Obsidian Brewery | A Texas Brewery Profile
Located at 11880 Hero Way W Suite 208, Leander TX 78641
We are devastated to learn that our friend and pillar of the beer community Michael Doggett has tragically passed. Despite black being his favorite color, he was one of the brightest lights and uplifted everyone in the community simply with his presence. If you can, please donate to his memorial fund and hug the people that you love today.
People
Obsidian Brewery co-founders Michael Doggett and Safir Ahmed are long-time friends hailing from Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co. Doggett was one of Red Horn’s first hires, “I literally walked out of the woods as I lived really close at the time,” he says. He started as a barista and quickly moved up to management and director of hospitality, where he met Saf. “Actually, you met me two weeks before that at one of my shows (where Saf was a bassist in a hardcore band)”, Ahmed corrects. They both have much in common, including a love for hardcore music and became instant friends.
Ahmed started homebrewing at nineteen while living with a bunch of bandmates, “I brewed my first hefe and it was horrible, but everyone drank it in a few days.” He was working at BJs Brewhouse (because he thought it was a brewery) when he stopped in at Red Horn to have a beer with a friend, “I just asked them if they were hiring and got a job as a barista.” he recalls. Soon after Ahmed started volunteering to mash out and clean kegs and after being persistent, became a full-time brewer in 2020 at Red Horn.
Brewery
Last fall, Humble Pint Brewing Co. announced permanent closure, which presented a mutual opportunity for Obsidian to take over the space in Leander. “It was a turnkey situation and we were able to open the brewery within six weeks,” says Ahmed. The team coordinated with Humble Pint to help with a smooth transition with a clear plan, “we are self-funded, meaning we don’t have investors, and worked hard to line up all the permitting as much as possible,” Doggett adds.
So what about the name? Turns out the duo really likes the color black. With a splash of black paint, Obsidian Brewery was born.
Beer
The brewhouse is comprised of a 7BBL fully manual system with 7BBL fermenters, five brites, which allows Ahmed to brew 10-12 beers at a time, “I brew styles we like to drink and styles that we love to brew,” which means he brews a little bit of everything to appeal to a wide range of folks and approaches the menu with innovative beers along with traditional styles.
A unique aspect of the brewery is its cocktail program. Doggett has a lot of experience with cocktails and they are both passionate about a great cocktail. “There are not a lot of cocktail bars in the area, so we built out the menu to create a well-rounded craft cocktail program,” Doggett says, “for example, we don’t have well drinks.”
Taproom
The 3900+ square foot taproom and 500 square foot patio is family-friendly and features a curated menu of pizza and shareables. The communal style space offers something for everyone, “if you don’t drink, we have mocktails, if you don’t like beer, we have cocktails,” Doggett jokes. In all seriousness, the space is perfect for grabbing a pint with friends or bringing the family for pizza and board games. There is definitely something for everyone in the welcoming space.
