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Bircus Brewing Co.

@bircusbeer

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USA’s 1st #crowdfunded #brewery Concept imported from Belgium implemented to deal with a corrupt City Hall.
• 8 Highway Ave Ludlow KY
• 800-381-TaDa

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@nkytribune Do ordinary people still have a voice? Is justice ‘strangulation by paperwork’? I did not invest in Bircus Brewing because I expected to get rich. I invested because I wanted to help build something in my community. I believed neglected buildings could be restored instead of abandoned. I believed local businesses could create jobs and opportunity. I believed ordinary people—not just banks, major developers and politically connected investors—could put their own money behind the future of their communities.

Like more than 300 other Bircus investors, I put real money behind that belief.

I am a retired @usarmy officer, a manufacturing quality leader, a small-business owner and a resident of Fort Wright, Kentucky. I have spent much of my adult life working in systems where accountability is not an abstract virtue. When something goes wrong, you establish the facts, identify who made the decisions and determine why the controls failed.
That does not appear to be happening in Ludlow.

For years, Bircus Brewing and related redevelopment projects @circusmojo have been trapped in litigation, regulatory disputes, political conflict and repeated delay. Government continued operating.

Attorneys continued billing. Large developers continued developing. The people left waiting were ordinary investors—retirees, veterans, small-business owners and working families whose money remains tied up.

Litigation is supposed to resolve disputes. It can also become a weapon of attrition. A government or well-financed institution can survive another filing, another hearing, another legal bill and another year of delay. Most small businesses and individual investors cannot.

You do not have to defeat the little guy on the merits if you can make the fight last longer than he can.

That is not equal justice. It is economic strangulation conducted through paperwork.

I keep returning to questions no one in authority appears willing to answer publicly. Why did Ludlow file suit shortly before a 10-year deed restriction was due to expire? Why was a settlement proposed, accepted by the affected parties @kytourism #bircus #oneforall #paulitics #vote taken in Ludlow, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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19 hours ago

Starring @comedian_big_funny BIG FUNNY as Fire Chief Paul Hallinan Miller for Mayor of Ludlow in 2026! We will restore Big Blue using over $1MM in Historic Tax Credits and make space for the Bircus Brewing Company, @circusmojo
Watch us practice restorative justice...
The City of Ludlow spends over 50% of its budget on Police and Fire/EMS, and yet they have failed, for over a decade, to run us out of town... Greg Fischer, you scored your $120,000,000 for the @fischerhomes Homes development... How about you push City Hall to complete our deal? The City Manager/Police Chief Scott Smith resigned, Todd V. McMurtry (Mr. I sue @cnn, @nytimes, @nbc) was removed from the case, and Mayor Chris Wright resigned... Where is the integrity? #MillerForMayor #Paulitics #circussuites taken in Ludlow, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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4 days ago

Sometimes the bullies wear badges.

For more than 17 years, I have used restorative justice and positive youth development through @circusmojo , brewing, and rehabilitating buildings. From 2010-2020, @insurify identified Ludlow as the Hottest Real Estate Market in all of Kentucky.

I am running for Mayor because Ludlow’s government should be held to the same standards it imposes on residents and businesses.

The City of Ludlow's own FY2025 audit found that the City spent $1,125,684 more than budgeted in its General Fund and another $114,635 more than budgeted in its Municipal Road Aid Fund. The auditor specifically found that spending beyond the approved appropriations violated KRS 91A.030(1) and recommended that the City improve its budget-amendment process.

Ludlow also issued roughly $119 million in bonds connected to the @fischerhomes development on the hill. The original arrangement was presented as a 30-year Industrial Revenue Bond structure. Greg Fischer, we really need to fix this mess!

When government is handling commitments on that scale, budgeting and following the rules are not optional.

Chris Wright resigned as Mayor in August 2025, citing health issues. Scott Smith, who had served as both Police Chief and City Administrator, resigned as City Administrator in March 2026.

In FY2025, Police and Fire/EMS accounted for more than half of the City’s actual General Fund expenditures: approximately $3.09 million of $5.68 million.

Police and fire are essential services. But the larger their share of the public purse, the stronger the obligation for transparency, discipline, and accountability.

We need to educate NKY on methods to deal with bullies and the wider region on creative development. A professional clown may be unconventional. Expecting City Hall to balance its budget, follow Kentucky law, and answer to the people paying the bills should not be. #Paulitics #MillerForMayor #educateNKY #bullies #ludlowky taken in Ludlow, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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5 days ago

Happy Birthday to @samthewheeler performing here with Luisina in the Jerry Springer Celebrity Circus @thejerryspringershow @thejerryspringerpodcast was recorded live at the Folk School Coffee Parlor in Ludlow, Kentucky. Sam performed in our first Circus Mojo performance and was the first African/Ethiopian to compete in the @wheelgymnastics.sport competition in Switzerland. Many Happy Returns and thank you for sharing your talents with @bircusbeer and our community! Visit his family’s restaurant in Chicago @tesfaethiopiancuisine for amazing hospitality! #happybirthday #circus #germanwheel #ethiopians #adele taken in Ludlow Theatre by @bircusbeer

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5 days ago

And she’s off & landed…

My heart is full of gratitude for the circus artists from 50 countries who have made the trek to Ludlow, Kentucky to laugh, learn, share with @hope.miller18

Hope just landed in Barcelona to begin her next phase at @cacrogelio_rivel ~ Centre de les Arts del Circ Rogelio Rivel.

Her tireless efforts from making pizzas and matinee performances at Bircus Brewing Company- to running circus camp and silks classes at @circusmojo - to mopping the floor and changing the letters on the marquee at the Ludlow Theatre have made an incredible impact in our community.

Be Safe & Then have fun… Can’t wait to see you down the road darling! Thank you for sharing your location with me… follow her adventures: @hope.sophia_circus #circus #learn #laugh #love #live taken in CVG airport by @bircusbeer

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16 days ago

16 years ago, DJ Edwards ran away with @circusmojo. Today is his Birthday... Enjoy @aresgiovanni 's Circus Suites Promo, a new Reality Show hosted by @agt Season Six Champion @landauemurphyjr, Homeless to Homeowners Housing, for the Creative Class! #tunein #nobizlikeshowbiz #CircusSuites #oneforeall #happybirthday taken in Ludlow, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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20 days ago

A dozen years ago today, I was the “golden boy.” Opening up for @leadermcconnell @mcconnellpress
In this video, I talk about the kids I worked with in jail.
You’ll see them in Circus Suites, streaming worldwide, including Indonesia, Israel and Afghanistan, with partners I mentioned in my opening speech.
Back then, NKADD was my partner. 8 paid apprentices from the WorkForce Investment Board, the ADD provided critical working capital. I had $500,000 in development financing from Home Savings Bank and the Kentucky Department of Tourism.
Ludlow was so broke that Paul Wolgin, the Renaissance Manager, approached me about buying the former Duro Bag headquarters for $1.
The City Council unanimously voted to sell us Oak & Davies for $1 with a 10-year deed restriction.
We put on a new roof, eliminated the mold, remediated the asbestos tile, and started turning the dream of artist-owned housing into reality.
The relationship with City Hall would change.
In 2015, Paul Darpel, PDS, and Ludlow Fire shut down Circus Mojo on the day final bids were due for the Huntington Bank.
Years later, Mayor Josh Boone sued the circus a week before our 10-year deed restriction expired. Bircus was created to creatively deal with corruption at many levels of government.
Citizens of Ludlow, take a look at the 12.5% insurance tax/fee added to insurance bills: property, casualty, auto, renters, liquor, liability.
Mayor Chris Wright and Scott Smith later offered a settlement while the City was moving forward with Fischer Homes’ $120 million Industrial Revenue Bond development. The $120 million IRB itself is documented in the public record.
I structured the settlement to thwart PDS's control and to continue our track record of creative, positive development. #paulitics #mitchmcconnell #oneforall #millerformayor taken in Ludlow, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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21 days ago

Happy Birthday Mugwanya, my guide and partner in Kampala @circus_uganda We are going Global thanks to the support of the KY STEP Program @cedkygov From Northern Kentucky @banangebrewing to East Africa #uganda #kentucky #oneforall #circus #beer taken in Katwe, Kasese, Uganda by @bircusbeer

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a month ago

Circus Mojo debuted sixteen years ago tonight with the @kentuckysymphony and headliners @duorosetrapeze and many tunes by @peterbufano… Artists from Togo and Texas, Ethiopia and Ludlow, Ghana and Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York and beyond… Thank you JR for this opportunity and for partnering with @bircusbeer during the pandemic! #circuseveryday #circus #symphony #devoupark #creativeclass taken in Devou Park Band Shell by @bircusbeer

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a month ago

In Memoriam: Will Howard — Clown, Acrobat & Strongman @willbeefunny
Yesterday, on the same day Facebook brought back a memory from eight years ago- the two of us sharing a beer in Ludlow at @circusmojo - I heard you had left us.

I can now count on two hands the friends and former colleagues from the circus world we have lost to suicide. It is a terrible count to keep.
Will, I’ll remember your desire to serve—sometimes literally, as you held up the acrobats around you. You were a clown, an acrobat, and a strongman, but your greatest strength was the way you supported other people.
I will remember our trip to Germany, our work supporting the young people at CircEsteem, and the countless trips to Whole Foods to pick up food donations. I will remember your GIANT smile and your desire to bring joy into a room and make people laugh.
Don’t let my glad expression give you the wrong impression.
I reached Ronlin last night, and through the sadness, we shared some wonderful laughs. We remembered the tightwire, the tension, and the way you stepped in when someone needed help. The tears and laughter arrived together. For someone who spent his life bringing joy to others, that feels right.
May these pictures bring some joy to your family and friends. May they show a little of the circus you helped create, the lives you touched, and the people you helped hold up.
Thank you, Will.
I love you. #mentalhealth #willhoward by @bircusbeer

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a month ago

I’m a punk that likes to work… My campaign and belief system is dedicated to restorative justice. I have a blue print… Build @circusmojo restore an abandoned theatre #MillerForMayor #paulitics taken in Ludlow, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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a month ago

Nine years ago tonight, at our first @bircusbeer tap takeover with @eliasgomezmusic before his @nbcthevoice debut. Circus & Beer. Coming soon / Historic Restoration at Big Blue! Thank you @seligmandistributing for all your support! #bircus #fireeating #dropitlikeitshot #eliasgomez #oneforall taken in Hebron, Kentucky by @bircusbeer

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2 months ago