The Spread.

Community's Ascension Coffee Porter Is Back. For Now.

Welcome to The Spread, our weekly feature that aims to share all the area restaurant, food and beverage industry news that's fit to print. Except, this is the Internet, so space isn't a concern. Also: Good thing, because this is Dallas and this town always has breaking restaurant news going down like whoa.

A little bit of beer never hurt anyone — at least that's the line we're sticking with until it's proven otherwise in court. A mishap during a February 2012 tour at Franconia Brewing Company currently finds the McKinney-based brewery facing a lawsuit. During the tour in question one fermentation tank's pressure release valve failed, causing the tank to explode and a few beer-drinking tourists to lose their buzz a little bit. And now, two of the tour goers are seeking damages for negligence for failure to operate and inspect the equipment accompanied by a list of medical expenses, physical and mental anguish and the more, but no specific injuries. Franconia has yet to file a response to the court.

Meanwhile, another local brewery is dealing with legal matters of its own. After rumors that Community Beer Company had taken their Ascension Coffee Porter off the market, representatives from the brewery would like the record to show that that beer is, in fact, still available — for now, at least.

The cause of the rumor was a bit of miscommunication and subsequent confusion about TABC label approval, according to Community's assistant brewmaster Aric Hulsey. The brewery was under the impression that while awaiting label approval they were still allowed to serve the Baltic porter onsite. Unfortunately, Community had to find out the hard way that that is not the case. But it's all is good for fans of the beer. “As of this morning,” Hulsey told The Spread earlier today, “it is label approved for sale onsite. It will be available very soon for mass markets.” As for the future of the beer, it'll only be available until the brewery runs out of their 60-barrel batch. But because the demand for the brew continues to be high, there's a greater than zero chance that we'll see more batches of this one down the road.

On the more positive side of the beer scene — the one that doesn't involve legal issues, Martin House Brewing Company is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Toadies' Rubberneck album by rolling out its commemorative Rubberneck Red beer next month. The tropical, piney-flavored red hops are similar to their Imperial Texan, but with a lower alcohol content. The beer debuts during a March 16 tour at the brewery that'll also feature a a live acoustic performance from the band.

Moving on to the food world; Buzzbrews has begun eyeing a fourth location. No leases have been signed yet, but the owners are negotiating between spots in Casa Linda and The Cedars. The fourth location, owners say, will provide a similar atmosphere as the Deep Ellum spot. Buzzbrews intends to hit the ground running with the opening, already looking for candidates to push out their signature dishes.

And lastly, nonprofit group, Cafe Momentum, is planning to launch a full-service restaurant in the fall. While the powers that be haven't settled on a location for the space just yet, they've launched a campaign to raise the funds for the project in the meantime. The restaurant will continue to follow the credo of the organization by using it as a second chance opportunity for juvenile offenders.

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