Frontyard Brewing
Normally when I write a brewery profile, I segment the article into sections to give you an idea of who the people behind the beer are, what type of beer they serve and finish with all the details about the brewhouse and the taproom.
However, the folks over at Frontyard Brewing have a story like none I have written before due to their unique approach to starting a brewery. While technically open for business, they are not open to the public; and further, they never plan to open to the public in their current location. Instead, the co-founders Kevin Jones and Chad Worner decided to start with a “proof of concept” brewery to streamline their operation, “we wanted to get up and running and work the bugs out while we look for our permanent location”, says Chad. With that strategy in mind, they leased a small space near the head brewer’s home (Kevin Jones) in the Cuernavaca area of west Austin and set up a 3.5 barrel system to get their beer into the market while they look for a perfect space to build their final concept.
Another unique aspect is the concept, a family focused brewery, “if I want to be alone with just my family, we hang out in the backyard and grill a burger or something; but if I live in a cul-du-sac and I want to see my neighbors, I’m in the front yard hanging out and the kids are playing and it is an open invitation for everyone,” says Chad. Both co-founders have families with small children and when they started to talk about the project seriously three years ago, the idea of a family friendly brewery was very appealing and quickly became the premise.
Finding the perfect space is important to truly realize their vision, and that means starting from the ground up, “by the time you restructure the space, you might as well build from scratch,” says Chad, who is also in commercial real estate. The final brewery will be a new take on family friendly that includes lemonade, root beer and kid friendly spaces that aim to be more than just a playground, but is instead designed in a way that kids ask to go there on a Saturday.
All the beers are Kevin’s recipes that won various home brew awards, “they are all recipes that I designed as a homebrewer and they’ve all won awards from different competitions around the state including several best in shows,” he says.
The current line up consists of a Belgian blond ale, a coffee milk stout made with nearby Civil Goat Coffee Co, an oatmeal Stout and a delicious, but strong Rye India pale ale. Other beers are in the works including a Belgian golden strong ale. You can find kegs around town and limited cans in the Cuernavaca area. They are literally canning one beer at a time with volunteer help, so keep up with them on social media for availability.
Keep up with upcoming Frontyard Brewing events on Craft Beer Austin and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
