This edition of Six Things You Need to Know covers various craft beer topics in the Austin area.
Thirsty Goat Reappears On Tap
Thirsty Planet shuttered suddenly this summer affecting multiple businesses. Recently, Thirst Goat popped up on tap walls across town, leaving many thinking that distributors were offloading old kegs. However, Thirsty Planet is working with Austin Beerworks to produce the beer, similar to the Hops and Grain brand, with Josh Hare’s consulting company Big Ring Ventures managing the sales and marketing. Cans are expected to be released in the next few months.
SoCo Homebrew Finds New Space
The Thirsty Planet closure affected several businesses, including SoCo Homebrew, Austin’s only retail homebrew shop and a key partner to local breweries and bars. After the closure, SoCo was able to quickly set up a temporary shop in the Last Stand Brewing storage space on South Congress. As of today, the homebrew supply store has moved into the event space at Last Stand Brewing (behind the bar & taproom).
Whitestone Brewery to Relocate
The Cedar Park location of Whitestone Brewery is relocating nearby to 401 E. Whitestone Blvd., the old Lucy’s Fried Chicken, in mid-January. Van’s Damn Tasty Tacos and Ronburguesas food truck is relocating to the newly opened Prost Alehouse in Pflugerville as Whitestone teams up with 600 Degrees Pizza at the new location. The Liberty Hill location will remain open during the move, which is expected to take several months.
Family Business Beer Company Halts In-House Production
Weeks before the holidays, Family Business Beer Company laid off staff, including the head brewer, and ceased in-house production. The taproom remains open and the brewery will continue to produce Hamilton Pale Ale, Cosmic Cowboy IPA, and Golden Age Pilsner through a contract arrangement with Real Ale Brewing Company. Distribution for those beers is expected to expand throughout Texas. Family Business Beer Co. is best known for being part-owned by Jensen and Danneel Ackles.
Best Beers of 2023
This year we released our first-ever Best Beers of 2023 list, a data-driven article using Untappd data to determine the highest-rated beers of the past year. The brainchild of CBA writer Caleb Hoffman, the series highlights the best new beers available right here, right now, and is published each quarter. Other data-driven articles include our Style Breakdown series 1: Pilsners and 2: Imperial Stouts.
Comprehensive List of Brewery Openings and Closures
Lately, there have been several published articles on this topic with partial or incorrect information about openings and closures. Our list is a comprehensive, frequently updated list of openings, expansions, and closures in and around the Austin area that also includes links to our coverage of the subject. Breweries are closing for several reasons, each one with a different story, and at CraftBeerAustin.com, we are working hard to bring you the full story.
