-cha-CHANGES!!

BIG NEWS!!!

After weeks...nay...months of coming up with a new name, we are now known as:

 

TWINPANZEE is a trademark of the Twinpanzee Brewing Co.

WAHOOO!!

Please jump with me!!  It's a pretty big deal for us to finally have a name that's safe and 100% our property.  As much as we LOVED the old name, we had to let it go.  Why?

Well if you really want to know, feel free to email us.  I won't post it here but let's just say that I'll never EVER buy a beer from one large Macro brewery.  Thankfully we had a GREAT lawyer who helped and guided us through the crazy process of coming up with a new name and trademarking it.

Twinpanzee Brewing Company is our new name and we (Twinpanzee Brewing Co LLC) own it 100%

Halleluiah!!  Time for a celebration brew...well, later this evening.  :-)

TWINPANZEE is a trademark of the Twinpanzee Brewing Co.