Craft Beer News

Gastropub gives Fort Worth homebrewers a crack at craft beer stardom

You too could brew this beer.

Photo courtesy of Barley & Board/Facebook

Denton gastropub Barley & Board is giving closet homebrewers a chance to take their hobby to the next level with a new project called the Home Brewers League.

Founded by B&B chef Chad Kelley, the league is a monthly event in which a homebrewer makes a beer, then releases it at a celebration at the pub.

Kelley, who also oversees brew lab operations, says they launched the league to showcase homebrewers via a collaboration, and to enhance the appreciation of the skill and craftsmanship involved in brewing.

"There are so many homebrewers out there who don't advertise their hobby," he says. "We wanted to give them a chance, let them play out their dreams a little bit. They're in their garage thinking, 'It would be great to start a brewery one day.' We give them a chance to act on that by coming to brew on a professional level and showcasing their beer at a restaurant."

The lead-up to the monthly event takes four weeks, from the day they create the batch to tap day, when the restaurant releases the beer to the public.

Recipes are created independently of the restaurant menu, but can vary based on season; for example, for October, they'll consider Oktoberfest beers for inspiration.

"Where we're brewing, we call it 'the lab' because we want to be experimental," Kelley says. "We don't want to do a bunch of safe beers or follow the fruity trend that's common right now. If they're gonna come and brew, let's do something different, and let's have fun."

June was their first event. The selected homebrewer was Cole Haley, who created a black IPA with all German hops — a departure from the typical West Coast IPA that's dominating the craft beer scene these days.

Barley & Board opened in 2015 as the first brewpub in Denton, but with a greater emphasis on food. A second location was just announced for Grandscape, the mixed-use development in The Colony anchored by Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Haley says he felt lucky to get to work with Barley & Board's equipment. "The brewery they have is really a show piece back here," says. "Beer really is a communal thing because most of the time, you're not drinking alone. You shouldn't be. There should be a rule against that."

The July league event will take place July 27, and homebrewers have already been chosen through September. The selection process is "passion-based;" it's the homebrewer's story that Kelley cares about the most. Candidates should email brewers@barelyandboard.com with their story and what they love about brewing.

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Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

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