Austin Beer Guide - Summer 2020 by Austin Beer Guide

ABG_Summer2020.indd 103

8/7/20 9:33 AM

One in Three Texas craft breweries believe they’ll permanently close in less than three months if something doesn’t change soon. In 2019, we fought for Beer-To-Go. Now, it's the only thing keeping many small breweries aﬂoat. Please support local and #SaveTexasBreweries!

Learn more: CraftPAC.org/SaveTexasBreweries

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/25/20 12:33 PM

FROM THE EDITORS It was the first week of March and we were gearing up for our Spring/Summer issue. We were a little behind the ball but nothing out of the ordinary. We had talked to a couple of potential contributors, floated some story ideas amongst ourselves and had our timeline set. We’d send ad emails out the following week. Then, SXSW was cancelled. Oof. We thought we better give it a week to let the sting of that settle for our industry friends. Then things snowballed. Quickly. We waited... and waited... and waited. Getting a Guide going moved to one of the last things on our minds. Plus, how could we ask for advertisers in the current economic climate? More so, we’re a “social” publication. As much as we enjoy putting out a print piece, we equally love release parties, Best Of ceremonies, Lager Jams and bike pub crawls. As it became clear nothing was going to change soon, we realized it was press on or close shop. Over some distanced backyard beers we came up with the shell of an issue and sent emails the next day, not sure what to expect. To our surprise, it was a lot of “Yes.” Cover design, contributors, feature subjects and, most surprisingly, advertisers were in with no hesitation. We even heard a lot of “I’m really glad you’re doing this.” It was nice, though a little puzzling as we are far from essential. But as we had a chance to talk to people in the industry, we heard they appreciated the “normalcy” of another issue. While our output is far from “regular,” I suppose it has become some sort of a staple in the community after nearly a decade. Admittedly, it felt good to be back to the grind again. So here we are, our Summerish issue. “Ish” because the months have blended into each other and this hardly felt like summer. And because we had self-doubt when we’d get this out. We’re grateful for the advertisers that were in a position to support this issue. Thanks to them, and some thinning of features and trimming the back “guide” (which was easy as hours and modes of operation are ever-shifting right now), we were able to make ends meet and publish a limited run of our 27th issue. Maybe thumbing through this on a brewery patio or at home will bring some of that “normalcy” we and everyone involved felt, even if just for a minute. –JS

Aaron Chamberlain Josh Spradling

12:33 PM

ABG_Summer2020.indd 1

Contents NEWS & BREWMORS .......................................02

ASK A BREWER .......................................06

BREWER'S BRAIN .......................................10 OVER A PINT .......................................14 LIVE OAKERS .......................................20

CENTRAL AUSTIN .......................................35 SOUTH AUSTIN .......................................39 NORTH AUSTIN .......................................43 GREATER AUSTIN .......................................47 OTHER CEN TX .......................................52 CIDER AND MEAD .......................................52 PROOFREADERS ........Sofia Chamberlain and Sarah Spradling

Cover design: Alana Louise

8/7/20 9:33 AM

NEWS & BREWMORS

This is the News (NOT SO GRAND) OPENINGS Opening a brewery is hard enough to begin with. Opening right before or during a global pandemic? Hard pass. Thankfully others pressed on. North Austin Brewery District’s newest entree HopSquad soft-opened right at the turn of the New Year with a formal grand opening in February. Soon after, Fitzhugh Road welcomed Beerburg Brewing from Uncle Billy’s alum Trevor Near...burg. The Austin suburbs added two new breweries. Barking Armadillo opened in Georgetown for less than two weeks in early March before having to temporarily close, along with everyone else, and Leander’s northwestinspired Humble Pint opened with beers and pizza to-go in April. And as if they had been put through enough in the past two years to open, Hold Out finally started slinging beers, burgers and more in early May. Pflugerville’s Spirit of Texas Brewstillery is now brewing limited offerings (read: usually around three) to go with their craft spirits. And speaking of Pflugerville, Flying Man closed in May to make way for the new Willard’s Brewery, which opened in the same space in late

July. (Sorry in advance for any more new or upcoming brewstilleries we may have missed.) TEARS IN OUR BEERS The past few months have not been without tough times, including for a few breweries that had to close their doors permanently. Some accelerated by COVID, others directly due to the pandemic and one because of other factors. In mid-March Hops & Grain announced the closure of its production brewery and taproom in San Marcos. The second location, which had been open for about a year, experienced numerous setbacks opening due to the city and installations. Hops & Grain had planned to move production of all retail beers there and expand distribution to San Antonio. The original East 6th Street location, which has experienced ongoing improvements to the tap room, remained open and is back to producing all beers. You can find a rotating selection of smallbatch releases as well as comebacks of

. . . TURN PAGE, MORE NEWS!—>

Brewmors

(brew·mor [broo-mer] 1. a beer related story or statement in general circulation without conﬁrmation or certainty as to facts. 2. brewing gossip; hearsay. 3. Original #fakenews) ●

●

Brewers Association issues “Never Say Never” allowance for members as breweries from around the country are forced to go into survival mode and do whatever it takes to keep the doors open. Austin-area breweries forecast increase in October weekday patio sales as companies continue to offer employees the option to work from “home.” Following the success of their French's mustard beer, Oskar Blues looks around their brewery kitchen for more possible food/beer combos. Out next month in cans and draught: Microwaved Fish DDH IPA.

ABG_Summer2020.indd 2

●

Austin Beer Guide Best Of 2020 Awards cancelled and all operating breweries receive participation trophies in their place. Jester King starts regularly making "clean" beers (including hazy IPAs), begins selling Crowlers and 4pks of 16oz cans, and releases SPON in a box. Wait, being told this should be up in the news. As the destructive trend of splashing beer takes off in the social media feeds of local breweries, the Texas Craft Brewers Guild has all members sign a pledge to no longer post more than one splashing beer photo per quarter.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

ABG_20 abgtemp

OR DRIVE THRU AT THE BREWERY: 512brewingshop.com Brewed & bottled by (512) Brewing Company Austin, TX 78745 | Drink512.com

ABG_202007-2.indd 1 abgtemplate.indd 1

Austin Brewed | Vegan | Organic Malts

7/23/20 5:15 PM 7/23/20 5:58 PM

NEWS CONTINUED . . . some of your core favorites, for now. A year after shuttering the south location, NXNW closed the original restaurant and brewery in mid-April. Founded by Austin brewing pioneer Davis Tucker, the brand had seen its fair share of local industry players move through the brewery over the brand’s 21 years. They went out with an open house equipment sale, so if you’re lucky you might have scored a commercial-grade waffle maker alongside your keg. The Brewer’s Table, known for its high-end restaurant and food-forward beers that opened in 2018 after much anticipation, had to cease operations permanently in July after a couple of months of offering Crowlers to-go. Founder Jake Maddux has hopes that a new food and drink concept could return to the quonset hut one day. South Austin’s Skull Mechanix officially announced their closing in late July. The two-year old brewery best known for Michael Waters’ lagers and English ales and music-focused taproom says they had a full lineup of events and more on deck for 2020 before the pandemic shut them down. Fingers crossed there have not been any more closings between going to press and you reading this. COMING...SOON? Pinthouse Brewing, the fourth and entirely new concept from the Pinthouse team, is getting ever closer with brewhouse and fermenters installed in late July and eyes on a fall opening. The brewing side of things will be headed up by Kirkland Wheeler of PHP Lamar fame with assistance from Tom Fischer from PHP Burnet. Expect to see continued innovation with IPAs, growth in lagers and increased barrel-aged projects, along with more packaged beer. The space is aiming to be an “urban destination” with space to spread out and will feature a non-pizza kitchen offering snacks, new salads, sandwiches and more. Meanwhile Brewing is getting closer to brewing, selling, and opening it’s brewery/sports complex/playground and more just about a mile and a half east of the new PHB in south Austin. The industry vets from Oregon will make a variety of styles and have been leading up to their opening with

ABG_Summer2020.indd 4

a number of collaborations with breweries around town. Dripping Springs’ Ghost Note Brewing broke ground in the spring and has spent summer under construction. The former Rogness owners' newest project Samfelda Brewing is making progress in Pflugerville with equipment in place as of late July. Further out in Liberty Hill, Hell or High Water Brewing is open with guest taps and will soon be brewing their own traditional offerings. Frontyard Brewing recently released the address for their new facility and tap room off Highway 71 in Spicewood (conveniently located on your way to Pace Bend Park). BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL In June, Marcus Baskerville, Head Brewer & Co-Owner of San Antonio’s Weathered Souls launched the Black is Beautiful initiative, a global collaborative effort amongst the brewing community and its customers that aims to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. Its mission is to “bridge the gap that's been around for ages and provide a platform to show that the brewing community is an inclusive place for everyone of any color.” As of late July, more than 1,000 breweries, including more than 100 in Texas, were participating. Breweries were asked to donate 100% of the beers’ proceeds to local foundations that support police brutality reform, and legal defenses for those who have been wronged; choose their own entity to donate to local organizations that support equality and inclusion; and commit to the longterm work of equality. Most Austin-area releases took place in mid-July through mid-August. THIRD TIMES A CHARM, SORT OF As we prepared to go to print, a number of breweries re-opened their patios (and some tap rooms) for the third time after a state-wide shutdown in the spring, the shutdown of all bars (including breweries) in late June, and confusing interpretations of orders in July. As we went to press, SOME breweries had the option to (safely) welcome guests onsite, if they sell enough non-beer for on-premise consumption (read: food and merch), in addition to slinging to-go beer. No matter what, keep doing your part to #SaveTexasBreweries within whatever restrictions are in place.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/25/20 12:37 PM

ASK A BREWER

The Lonesome Valley

ISOLATION. QUARANTINE. SOCIAL DISTANCING. WE'VE ALL HAD TIME TO SPEND TIME ALONE in the past six months. Hopefully you've had friends and family to be with as well. Maybe you've had time to catch up on reading or home improvements. Like us, brewers have learned to use this time wisely. Have you taken up any new hobbies? WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks I have been getting more into woodworking. Also, trying out this whole parenting thing. (Meh) JEFF YOUNG Blue Owl Brewing I got an inflatable pool on my patio...sitting in that counts as a hobby, doesn’t it? MARK PHILLIPPE Hi Sign Brewing Absolutely. Really got into SBA Regulatory guidance 1.0, 2.0 AND* 3.0 this year. So much fun learning about PPP loans and bank covenants in greater detail. HAYDEN WINKLER Hold Out Brewing Binge watching HBO and Netflix has become a solid go-to, along with long walks with the puppers. JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Trying to play 90s pop punk songs on guitar. MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. We have been trying everything. One of our brewers is re-caning chairs, I’ve taken up competitive canine sport training. Mostly though I have found escapology to be good, trying to escape this year.

ABG_Summer2020.indd 6

DUSAN KWIATKOWSKI Live Oak Brewing Co. I can watch TV faster, longer, and stronger. TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales Does cycling count? Now I spend half my time looking at sweet bike parts to build the ultimate gravel-dad rig. What has been your favorite show to binge watch? JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery The Last Dance. MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. It was Letterkenny but ate that up real quick, then Avenue 5, and Space Force. But let’s talk real life here, there ain’t enough good shows on streaming. When are they gonna do a comedy about a pandemic in which everyone makes a bunch of wrong decisions and it gets out of control? Wait, that’s not funny. DUSAN KWIATKOWSKI Live Oak Brewing Co. Dianxi Xiaoge cooking on YouTube. TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales No daycare for the kiddo, so Daniel Tiger and Puffin Rock. Otherwise Tiger King or The Last Dance duhhhh.

JOE MOHRFELD Pinthouse Pizza Great British Baking Show, the early seasons got me through many a day. BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. I just finished my 3rd goaround of The Office. I always feel good about myself after watching Michael Scott do anything. MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. I gotta go with Tiger King. Not to silver line this, but have you learned anything positive through this about your brewery or the industry? WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Yeah, I have learned that the people that work with us are truly dedicated to this place. Also, the fierce loyalty of our fans to support and even have the bandwidth to talk about us on Social media is a true marvel. HAYDEN WINKLER Hold Out Brewing Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We can somehow open a brewery and see continued community support. So much thanks needs to go out to everyone who has and keeps on supporting the craft beer industry.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/22/20 4:31 PM

JOE MOHRFELD Pinthouse Pizza In regards to our hazy IPAs, we learned they taste much better with an extra 5–10+ days of tank time on them, and since reopening we have changed tank times and cellar schedules to allow for this. It’s still a bit bizarre having hazy IPAs take over 30 days, but they taste better, the haze is more stable, and that’s still a faster tank time than a lager so that’s how we do it now... oh and we found we like our lagers much longer than before too! BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. I have always been proud of our brewery and our industry as a whole. It takes an insane level of focus and creativity to build and maintain a brewery in any circumstances. This pandemic has amplified those qualities in our team and our friends to astronomical heights. Just making it this far is a testament to the resilience of all brewery employees. They go to work and crush it every day with a smile. A special shout out to the tenacious team at Hold Out Brewing for opening a brewery DURING a pandemic. Wouldn’t have been my first strategy, but I think it’ll work out. ;)

apparent to me when a delivery driver thanked us for the grain order. He still had a job because of us breweries. It takes a lot of people to make that beer in your hand, and by continuing to operate, we not only employ people directly, but indirectly as well. We are so connected. Have you used the time to make any changes or improvements to your operations or brewery? JEFF YOUNG Blue Owl Brewing We’ve seriously streamlined our brewery to simply pump out package beer. Got rid of anything standing in the way...like oak barrels and old inventory.

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales We’ve tricked out our patio a bit. Put up a new sign. That’s it! BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. Yes. We can 100% of our beer now! Before COVID, we sold 99% of our beer on draft. KENT KILLOUGH Vista Brewing We added a new eight tap bar on the outside of the brewery building to spread out queues and give more open air points of sale. We also laid down 100 yards of cedar mulch to repel the mosquitoes…not that anyone was able to appreciate this spring...

MARK PHILLIPPE Hi Sign Brewing We completely redid our taproom wall, installed drywall, painted a ton. Much cleaner look. Freshened up a bit so it looked absolutely perfect for the second shutdown. Now employees can enjoy the bathrooms in peace. We put up a bunch more brand new Kammoks out back- so we can look at them hanging empty blowing in the breeze during the first AND* second shutdowns.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. We have been making improvements on the taproom side (mister fans) and production side of things (cellar control systems, organization, etc). Hopefully these things will make life better for everyone here when we get back to “normal.”

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing I’m continually impressed with our industry’s collaborative nature. From the All Together and Black is Beautiful collabs, to our TX guild fighting hard for our rights to sharing of supplies and ingredients, brewers are showing that we are in this together.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. We’ve instituted a strict t-shirt themed weekly schedule. Most notably is wolf pack Wednesday, there are some really sweet wolf tees available out there. Then you have Throwback Thursday, Music Monday, Tie Dye Tuesday, Freaky Friday, Sleeveless Saturday, and Psychedelic Sunday. Our staff knows what’s cool.

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Mostly the arguments about dogs having rights too!

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. The impact we have on the supply chain became more

JOE MOHRFELD Pinthouse Pizza We added our own badass canning line, and that’s pretty rad.

ABG_Summer2020.indd 8

What do you miss more in your taproom, dogs or kids?

MARK PHILLIPPE Hi Sign Brewing We’ve always thought of ourselves as a cat establishment. JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Parents buy stuff for their kids. Dogs, not so much. BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. Puppies.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/22/20 11:49 AM

BREWER’S BRAIN

From the Mind of Shannon “The Brew Brotha” Harris

ABG_Summer2020.indd 10

the bar staff, cellarmen/cellarwomen, brewers, and even ownership. It’s being observed by beer snobs, or aficionados, such as myself, and to those that are new to craft beer on the outside looking in. I’ve been a voice against the cultural appropriation, tone deaf labels, and beer names that breweries jump on with no thought to how offensive these could be to minorities. We have breweries mistreating their employees of color with distasteful racist and sexist jokes or segregated office supplies. Yes, you’ve read that last part right. Explicitly “F” that brewery. It’s an industry that can make most people of color cringe just to be a part of. Ready to address the elephant in the room now? Craft beer is a predominately white all boys club. It started that way and has been that way for some time now. With the rise of women, LGBTQ+, and minority brewers and owners, we are on a path to great change in the industry. To play devils advocate, taprooms aren’t that much more diverse on the consumer side either, which leads me to ask, how are people of color or other underrepresented minorities looking to include ourselves in this industry? I see change happening by encouraging people of color to tap into the market by looking to own, partner, and operate a brewery. Making this change will make

8/7/20 9:33 AM

m w o

Photo: Shannon Harris

I AM OFTEN ASKED, “WHAT’S YOUR favorite beer?”, which has always been an extremely broad question to answer. Broad in the sense that there’s so many styles or categories of beer to consider before providing an answer. Sometimes I can proudly name a slayed ”whale” (beer reference for overpriced rare or small batch/limited released craft beer), most of the time it’s simply answering with my favorites styles; imperial stouts and lagers. Then there’s the question of “What’s your favorite brewery to visit?”. Tough one to answer when there’s over 8,000+ craft breweries in the U.S. and I’ve been to at least 100 of them. But if you must know — it’s Guinness Brewery in Baltimore, MD. Although, there is a debate if they’re even considered a craft brewery. There’s one question that I’ve always asked myself when visiting breweries over the years. It’s a question not too many have asked me, until recently. “Where are all of the black people?”. Before anyone who reads this gets up in arms, this is a two-way street that has a middle ground for us all to meet. Safely. The underrepresentation of people of color in the craft beer industry has been an ongoing issue. Discussions about diversity and inclusion have been made but many have also been ignored as the topic is sensitive to most. The lack of diversity in the taproom is being noticed;

th r o p s y h e o n

n, g s, w

al r o d s r r e â&#x20AC;? n o

n e y a y. s e e r o

g y a e

Photo: Shannon Harris

e y

more people of color feel included and welcome when visiting, working for, and owning a business in craft beer. Of all craft breweries in the U.S. less than 1% are actually black-owned. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roughly 60 black-owned breweries out of over 8,000. A small fraction, but huge progress nonetheless, as the number slowly but surely increases year over year. You are probably asking yourself, how do we, as Black and Brown people engage ourselves? Instead of waiting on an invitation (because letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face it, not everyone is going to roll out the

ABG_Summer2020.indd 11

red carpet for us) we need to take the initiative and visit local breweries in our own communities and drink beer. We need to apply for front of house brewery positions and become a recognized face and heard voice. We need to partner with our fellow minority friends to develop business plans and create a platform to empower ourselves in this industry. Many breweries have been vocal; making it clear that racism and hate is not tolerated in their brewery. Making it loud and clear that the Black community is loved, appreciated and welcomed as

8/7/20 9:33 AM

they stand with us as allies in solidarity. Watch for breweries that have been eerily silent or blatantly announcing and showing their lack of empathy and flat out hate towards black people, while at the same time having black and other minority customers and staff members. Pay attention to redacted opinions and companies begrudgingly joining the cause. Many have only posted a black square on social media and left it that. Leaving their supporting consumers wondering what’s next, as “business as usual” posts buried that black square. We need to support the breweries that are standing up against the injustices towards people of color. The breweries that are donating and raising money for minority focused charities. Most are brewing charitable beers like the now worldwide Black is Beautiful beer initiative, started by Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antonio, TX, who used this time as an amazing opportunity to shed light on today’s racial issues. You can find out more about the initiative at blackisbeautiful.beer and support the communities that are local to you by visiting participating breweries in your area and purchase Black is Beautiful. Garrett Oliver, of Brooklyn Brewery, has recently launched The Michael Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling. A grant-making organization that funds scholarship awards to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color within the brewing and distilling trades. The breweries that have been silent with their brewing platforms have blamed COVID or lack of tank space as reasons they’re not participating. Fair, but there’s over 1,000 breweries worldwide participating that are also suffering from the destruction COVID-19, have limited tank space, but rearranged brewing schedules to support the cause. Silent breweries have been slowly doing a 180

ABG_Summer2020.indd 12

and participating after a slew of social media call outs. Knowing that it has taken being called out to get a brewery to brew a beer versus genuinely deciding to do so on their own is disappointing, yet eye opening. Of course we know that all lives do matter but Black lives are the ones in jeopardy today. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd are just a few of the unexpected, unnecessary, and unlawful examples of that jeopardy. When it comes to craft beer, and the industry within itself, let’s acknowledge those people of color that are advocating for diversity and inclusion. We’ve reached out in many ways to support craft breweries — now its time for you to reach out. Create that dialogue and educate yourself. If these are issues you’ve never dealt with by not being a minority, have a conversation with your staff and other supporters that are. Brewery owners and managers must note that even within your own staff, if there’s a minority team member, they may be hurting and looking at you for guidance, compassion, acknowledgment, and more than likely solidarity. Be our ally. We need to keep the pressure on and speak out. We can’t stop with a black square on Instagram or even with this article. We need to use those hashtags and #SayTheirNames, continuing to feature the voices of Black & Brown people with more articles such as mine here. I love craft beer and the industry behind it. All I want from the craft beer industry is to love me back. Because I am Black, and want to be seen and included. Sincerely, Your Brotha in Beer Follow the @thebrewbrotha on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/29/20 2:46 PM

OVER A PINT

Jeﬀrey Stuﬃngs of Jester King Brewery WE’VE ALWAYS SAID THE BEST PLACE TO ENJOY JESTER KING BEER IS AT JESTER KING. EVEN MORE SO IF YOU CAN DO SO WITH CO-FOUNDER JEFFREY STUFFINGS. AND WHILE JESTER KING IS TECHNICALLY OPEN AND WE COULD HAVE MET THERE FOR THIS OVER A PINT, BALANCING FAMILY, WORK, AND COVID MADE A ZOOM CHAT EASIER, AND FRANKLY MORE APPROPRIATE. WE’VE KNOWN JEFF FOR 10+ YEARS NOW AND HE HAS BEEN IN THE GUIDE IN VARIOUS WAYS OVER TIME, BUT IT’S BEEN A GOOD FIVE YEARS SINCE WE HAVE REALLY CHECKED IN ON JESTER KING. HE WAS ON OUR RADAR WITH THE SEMI-RECENT RESTAURANT ADDITION AND CHANGES, AND EVEN MORE RECENT DIVERSIFICATION OF BEER PRODUCED. THROW IN A PANDEMIC (PLUS A BUNCH OF KID AND FAMILY STUFF NO ONE WANTS TO READ HERE), AND THERE WAS PLENTY TO TALK ABOUT. SO MAKE A RESERVATION FOR JESTER KINGDOM, GRAB A PINT AND A PIE AND ENJOY THE CHAT. EDITED FOR CLARITY AND LENGTH.

Austin Beer Guide: So I think this Cornbread Kvass was the most recent release available at the store. We also liked that it goes in hand with the kitchen and a little bit of what you're doing lately. Jeffrey Stuffings: Yeah, that's been one of my favorite recent beers. We have a kitchen now, as you guys know, and part of that is a bakery and our head baker, Jonathan Sanchez, baked up a bunch of cornbread which we put into the mash. Kvass is a style we've done a fair amount of over the years and being able to do it with our bread is pretty cool. We've done it with some of our house sourdough. We wanted to see how it would go with cornbread which I think, you know, lent kind of like a subtle textual character to the beer. But yeah, I'm just trying different breads in the mash.

ABG_Summer2020.indd 14

Yeah, it's really drinkable. I mean, it’s pretty warm outside right now and it's hitting the spot. What are you drinking? I've heard all about this guy (Live Oak PreWar Pils) since it came out in cans. Pilz has been my go-to forever, I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but then the Pre-War came out and I'm trying to decide which I like better, but I've been drinking this nonstop since it came out in cans. And then I've got a couple of other Austin beers I grabbed for tonight. The Hold Out Last Light, their dry hop porter. And then this beer (Real Ale Fresh Kicks) kind of snuck up on me. It's just the one I've been turning to quite a bit. It's good stuff. I mean, despite being almost 7%, it drinks really, really easily. A nice kind of fresh floral hop character. It's a good beer. We’ve got some Pre-War ready as the night goes on. Before we started, you mentioned you’ve been in the Guide a few times and we've known you before there even was a Guide. We’ve had a chance to come out to the brewery since the early days and see the evolution of things. So without rehashing the past so much...your philosophy and what you've done with Jester King and where you started out...can you talk to us about like the last two-to-three years and then take us up to pre-COVID. What have

8/15/20 9:14 PM

abgtemp

GOOD TO-GO

OUR BEER TO-GO PROGRAM IS IN FULL FLIGHT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. REMEMBER TO MASK UP... AND DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS ;) SOUTHERNHEIGHTSBREWING.COM

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/28/20 11:19 AM

y’all recently done at Jester King and what was the intention behind it? Sure. So roughly, it was more or less like two years ago we opened a restaurant. We had become a brew pub back in 2013, but that was more along the lines of just being able to sell beer to-go at the time. So we took over the existing space that was there and transitioned that into what we simply call Jester King Kitchen and kept the core menu relatively the same. The pizza brought the sourcing and ingredients more in line with our philosophy of supporting local agriculture, trying to grow as much of our own ingredients as we can combined with supporting other local purveyors and farmers around us. For instance, our whole pizza dough and bread program is using a hundred percent Barton Springs Mill grain, which is just right down the road from us on Fitzhugh. And then along with that, we inherited from the former owners of the ranch an event hall which, not to foreshadow, but is on the sidelines for this period. Not a whole lot really changed with our beer making from 2017ish until just recently. To be transparent about motivations and whatnot, but right around, I'd say maybe like 2017ish our sales of farmhouse sales started to dip a little bit, which was by no means panic mode, but slightly unnerving coupled with the fact that we had seen kind of a general slowdown in the market of large format bottles like 750 ml. And then also combined with that, we've seen this kind of continued localization of craft beer where, for a good chunk of time, from when we opened in 2010 to the present, a lot of our customers were beer geeks showing up and trading beers all over the country. Our supporters were just as much beer geeks out of state as they were people in our own backyard. Anecdotally we'd find a lot of people who would be like you know, “Oh, I'm from such and such state. I love Jester King,” but in Dripping (Springs) it’s like, “Where are you guys again? Do you make beer?” So that was kind of our experience for a very long time where I feel gradually it's started to shift more towards, “Hey, I live within a five mile radius. I'm here with my friends or family or relatives” So today we feel kind of just like a local spot for beer, food, and community just as much, if not more so, than we feel kind of like this artisan brewery producing these beers that are unique. So, you know, all of those things have led us to, in a way, go back to where we started, which was a little more diverse lineup of beers with both wild fermentation, which we've specialized

ABG_Summer2020.indd 16

in now for almost a decade, in addition to “clean beers” you know, pure culture fermentations. I'd say a lot of our sourcing and philosophy hasn't changed. We're still buying from Black Lands Malt and Texasmalt and you know, still, just practically in terms of adjunct ingredients, almost exclusively local fruit, herbs, vegetables, and spices. But the fermentation is different. We're still trying to support local from the standpoint of we're buying yeast from Community Culture Yeast Labs in San Antonio, which is the closest commercial yeast lab to us. But as I mentioned, it's pure culture we're using primarily either English ale yeast, Kviek or sometimes some California ale yeast. But nonetheless, pure culture fermentation. Oh, and then of course, German lager yeast. So yeah, just again, kind of catering to the people in our backyard who, you know, show up and they want to drink a pale lager or an IPA. Again, two major forces would be somewhat of a receding interest in farmhouse ales, and not that has gone out the window, but seeing a little bit of deflation of the ball there, and then just becoming more of like a local brewery. Like you said, y'all weren't in panic mode when you saw the changing shifts of the consumer, but do you feel like it's unfortunate that when you actually started ramping this up, that is when the pandemic hit? Have you received any backlash that it looks like you are in crisis mode, that you just started throwing this together? Has the current situation impacted it in a good or bad way? You know, so the decision to diversify our lineup and make pale lagers and clean ales... we committed to that approximately nine months ago. Right around October of 2019. So it took a good five, six months to kind of even just get that off the ground and move beyond just purely an experimental stage and trying to make sure we can execute well. Our first ever canned beer and Crowler came out in February 2020, approximately like six weeks before the pandemic really hit. I mean hit hard. We were kind of fortuitous that we had this diversified lineup. I wouldn't say the pandemic has really accelerated or decelerated our clean beer program. It's still a relatively small space we’re lending to it, about 150 barrels. Which is approximately like 20 to 25% of our brewery. So it's still fairly small. But you can turn around a beer a lot faster. Certainly, yeah. I mean, that's been kind of fun from a release standpoint. We still have

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

FW_STV_AD_AC.pdf

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/24/20

1:41 PM

7/24/20 1:42 PM

our mixed ferm and spontaneous releases that come out periodically and then being able to pair that with new IPA and lagers and stouts has just been fun. I don't know, on a personal level it's kind of rekindled some of my interest in brewing. Mixed culture fermentation and spontaneous fermentation is amazing from the lack of intention and just seeing what nature creates. It’s fascinating. On the other hand, sometimes you kind of want to have more control and now stepping into styles where there's total control from grain to glass has been fun. It was kind of hearkening back to like my homebrewing days where you just get to like, create a recipe. And I mean, our farmhouse ale recipes are, they're almost like laughable from the standpoint of like, yeah, just create like a basic wort and then just see what yeast and bacteria do over time. It's like, oh, about 80% barley, 20% wheat, hop to about like 20 IBUs, and then just see what happens and that's the recipe and process. And then of course, blending is important on the tail end of that. But it's been a lot more fun these days go to where, you know, like even like a 3% grain addition is going to have an impact or, you know, yeast, fermentation temperature...all of these basic things that we had not ignored, but never, you know, put on a pedestal cause they just didn’t even matter that much. So I'm having fun with it. And then the other thing that's kind of, this is more like looking into the future, we can change our license to the production tier, still sell beer to-go and now make wine, cider Saki, mead, even distilled spirits if we wanted to, though we don't have any plans and still, but we absolutely have plans to start making wine and cider. Whenever things normalize we will change our license and start making and selling wine and that'll be under the farmhouse wild, spontaneous category. Very like minimal intervention wines. Putting COVID aside, that's kind of the journey we've been on over the last six-to-nine months of just diversifying what we do and then kind of planning to diversify into wine and cider. And now shifting to COVID-times, one of the coolest things that came out was actually when you guys put out the Tolkien map of all your space. (At this point we opened a Meowsonry! and went off on a tangent about Jester King designer Josh Cockrell for a while.) Oh yes, the map. Yeah, he (Josh) created all that. You know again, we're trying to be creative and come up with new ideas. I've

ABG_Summer2020.indd 18

walked around Jester King before and we'd go to various places and I would sit down for a little while or open a beer or something and it was kinda like, well, it's kind of cool if people took advantage of these various spots that by and large they really never visit. It would always be a crush of people congregating around the beer hall, festival style. And so it was like, well, what if we totally spread this out and put tables in the goat yard or under this like live oak canopy or in our vineyard. And that was kind of the motivation for “let's have people experience different parts of Jester King” that simultaneously accomplishes the goal of being socially distant. Jester King is known for its collaborations and in the past we’ve joked about your jetsetting ways. Is not traveling hard on you? The honest answer is I've actually really loved not being on the road and not doing collaborations, not doing nearly as many events. It's fun. And you know, you get a lot of inspiration and it's fun and I think that's a special thing and I love, love, love the social aspect of what we do. But it is...it can be grueling and a big time commitment and, frankly, I mean, I'm 40, I turn 41 this fall. I'd rather just kind of do stuff with my family. Instead of going to the Copenhagen Beer celebration, you know, take my family someplace cool that’s educational and fun for them. So I think it's just a product of getting into this business at 27 and now coming up on 41. Now I would intentionally limit beer festivals and collaborations to one night of drinking, maybe, maybe, two and then yeah, that's all I can handle. As a product of getting older, I do question the healthiness of these events and like just constant, constant, constant drinking. So yeah, it's been refreshing both in terms of my family and my relationship with my wife and kids and just how much more I get done at work when I'm not like going somewhere every two weeks. Speaking of… Yeah, my wife is home now so I should probably sign off and go hang out with her a little bit, but yeah, it's been fun. It's cool to achieve somewhat, you know, an odd sense of normalcy. Agreed. Thanks for doing this, Jeff. Great to see you guys, Josh and Aaron. Always nice to chat. Hopefully not too long before we can see each other in person. Cheers, guys.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/25/20 12:56 PM

ROOTED

IN LIVE OAK

We’ve kicked around the idea of some type of story about the “Live Oak Family Tree” for a while, but it wasn’t until our friend Niko dropped into our DMs to let us know his brewery would soon be distributing in Texas and we started chatting that it started to come to fruition. In fact, “Live Oak Family Tree” was the working title for a while, but this is not a full portrait so that’s overselling it. There’s a whole story to be told about co-founder Chip McElroy, Brian Peters (LO co-founder, Bitter End, Uncle Billy’s, ABGB) and Steve Anderson (Waterloo, Big Bend), among others, that is not included here (in fact, we may have already covered it in 2015’s dive into Austin’s brewing scene in the 90s, but we’ve had a few beers since then so it’s fuzzy). What we do explore here is a core group of employees from the early 2010s that Live Oak pumped out of the dingy warehouse on East 5th Street that went on to start or work at nationally recognized breweries and an industry supplier (Fair State Coop, Flora Fonta, Side Project and Oasis Brewing/Yakima Chief Hops). While the conditions they cut their chops in may have been less than ideal, it proved to be an unmatched training ground for success for them and so many more.

WHEN DID YOU START AT LIVE OAK AND WHAT WERE YOU HIRED FOR? WHEN DID YOU LEAVE AND WHAT WAS YOUR JOB THEN?

(Vicknair) (still brewing at LO), Spencer, Jeremy, Drew, and others come in. In the time that I was there, Dusan also went from running the cellar pretty much solo to being the head brewer.

Niko Tonks (NT): I started in September of 2011, and I got hired to wash kegs and do other menial stuff. The biggest concern Jan (Matysiak) had when I got hired was how willing/able I'd be to unload grain trucks since our Czech malt came in full containers of loose 55lb bags that had to be unloaded one at a time, and I guess my soft graduate student body didn't look up to it. My first day, I ended up cleaning up part of the boneyard outside and got some real nice poison oak exposure and a sunburn. I left in late 2013, and at the time I was a brewer. In the intervening period I did pretty much every job there was to do on the production side, and we'd seen both Jan and Steve (Anderson) leave (for Sixpoint and Big Bend, respectively), and guys like Dylan

Jeremy Inzer (JI): I started as distribution/ sales in May 2013. I transitioned to cellarman in December 2013, and left in October 2014.

Drew Durish (DD): I started in 2012 with the sole task of cleaning kegs until the sun set. I left in 2016 as a brewer and cask beer guy. You know, classic German cask beer. Dusan Kwiatkowski (DK): I was hired in February 2008 as a “keg washer.” It was Steve and Julie (Thompson) in production. Chip (McElroy, Live Oak co-founder) in the office. (Chris) Cherry and Travo were distro.

Photos: Spencer, Dusan and Drew

Spencer Tielkemeier (ST): I was hired at Live Oak as a shift brewer in December 2012 and departed in January 2014, still a shift brewer.

20 ABG_Summer2020.indd 20

8/7/20 9:33 AM

NIKO

DREW

a d t, s O g o

SPENCER

e k a, r r

JEREMY

r, e m g

n/ o n

e t. y.

n s n. e o.

Photos: Spencer, Dusan and Drew

at r a

DUSAN ABG_Summer2020.indd 21

8/7/20 9:33 AM

22 I’m now Live Oak’s Production Manager / Head Brewer / Art Dept. I spend my time maximizing yeast luxury, perfecting pilsners, prioritizing, planning and assorted other shit.

GRAIN!

NT: I think from the very beginning I had a sense that LO was special, in a very particularly Austin kinda way. Austin is, I think it's fair to say, a city that's obsessed with the effects of rapid growth and change, and with the continual loss of some sort of essential cultural element that "ke(pt) Austin weird." This is sometimes a navel-gazing exercise, but it can also be a useful lens in the sense that it does pay to look around for things that have been around for a while and that might have been affecting the city's culture more than you thought and to treasure those things. Live Oak, to me, is one of those things. It's an intensely weird, hyper-focused aberration (in a good way) of a brewery that people in Austin just sort of accept as a given, since it's been around for a long time (23 years). Being able to be a part of the city's cultural fabric, in a way, by working at LO always felt special to me. I think getting to work with Steve Anderson for the first year or so of being there was also a really special thing for me. It's impossible to separate Steve's story from the story of craft beer in Texas, and it was fun and interesting to learn bits and pieces of that history, yes, but he was also just a really funny, interesting, and authentic person, and I felt lucky to have gotten to know him, albeit briefly. It was my first legitimate brewery job, and I think being immediately tossed into the deep end of the craft industry grind in that little bunker/garage/pit of a brewery that was old LO felt pretty affirming, too - like there was a shared sense of struggle and purity about the place, which sounds fully insane, but it's tough not to drink the kool-aid on that when you're making step-mashed lagers fermented in old dairy tanks and climbing over stacks of kegs and doing mosquito abatement in the cellar and everyone in the industry just keeps telling you how kickass your beers are. As a brewer, it's an incredible privilege to have worked at a brewery that the industry holds in high regard. (Editor’s note: ABG covered the last days of the original Live Oak facility in an

ABG_Summer2020.indd 22

obituary in our Fall 2015 issue. Dig it up online on issuu.com if you’re not familiar with it.) That status was one of the funny things about working at the old LO brewery, especially as a first real brewing job. Live Oak is a real "industry" brewery in the sense that brewer curmudgeon types tend to like lager beers, and so LO tends to be one of the places people in the industry look to for drinkin' beers on their own time. That meant that people would come through a lot from out of town, or in town. Some of the things that we did at LO were fairly anachronistic in terms of brewery practice, shall we say. Our yeast handling practices were especially dramatic looking, for example - the process of harvesting involved a stainless bucket and a very carefully choreographed method of tossing said bucket into a fermenter while sitting on top of it. So you had these people coming through being sort of agog at the wacky shit we were doing, and they'd look at the brewery, look at us dumping yeast slurry all over the place, look at the brewery again, and then look at their beer and wonder how the fuck that beer came out of that place. The best example for me personally was one day Chip was showing a rep from a German brewhouse manufacturer around while I was brewing, and Chip was just showing him all the stuff, and you could kinda see on this guy's face that this brewery didn't really conform to his expectations of what a good lager brewery looked like, to put it diplomatically. The tour concluded, Chip poured the guy a beer, and then had to go take a phone call or something real quick. While Chip was out of the room, this German guy pulled me aside and said to me

Photo: Drew

WAS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT WORKING AT LIVE OAK DURING THAT TIME THAT YOU FOUND PARTICULARLY SPECIAL?

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

A TA S T E YO U â&#x20AC;&#x2122; l l WA N T T O F O R G E T

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/25/20 12:37 PM

JI: Aside from prior part-time and volunteer work, this was my first full-time job in the brewing industry, which was also the case for the entire cellar and distribution team. I was so eager and hungry to learn that I looked forward to the crazy long days throwing kegs and washing kegs in the 100 degree warehouse. We were all in the same mindset, and had weekly bottle shares trying to blow each other's minds with whatever was new. ST: I came in as an outsider having not taken the traditional route through the cellar. As such I had a unique vantage point from which to see the crew. Chip’s force of personality was already legendary at that point, so I entered with a healthy amount of curiosity (and maybe some trepidation). He proved to be one of the most caring bosses I’ve ever had (though certainly never lacking for a blustery one-liner). He and Dusan were most excellent foils, and I sincerely enjoyed working under them. The labor-intensive nature of some of our procedures (ahem, yeast harvest (see above)) created an “all for one, one for all” kind of sensibility amongst the crew. At the time we imported our very rustic Czech malt in 25kg bags, and they came across the ocean in a shipping container, 720 loose sacks at a time (no pallets). Upon opening the doors we had one hour to get the malt unloaded

CHIP

ABG_Summer2020.indd 24

before the driver had to leave. Everyone not brewing would drop their current task and we’d unload, Egyptian-style, and re-stack every sack. Silly as it may sound, I loved the team nature of that ritual. Chip always insisted that Live Oak served as the drop off point for Texas kegs bound for GABF each year. At first I found it completely absurd, our cold space to barrelage ratio was already incredibly small, even without added kegs from other breweries. Chip would rent a refrigerated truck, at his own cost, to house the beer prior to shipment. It occurred to me one day that we went through all that effort and expense not because it was economical. We did it because it meant that all the other breweries in the region would necessarily have to come see us to drop off their beer, and that we’d get the chance to have a beer with them and catch up on things. I think that encapsulates who Chip and the entire LO crew were and are. I miss doing cellar tastings with the other brewers. Niko hated sulfur in young lagers. I loved it. Everyone else was somewhere in the middle. There was a lot of green beer consumed in those days, much hand-wringing about Pilz batches in the dark depths of the old cellar. DD: It was such a leg-up to reap the benefit of almost two decades of brewing experience for my first job in the industry. The Live Oak name was/is so recognizable that it proved a fantastic conversation starter in breweries around the state. So, as far as learning new information and absorbing a copious amount of trade and industry secrets it was a massive boon. On my first and second day of the job I had a terrific experience with Chip. At the end of the first day I was finishing up the last two cycles of washing kegs before dumping the caustic reservoir and preparing to fill with acid for the next day’s keg runs. Chip walks by and says that we’re having a going away party for some Germans who were living in a trailer in the back of the brewery (it’s as weird as it sounds). Since Chip is the boss I turned off the keg washer and joined the party. The next morning as I’m waiting for the caustic reservoir to heat back up before running two cycles then dumping and refilling - a time consuming process - Chip walks by and asks what I’m doing. I explain. He looks me right in the eyes and says, “That sounds like a colossal fucking waste of time. Why the fuck would you waste two hours doing that when you could have just finished it yesterday?” I

Photo: Dusan

quietly, in a hilariously on-point accent, "you do very well with what you have." Real lifeaffirming moment there.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

8/6/20 2:21 PM

7:23 PM 7/20/20 1

CMY

TBC-ABG-Summer-2020_FullPg_final-PRINT copy.pdf

TxBeer-Co-ABG-Summer-Full-pg-Ad.indd 1 abgtemplate.indd 1

7/20/20 7:28 PM 7/22/20 11:48 AM

MP 82:7

DK: There weren't many other breweries at that time, especially not many lager makers. Drinking your weight in Pilz per month was the expectation that bonded everyone. And the Czech malt deliveries, harvesting our yeast, manually stacking/unstacking kegs 5-high into/out-of the cooler to make it 1.3x as dense...fuck. And some shit we blocked out I'm sure. I know a lot of people do this type of funny business now but looking back from how far LO has come as far as not doing "fuck, this sucks" stuff, it's great. But you were lucky to get to work with people you like, that are willing to do shit the hard way. We could drink 10 beers after work on a Tuesday and then work 12 hours on Wednesday and then drink 12 beers after work, etc. Working at LO didn't really seem like a 'career move' at the time, but we did pump out head brewer after head brewer.

ST: I learned, above all, that there’s no “secret” to making gorgeous, classic beer. Before my time at LO I thought they possessed some pilsner voodoo that the rest of us didn’t. As it turns out they just put tremendous care and energy into ingredients, process, and healthy fermentation. DD: I learned that you can make great beer as long as you focus on the process. That original LOBC building and most of the equipment was unfit for human use - it was a humid, ratinfested shithole with repurposed dairy tanks that should have been put out to pasture. Yet, they were able to make an incredible product by consistently purchasing great raw ingredients, cleaning and sanitizing the hell out of the inside of the tanks, and bringing in the right folks to maintain that integrity. Dusan is the North Star of LOBC and I loved learning the art of shutting the fuck up from him. He is an absolute gem of a human and Live Oak was always about good people.

OLD TREEHUGGER KEG STAND

1 fdp.ypoc TNIRP-lanif_gPlluF_0202-remmuS-GBA-CBT

JI: The tri clamp flip. I first saw Chris

MP 82:7 02/02/7 ABG_Summer2020.indd 27

02/02/7

NT: Basically everything. It was my first brewing job so I was just a complete sponge for information, and LO is a real repository for old-school classic brewing knowledge and practice, the sort of stuff people ignore on the daily in the craft world, so it felt crucially important to build a strong foundation in classic technique that could be applied broadly. We step-mash almost all of our beers at Fair State, to this day, because of LO. I left LO with a real sense of history and tradition, with a degree of certitude about what mattered in beer. That sense has been degraded over time, a little, and the wacky shit has come pouring through the cracks, but the guiding light of proper lager production I learned at LO still shines brightly. It's also been incredible to have gotten to know all the people who worked there at the same time as me. I'm still friends with most of them, and I see Spencer and Dusan, especially, a few times a year. We tend to go on vacations together.

Landsford do this flip with such finesse I couldn't comprehend how he did it. I quickly learned that everyone in the Live Oak cellar did this flip, and have rarely seen anyone anywhere else do this. Also the brewing mentality of restraint and respect of tradition. Live Oak has made some world class beers with only a handful of ingredients and historical practices. I wouldn't be nearly as stubborn and old fashioned in my personal brewing practices if it wasn't for starting at Live Oak.

MP 32:7

Photo: Dusan

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR TIME THERE THAT YOU STILL FIND BENEFICIAL TODAY?

YMC

7:28 PM 11:48 AM

said, “Because you told me to join the party.” His response, “Well, don’t fucking listen to me, I don’t know what’s going on back here!” I honestly loved finally having a non-passive aggressive boss. Someone who just says exactly what’s on his/her mind. Thanks, Chip!

1 ddni.dA-gp-lluF-remmuS-GBA-oC-reeBxT 8/7/20 9:33 AM

NT: In 2013 I started working on Fair State, the brewery I helped start and where I still work today, and it became clear that it would happen in Minnesota, which is where I had moved to Austin from in 2009. I gave Chip a few months notice before leaving, because it felt like a pretty momentous thing to do, which may have been grossly overstating my importance at the time. I moved back to MN in late 2013, helped a couple college friends open a cider place (Sociable Cider Werks) and opened as their initial head brewer while we settled on a space for Fair State and built it out. We opened Fair State on Labor Day weekend 2014. At the time I was the entire production staff, and would more or less be until the following summer. I also bartended twice a week and did a bunch of events. Starting a business is not good for work/life balance. We were fortunate to hit the Twin Cities at the right time, and expanded to fill our small original space by 2015. We signed a local distribution deal in 2016 that allowed us to build our larger production brewery in 2017, which I ran until the end of 2018, at which point I returned to work mostly at the original taproom brewery, developing new products and working the retail side of things, which is more my speed, ultimately. In 2019 we did slightly more than 10,000bbls of production. JI: While I was at Live Oak I took an online course and series of exams through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to receive the General Certificate in Brewing. This mixed with my Live Oak experience allowed me to land a brewing job at Dogfish Head, where I stayed for three years. I had developed a huge passion for traditional sour beers and experimenting with new things, which resulted in me creating a niche within Dogfish for R&D brewing projects and helped start their current mixed culture/barrel program. After falling more in love with this part of brewing, I wanted to make a move to a smaller company that I could make more of my own decisions, making blends, writing recipes, and all the creative and experimental aspects I began to love. It was perfect timing for Fonta Flora Brewery, in Morganton, NC to be hiring for a Head Brewer to run their production facility. Fonta Flora was known primarily for their world class sour beers with only North

ABG_Summer2020.indd 28

DREW

Carolina ingredients at the time, and were looking to expand their clean beer production with the new facility. After chatting with owner/ brewer Todd Boera, we immediately hit it off having almost the exact same ethos of the importance of fresh ingredients and brewing tradition, not taking any short cuts, our love for sours and lagers, and our mutual hatred towards cliche trends like hazy IPAs. ST: After leaving LO I helped start Oasis, Texas Brewing Company, where I was the head brewer for three years. After that I joined Yakima Chief Hops, where I’ve been for the past three years. I currently serve as East Division and Brewing Innovations Lead. DD: I helped open The Brewer’s Table (TBT) with Jake Maddux and learned a whole metric fuckton about the fun and some of those not-as-fun aspects of owning and operating a brewery/brew pub for which I am eternally grateful. I gorged on the culinary side of life at TBT and learned an incredible amount from the entire - FOH and BOH - staff just what all goes into a restaurant and how the brewery fits into that puzzle. I also ate a preposterous amount of delicious food for free. I miss that. Fuck. I’m hungry right now. After TBT I was incredibly fortunate to join the brewing crew at Lazarus with the lovable Rebecca and the Matts - truly wonderful humans. While it was a short stint, I had the opportunity to brew and perform some cellar work and consumed knowledge wholesale from those brains. In the middle of that stay I jumped on the opportunity to apply at Side Project in St. Louis for a brewing position

Photo: Dusan

EXPLAIN YOUR JOURNEY AFTER LEAVING LIVE OAK.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

3/29/19 8:32 AM

30 and took a leap of faith. And...here we are. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE/BREWERY? NT: The best thing about my job is creative control and freedom - we made 53 new individual beers last year and will do roughly the same this year, so it's a pretty nonstop process of ideation and creation, which is fun and exciting. It's also kinda exhausting, which again goes to the "don't start a small business if you value free time" lesson. JI: Love working for a small company that really stands behind what we say. When I started I was the third employee, and we now have three locations and a much larger staff. Starting when the company was in its early stages has made me feel super connected with every aspect of the company and the people we work with. I've loved the freedom to make countless recipes and blends, both on my own and collaborations within our team. Also fulfilling the ethos of Fonta Flora by working directly with a huge network of farmers of our community, and knowing exactly what is going into our beer. ST: My love for beer has waxed and waned over the years, but at my core I just love the people in the brewing industry. My current role keeps me regularly in touch with all of my former colleagues in TX, and in many other markets. I love being able to talk, commiserate, advise, brew, and drink with the folks in my day-to-day orbit. I work for some of the best family hop farms in the world. I can’t imagine a better job.

DD: Everything. I love the freedom of production and the fluidity of hierarchy. We truly get to let the beer tell us when it’s time to package and release. I love all of the staff. I love all of the events and wonderful brewery folk I’ve met and the people who recognize the name. Plus, from a personal perspective, I get to learn from some legit masters of styles that I’ve never worked with professionally. The access to this extensive knowledge of barrel aging and stout and funky production is invaluable and remarkably fun. This shit is bonkers. And they’ve done all the hard work already! WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO HAVE WORKED AT A BREWERY WITH A FOCUS AND LEGACY LIKE LIVE OAK? NT: Legacy and focus are incredible assets in this case, because they productively constrain many of the baser impulses of a young and unfocused industry like craft beer. I can't say that we at Fair State have maintained the degree of focus that LO exhibits, but having lived it for a couple of years really has helped me be cognizant of what I want, what seems important, and what's not worth pursuing. JI: I think about the legacy of Live Oak often, and try to live up to it's great reputation. Fonta Flora has a reputation all it's own, but in many ways is very different. I try to combine the two, by making old world, focused, traditional beers, while using only North Carolina ingredients. For instance, we've made some far out lagers with foraged NC ingredients from elderflower, sassafras and sea island red peas, but incorporate the legacy of Live Oak by cereal mashing, decocting, spunding, and extensively lagering these beers. No matter how experimental our recipes may be, we are always getting to our goal with the same principles, and never taking any short cuts, in the same focus as Live Oak.

SPENCER

ABG_Summer2020.indd 30

DD: I couldn’t be more proud to call LOBC my alma mater. The name carries weight, but more importantly, the experience carries a tremendous sense of confidence and pride.

Photo: Spencer

ST: On a very nuts-and-bolts level it’s instant credibility. Brewers perk up when you mention it. On a more ethereal level it’s where I honed my brewing ethos, and where I met some of my very best friends.

8/7/20 9:33 AM

beer guid abgtemp

beer guide ad LD version with bleed3.indd 1 abgtemplate.indd 1

7/31/2020 12:34:46 PM 7/31/20 2:15 PM

JEREMY AND CO.

DK: It (the original brewery) was a wellfrankensteined deal that worked well if you knew what you were doing but you had to figure out what the fuck you were doing, or wtf why wasn't it working. It was the ultimate brewer training facility. WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST ABOUT THE AUSTIN BEER CULTURE/INDUSTRY AND LIVE OAK? NT: It's tough to say accurately since I haven't lived in Austin since 2013, but I miss the degree to which the city has embraced drinking lager. It makes sense, since it's hot n' stuff, but it's still encouraging and affirming to see a city become such an awesome pilsner market. I left before taprooms were legal, which has maybe changed things, but at the time there was a pretty strong sense of camaraderie in the industry. I haven't found that as strongly any other place I've been in the industry. The cool thing is that I've been able to stay in really good touch with most of the people featured in this story, and I see them a few times a year. I haven't been to Austin since last year, but it doesn't feel like a strange place to me, Live Oak, even though it's in a new spot. It's also fun that Fair State now distributes to Texas through Flood - this is the first time

JI: Starting my brewing career in 2012 in Austin could not have been a better time and place for me. Hands down, the thing I miss most was the tight-knit community of the Austin beer industry. Everyone in the industry had a level of comradery that I haven't experienced in any other city. I would bounce from brewery to brewery, different beer dinners, events and dive bars, and always run in friends in the industry. It seemed like a smaller world at the time, and there was never a shortage of people to grab a beer with. Austin was exploding as a beer city, and everyone had the same eager attitude to make it something special. ST: I miss the feeling of propelling a scene forward, often at a breakneck pace, with a group of people I loved. Craft beer in Texas grew so rapidly, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the ride, at least for a time. The Austin beer scene has always possessed a special camaraderie. I think I took it for granted. Now that I’m exposed to so many other markets I’ll never take it for granted again. I also miss good lagerbier being held in high esteem by brewer and consumer alike. That’s a unique Texas oddity. DD: Put simply, I miss my friends. I can only speak to where I’m at now, but St. Louis doesn’t have the same camaraderie that Austin cultivated. Not even close. It’s not animosity up here and we have plenty of brewery friends, but there isn’t a unified contingent like Austin. Sad but true. As stated in the introduction, many a great brewer has passed through Live Oak through the years. These include, but are not limited to Julie Thompson (Upland, Independence), Jan Matysiak (Six Point, Big Bend Brewing), Jorge Espiño, David Tikler (Alamo Beer) and Jason Watkins (Two Docs). Sorry we could not cover them all. Also, if anyone tracks down “Funtime Q” please let us and the LO team know.

abgtemp

Photo: Dusan

I don’t take for granted the essential skills I learned from those at LOBC who paved the way and did all the dirty work. It was an unrivaled education. Then there’s Chip. I mean, almost everyone knows Chip and the first time I kind of realized I was on his good side meant almost more to me than my parents respecting me. They have to like me, but Chip sure as shit doesn’t.

a beer I am personally responsible for is on the shelves at HEB, which is neat. I've wanted to get our beers down to Austin, especially, for a long time, and we're excited to keep sending stuff down. We've got a collaboration with LO coming out in August or early September that I'm especially excited for.

32 ABG_Summer2020.indd 32

8/7/20 9:33 AM

y e h o o r e g a O st r y

n e st n a d y d e e e s r

OPEN FOR BEER-TO-GO

Wednesday-Saturday 12-6pm VISIT realalebrewing.com

e a s o e d r y d d r

itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a weird summer. drink Accordingly. WEIRD SUMMER Barrel-Aged Sour Lager LIMITED RELEASE OUT NOW.

n t. e s y d 7/28/20 12:50 PM

THEBREWTORIUM.COM Photo: Dusan

r s. n g o d n

abgtemplate.indd 1

ABG_Summer2020.indd 33

8/7/20 10:52 AM

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/25/20 12:31 PM

BU RN ET

RD .

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 36 MEDICAL PKWY.

LV D.

45 th

W. 30

41s t ST .

ST.

38 th S

PY. / RT. 1

55 56 28

DU VA L

ST .

GU AD AL UP ES T.

ST.

13 RIV ER

ST.

MO PAC EX

RED

DEAN KEATON ST.

24 . 5

University of Texas

R MANO

19th ST. / MLK

25 33

31 17 11 1. Better Half 406 Walsh Street 2. Crown and Anchor Pub 2911 San Jacinto Boulevard 3. Cuvee Coffee Bar 2000 East 6th Street 4. Iron Bear 301 West 6th Street 5. Haymaker 2310 Manor Road 6. School House Pub 2207 Manor Road 7. Little Woodrow’s 520 West 6th Street 8. The Liberty 1618 East 6th Street 9. Alamo Drafthouse, Mueller 1911 Aldrich Street 10. The Wheel 1902-B East MLK Boulevard 11. Little Brother 89 Rainey Street 12. Hopfields 3110 Guadalupe Street 13. Contigo 2027 Anchor Lane 14. Hi Hat Public House 2121 East 6th Street

12:31 PM

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 35

15. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Triangle 4615 North Lamar Boulevard, #307 16. Back Lot Bar 606 Maiden Lane 17. Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden 79 Rainey Street 18. Jackalope 404 East 6th Street 19. Star Bar 600 West 6th Street 20. Gourmands 2316 Webberville Road 21. Latchkey 1308 East 6th Street 22. Yellow Jacket Social Club 1704 East 5th Street 23. Spider House 2908 Fruth Street 24. Thunderbird Coffee, Manor 2200 Manor Road 25. Violet Crown Social Club 1111 East 6th Street 26. The Grackle 1700 East 6th Street 27. The White Horse 500 Comal Street 28. B.D. Riley’s, Mueller 1905 Aldrich Street

7th

29. Mort Subite 308 Congress Avenue 30. Easy Tiger Bake Shop and Beer Garden 709 East 6th Street 31. Craft Pride 61 Rainey Street 32. Salt & Time 1912 East 7th Street 33. Wright Bros. Brew & Brew 500 San Marcos Street

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 34. Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches 3220 Manor Road 35. Draught House Pub & Brewery 4112 Medical Parkway 36. Oddwood Ales 3108 Manor Road 37. Hops & Grain Brewing 507 Calles Street 38. Live Oak Brewing Co. 1615 Crozier Lane

6th

ST.

57 41 32

ST.

E RD. ERVILL WEBB

42 3 37 2240 14 38 43 54 39

COM AL S T.

BARS & RESTAURANTS

6 58

5 INTE RSTA TE 3

ST.

COL ORA DO S CON T. GRE SS A VE. SAN JACIN TO B LVD .

6th

WAL LER

T. DE S RAN

19 7

ST.

34 36

Texas Capitol DAL UPE LAV ST. ACA ST.

E. 19th

ST.

RIO G

45 1

12th

10 ST.

GUA

N. L

AR BLV D.

15th

CENTRAL

51 st

39. Blue Owl Brewing Co. 2400 East Cesar Chavez Street 40. Zilker Brewing Co. 1701 East Sixth Street 41. Friends & Allies Brewing 979 Springdale Road 42. Lazarus Brewing Co. 1902 East 6th Street 43. Hi Sign Brewing 1201 Bastrop Highway 44. Southern Heights Brewing Co. 6014 Techni Center Drive, Suite 2-101 45. Hold Out Brewing 1208 W 4th Street 46. Central District Brewing 17 Red River Street 47. Central Machine Works 4715 East 5th Street

STORES 48. Central Market 4001 North Lamar Boulevard

49. Whole Foods Market 525 North Lamar Boulevard 50. Antonelli’s Cheese Shop 4220 Duval Street 51. Twin Liquors, Hancock 1000 East 41st Street 52. Rosedale Market 1309 West 45th Street 53. Quickie Pickie 1208 East 11th Street 54. East 1st Grocery 1811 East Cesar Chavez Street 55. H-E-B, Mueller 1801 East 51st Street 56. Whichcraft 1900 Simond Avenue, Suite 200

OTHER 57. Austin Eastciders 4007 Commercial Center Drive, Suite 700 58. Moontower Cider Co. 1916 Tillery Street

8/7/20 9:33 AM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Batch Brewery

3220 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78723 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.batchatx.com

Blue Owl Brewing

2400 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.blueowlbrewing.com

Central District Brewing

417 Red River St., Austin, TX 78701 URL . . . . . . . . . . . www.centraldistrictbrewing.com

Central Machine Works

4824 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cmwbrewery.com

Draught House

4112 Medical Pkwy., Austin, TX 78756 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.draughthouse.com

Friends & Allies Brewing

979 Springdale Rd., Austin, TX 78702 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.friendsandallies.beer

Hi Sign Brewing

Hold Out Brewing

1208 W. 4th St., Austin, TX 78703 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.holdoutbrewing.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;S p

Lazarus Brewing Co.

1902 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78702 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lazarusbrewing.com

Live Oak Brewing Co.

1615 Crozier Ln., Austin, TX 78617 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.liveoakbrewing.com

Oddwood Ales

3108 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78723 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.oddwoodales.com

Southern Heights Brewing Co.

6014 Techni Center Dr., Austin, TX 78721 URL . . . . . . . . . www.southernheightsbrewing.com

Zilker Brewing Co. 1701 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78702 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.zilkerbeer.com

1201 Bastrop Hwy, Austin, TX 78742 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hisignbrewing.com

Hops & Grain Brewing

507 Calles St., Austin, TX 78702 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hopsandgrain.com

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 36

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes the deepest darkness provides the greatest clarity.â&#x20AC;? - Woodman

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/19/20 6:38 PM

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/22/20 4:30 PM

CES

23 B

ART ON SP

OLT ORF

S. 1 s

tS T.

15 25

26 BE N

RD .

CH AC A

DA M

ST AS SN

WO OD WA RD S

6 W

HI TE

LN .

BL 14 V

D. /

MA N

ST.

9 11

ER STA TE

INT

S. C ON GR ES SA VE .

AR AM

ST.

. DR

27 D. LV

RIN GS R D.

10 3

AR C HAV EZ

/29 0

7 EY L

SOUTH

C PA MO S.

./ PY EX

.1 RT

E ID RS VE RI

0 4:30 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 40

ST. EL

MO RD .

19 18

20 22 29 BARS & RESTAURANTS 1. Eastciders Barton Springs 1530 Barton Springs Road 2. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, SOCO 1400 South Congress Avenue 3. Odd Duck 1201 South Lamar Boulevard 4. Black Sheep Lodge 2108 South Lamar Boulevard 5. Red’s Porch 3508 South Lamar Boulevard 6. Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden 121 Pickle Road 7. Spokesman 440 East Saint Elmo, Suite A-2 8. Stouthaus Coffee Pub 4715 South Lamar Boulevard 9. The Buzz Mill 1505 Town Creek Boulevard 10. Gibson Street Bar 1109 South Lamar Boulevard 11. Jackalope, South Shore 1523 Tinnin Ford Road 12. Radio Coffee & Beer 4204 Manchaca Road

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 39

13. G & S Lounge 2420 South 1st Street

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 14. Nomadic Beerworks 3804 Woodbury Drive, Suite A 15. Pinthouse Pizza-South Lamar 4236 South Lamar Boulevard 16. Austin Beer Garden Brewing 1305 West Oltorf Street 17. (512) Brewing Co. 407 Radam Lane, F200 18. Independence Brewing Co. 3913 Todd Lane 19. Orf Brewing 4700 Burleson Road, Unit F 20. St. Elmo Brewing Co. 440 East Saint Elmo Road, Suite G-2 21. Last Stand Brewing Co. (not yet open) 7601 South Congress Avenue, Building 6 22. Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. 8201 South Congress Avenue

STORES 23. Thom’s Market 1418 Barton Springs Road 24. Central Market 4477 South Lamar Boulevard 25. Spec’s, Brodie Lane 4978 West Highway 290 26. Live Oak Market 4410 Manchaca Road 27. South Lamar Wine and Spirits 2418 South Lamar Boulevard 28. Whip In 1950 South IH-35 29. SoCo Homebrew 8201 South Congress Avenue

8/7/20 9:33 AM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

(512) Brewing Co. Thirsty Planet 407 Radam Ln., Austin, TX 78745 Brewing Co. URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.512brewing.com Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. 1305 W. Oltorf St., Austin, TX 78704 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.theabgb.com

8201 S. Congress, Austin, TX 78745 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thirstyplanet.beer

St. Elmo Brewing Co.

Independence Brewing Co.

3913 Todd Ln., Austin, TX 78744 URL . . . . . . . . . . . www.independencebrewing.com

Nomadic Beerworks

3804 Woodbury Dr. Suite A, Austin, TX 78704 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.nomadicbeerworks.com

Orf Brewing Co.

4700 Burleson Rd., Unit F, Austin, TX 78744 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.orfbrewing.com

Pinthouse Pizza, South Lamar

4236 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinthousepizza.com

St. Elmo Brewing Co.

440 E. Saint Elmo Rd., Austin, TX 78745 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.stelmobrewing.com

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 40

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtempla

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/28/20 11:32 AM

FROM THE PINTHOUSE FAMILY, FOR YOUR LOYALTY, SUPPORT, GENEROSITY, AND KINDNESS DURING THESE TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY. WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL.

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/19/20 6:31 PM

PA RM ER LN .

9 The Domain

LN .

AN DE

RS O

TR D.

INT

BU RN E

NL N.

STA TE

. BLVD RCH

N. M OPA C EX PY. / RT. 1

LN .

AM ER

ESEA

17 16 1828 19

KER

CAP. OF TX HWY.

NO RT

HL OO

BARS & RESTAURANTS 1. Mister Tramps 8565 Research Boulevard 2. Alamo Drafthouse, Village 2700 West Anderson Lane 3. Pour House Pub 6701 Burnet Road 4. Billy’s on Burnet 2105 Hancock Drive 5. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Anderson 2438 West Anderson Lane 6. Drink.Well. 207 East 53rd Street 7. Workhorse Bar 100 North Loop Boulevard East 8. C. Hunt’s Ice House 9611 McNeil Road 9. Yard House 11800 Domain Boulevard, #700 10. Brass Tap, Domain 10910 Domain Drive, #120

LN .

. AIRPORT BLV D

EN IG

MA RB LV D.

W. KO

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 43

BR A

53 RD

NORTH

1412

R 183 /

/20 6:31 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 44

27 US 290

ST RE ET

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 11. Pinthouse Pizza 4729 Burnet Road 12. Hopsquad Brewing Co. 2307 Kramer Lane 13. Black Star Co-op 7020 Easy Wind Drive 14. Circle Brewing Co. 2340 West Braker Lane 15. Austin Beerworks 3009 Industrial Terrace 16. Adelbert’s Brewery 2314 Rutland Drive, Suite 100 17. 4th Tap Brewing Co-op 10615 Metric Boulevard 18. Oskar Blues Brewery 10420 Metric Boulevard 19. Celis Brewery 10001 Metric Boulevard 20. The Brewtorium 6015 Dillard Circle, Suite A

STORES 21. Specs, Arbor Walk 10515 N Mopac Expressway 22. Sunrise Mini Mart 1809 West Anderson Lane 23. Specs, Airport Boulevard 5775 Airport Boulevard 24. Whole Foods Market, Domain 11920 Domain Drive 25. King Liquor 5310 Burnet Road 26. Growler Room 6800 Burnet Road, Suite 2

OTHER 27. Meridian Hive 8120 Exchange Drive, Suite 400 28. Fairweather Cider Co. 10609 Metric Boulevard, Suite 108A

8/7/20 9:33 AM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

4th Tap Brewing Co-op

10615 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.4thtap.coop

Adelbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brewery 2314 Rutland Dr., #100, Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.adelbertsbeer.com

Austin Beerworks 3001 Industrial Ter., Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.austinbeerworks.com

Black Star Co-op

7020 Easy Wind Dr., Austin, TX 78752 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.blackstar.coop

The Brewtorium

6015 Dillard Cir., Suite A, Austin, TX 78752 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thebrewtorium.com

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 44

Celis Brewery

10001 Metric Blvd, Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.celisbeers.com

Circle Brewing Co. 2340 W. Braker Ln., Suite B, Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.circlebrewing.com

Lake Austin Ales 10001 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758

URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lakeaustinales.com

Oskar Blues

10420 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . .www.oskarblues.com/brewery/austin

Pinthouse Pizza, Burnet

4729 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78756 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinthousepizza.com

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtempla

4TH TAP BREWING and BLACK PUMAS

STAY GOLD HOPPY PALE ALE 5.5% ABV Dry-hopped with Cryo-Mosaic and Amarillo

abgtemplate.indd 1

8/5/20 3:41 PM

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/19/20 6:27 PM

12 15 6

33 2

ROUND ROCK

CEDAR PARK

10 25

9 35 32 31

34 3

29 7 PFLUGERVILLE

HUDSON BEND

GREATER ATX

0 6:27 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 48

MANOR

41 11 14 44 19 38 20 40 22 24

AUSTIN

OAK HILL

36 BARS & RESTAURANTS 1. Alamo Drafthouse, Slaughter Lane 5701 West Slaughter Lane 2. The Dig Pub 401 Cypress Creek Road, Cedar Park 3. Alamo Drafthouse, Lakeline / Glass Half Full Taproom 14028 U.S. 183 4. The Brass Tap 204 East Main Street, Round Rock

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 5. Willardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brewery 2400 Patterson Industrial Drive 6. Hedgehog Brewing 3200 Woodall Drive C-1, Cedar Park 7. Compadre Brewing 16920 Joe Barbee Drive, Pflugerville 8. Roughhouse Brewing 680 Oakwood Loop, San Marcos 9. Barking Armadillo Brewing 507 River Bend, Georgetown 10. Double Horn Brewing Co. 208 Avenue H, Marble Falls 11. Acopon Brewing Co. 211 West Mercer Street, Dripping Springs

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 47

AUSTINBERGSTROM INT. AIRPORT

8 39 23

43 13 16 26 27 37

12. Humble Pint Brewing Co. 11880 Hero Way West, Suite 208, Leander 13. Middleton Brewing 101 Oakwood Loop, San Marcos 14. Pecan Street Brewing 106 East Pecan Drive, Johnson City 15. San Gabriel River Brewery 500 Chaparral Drive, Liberty Hill 16. Faust Brewing Co. 499 S. Castell Ave., New Braunfels 17. Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co. 13010 West Parmer Lane, Suite 800, Cedar Park 18. Pinthouse Pizza, Round Rock 2800 Hoppe Trail, Round Rock 19. Jester King Brewery 13005 Fitzhugh Road 20. Hitmaker Brewing Co. 11160 Circle Drive 21. Infamous Brewing Co. 4602 Weletka Drive 22. Twisted X Brewing Co. 23455 West RR 150, Dripping Springs 23. Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Co. 15898 TX-123, San Marcos

24. Real Ale Brewing Co. 231 San Saba Court, Blanco 25. Save The World Brewing Co. 1510 Resource Parkway., Marble Falls 26. New Braunfels Brewing Co. 180 West Mill St, New Braunfels 27. Guadalupe Brewing Co. 1580 Wald Road, New Braunfels 28. Oasis Texas Brewing Co. 6550 Comanche Trail 29. Bluebonnet Beer Co. 1700 Bryant Drive, #107, Round Rock 30. Bull Creek Brewing Co. 7100 FM3405, Liberty Hill 31. Strange Land Brewery 2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown 32. Rentsch Brewery 2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown 33. Whitestone Brewery 601 E Whitestone Boulevard, Cedar Park 34. Flix Brewhouse 2000 S IH-35, Round Rock 35. Barrow Brewing Co. 108 Royal Street, Salado 36. Vista Brewing 13551 FM150, Driftwood

37. AquaBrew 150 South LBJ Drive, San Marcos 38. Treaty Oak Brewing 16604 Fitzhugh Road, Dripping Springs 39. Two Wheel Brewing Co. 535 South Loop 4, Buda 40. Suds Monkey Brewing Co. 1032 Canyon Bend Drive, Dripping Springs 41. Family Business Beer Co. 19510 Hamilton Pool Road, Dripping Springs 42. Texas Beer Co. 201 N Main Street, Taylor

OTHER 43. Texas Keeper Cider 12521 Twin Creeks Road, Manchaca 44. Argus Cidery 12345 Pauls Valley Road #2

8/7/20 9:33 AM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Acopon Brewing Co.

211 W. Mercer St., Dripping Springs, TX 78620 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.acoponbrewing.com

Barking Armadillo Brewing 507 River Bend Dr., Georgetown, TX 78628 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.barkingarmadillo.com

Beerburg Brewing 13476 Fitzhugh Rd., Austin, TX 78736 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.beerburgbrewing.com

Bluebonnet Beer Co.

1700 Bryant Dr., #107, Round Rock, TX 78664 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.bluebonnetbeerco.com

Bull Creek Brewing Co.

7100 FM 3405, Liberty Hill, TX 78642 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bullcreekbrewing.com

Compadre Brewing

16920 Joe Barbee Dr., Pflugerville, TX 78664 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.compadrebrewing.com

Family Business Beer Co.

19510 Hamilton Pool Rd., Dripping Springs, TX, 78620 URL . . . . . . . . . . . www.familybusinessbeerco.com

Flix Brewhouse

200 S. IH-35, Round Rock, TX 78681 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.flixbrewhouse.com

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 48

Front Yard Brewing 4514 Bob Wire Rd, Spicewood, TX 78669 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.frontyardbrewing.com

Hedgehog Brewing 3200 Woodall Dr., Unit C-1, Cedar Park, TX 78613 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hedgehogatx.com

Humble Pint Brewing Co.

11880 Hero Way W #208, Leander, TX 78641 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.humblepint.com

Hitmaker Brewing Co.

11160 Circle Dr., Austin, TX 78736 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hitmakerbrewing.com

Infamous Brewing Co.

4602 Weletka Dr., Austin, TX 78734 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.infamousbrewing.com

Jester King Brewery

13187 Fitzhugh Rd., Austin, TX 78737 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.jesterkingbrewery.com

Last Stand Brewing Co.

12345 Pauls Valley Rd., Building I, Austin, TX 78737 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.laststandbrewing.com

Oasis Texas Brewing Co.

6550 Comanche Trl., Austin, TX 78732 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.otxbc.com

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/13/20 2:18 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Pinthouse Pizza, Round Rock

Treaty Oak Brewing

2800 Hoppe Trl., Round Rock, TX 78681 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinthousepizza.com

6604 Fitzhugh Rd., Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Real Ale Brewing Co.

Twisted X Brewing Co.

URL . . . . . . . . . . . . www.treatyoakdistilling.com

231 San Saba Ct., Blanco, TX 78606 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.realalebrewing.com

23455 W. Ranch Rd. 150, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.twistedxbrewing.com

Red Horn

Vista Brewing

oﬀee

ouse n Brewing o

13010 W. Parmer Ln., #800, Cedar Park, TX 78613 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.redhornbrew.com

Rentsch Brewery

2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown, TX 78626 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rentschbrewery.com

San Gabriel River Brewery

500 Chaparral Dr., Liberty Hill, TX 78642 URL . . . . . . . . . . www.sangabrielriverbrewery.com

Strange Land Brewery

13551 FM 150, Driftwood, TX 78619 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vistabrewingtx.com

Whitestone Brewery

601 East Whitestone Blvd., Cedar Park, TX 78613 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.whitestonebrewery.com

Willard’s Brewery 2400 Patterson Industrial Dr., Austin, TX 78660 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.willardsbrewery .com

Vista Brewing

2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown, TX 78626 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.strangelandbrewery.com

Suds Monkey Brewing Co.

1032 Canyon Bend Dr., #B, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.sudsmonkeybrew.com

Texas Beer Co.

201 N. Main St., Taylor, TX 76574 1331 W. 2nd St. Taylor, TX (Production Brewery) URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.texasbeerco.com

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 50

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

Hang in there, y’all.

Now available at independent bottle shops and select HEB, Whole Foods, Central Market and Spec’s locations

Destination Brewery • Driftwood, TX

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/22/20 11:48 AM

OTHER CENTRAL TX BREWERIES

Roughhouse Brewing LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680 Oakwood Loop San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.roughhousebrewing.com

Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15898 TX-123 San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.altmeyerlewisbrewing.com

Ruggedman Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . .7600 South Old Bastrop Highway San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drinkthedamnbeer.com

AquaBrew LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 South LBJ Drive San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.aqua-brew.com

Save The World Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1510 Resource Parkway Marble Falls, TX 78654 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.savetheworldbrewing.com

Bear King Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Avenue G Marble Falls, TX 78654 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bearkingbrewing.com

Sean Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pub LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 East San Antonio Street San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.seanpatrickstx.com

Barrow Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Royal Street Salado, TX 76571 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.barrowbrewing.com

Two Wheel Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 South Loop 4 Buda, TX 78610 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.twowheelbrewing.com

Distant State Beer Co. LOCATION. . . 3799 Hwy. 290, Dripping Springs 78620

Uncultured Ales LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12307 Roxie Drive, Suite 206 Austin, TX 78729 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.unculturedales.com

Double Horn Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Avenue H Marble Falls, TX 78654 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.doublehornbrewing.com Faust Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 South Seguin Avenue New Braunfels, TX 78130 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.faustbrewing.com Granger City Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 West Davilla Street Granger, TX 76530 URL . . . . . . . fb.com/grangercitybrewingcompany.com Guadalupe Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1580 Wald Road New Braunfels, TX 78132 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.guadalupebrew.com Middleton Brewing LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Oakwood Loop San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.middletonbrewingtx.com Pecan Street Brewing LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 East Pecan Drive Johnson City, TX 78636 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.pecanstreetbrewing.com Root Cellar Cafe & Brewery LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 North LBJ Drive San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rootcellarcafe.com

ABG_Summer2020_Listing.indd 52

CENTRAL TX CIDER AND MEAD Argus Cidery LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12345 Pauls Valley Road, #2 Austin, TX 78737 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.arguscidery.com Austin Eastciders LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . 4007 Commercial Center Drive Austin, TX 78744 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.austineastciders.com Fairweather Cider Co. LOCATION . . . . . . . 10609 Metric Boulevard, Suite 108 Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fairweathercider.com Meridian Hive Meadery LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . 8120 Exchange Drive, Suite 400 Austin, TX 78754 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.meridianhive.com Moontower Cider Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1916 Tillery Street Austin, TX 78723 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.moontowercider.com Texas Keeper Cider LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12521 Twin Creeks Road Manchaca, TX 78652 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.texaskeeper.com

8/7/20 9:33 AM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/28/20 11:18 AM

abgtemplate.indd 1

7/24/20 1:36 PM