Red Horn Brewing Welcomes New Head Brewer
By feature writer Jackie Von Panda
As a native Houstonian, Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing has become a personal favorite and frequent hangout when I am in Austin. Over time, Red Horn has grown from the original location on Parmer and FM1431 to include a second and much larger facility at Scottsdale Drive. Chad Misner, Co-Founder of Red Horn offered me an opportunity to come tour the Scottsdale facility (which admittedly I had not visited since its opening in the Summer of 2021) and a chance to speak with Phil Park, the new Head Brewer, which I gladly accepted!
Upon meeting with Chad and Phil, I was given a tour of the brewhouse. Brewing operations have transitioned to the Scottsdale location, where the much larger space has given Red Horn the ability to exponentially grow its brewing capacity over the Parmer location, and also allowed for the addition of 20-barrel horizontal lagering tanks. The old brew tanks from the Parmer location were decommissioned and transported over to Scottsdale, and are now used to brew R&D test batches and other on-tap-only offerings.
Park was recently hired to take over as Head Brewer of Red Horn after long-time Lead Brewer Safir Ahmed and original Red Horn hire Michael Doggett departed to open Obsidian Brewing in Leander. Their departure was occurring just as Co-Founder and former Head Brewer Zack Gardner announced he would be relocating with his family to another state, though continuing on in a remote capacity. Park has spent the last eight and a half years brewing for the nationally acclaimed craft brewery Modern Times in San Diego and has brought his years of experience there to Cedar Park to help carry on the traditions of ‘Do Good, Be Positive, and Have Fun’, not to mention excellent craft beer releases.
“We probably interviewed about a dozen people, and we felt like Phil was a great fit for our culture, and somebody who really could kind of bring about an even-keeled, experienced kind of veteran in the industry take on things,” said Garnder about the decision to bring in Park as only the second Head Brewer at Red Horn.
Even with Park taking over as Head Brewer, the long-time favorites from Red Horn, like Trail Runner Golden Ale and Hap Slappy IPA promise to stay as they have been for a long time, but there will be some experimentation as he looks to put his own personal twist on future releases.
When asked what patrons can expect style-wise from Park, he replied, “Personally for me, normally I like to make stuff that I like to drink. Plus there is what you have the most experience at making too… but there is also what the general population is willing to put their money at. When asked further what he would make if sales and public demand weren’t a consideration, and he was free to make whatever he pleased, Park replied simply, “Pale ales and lagers.”
Park recently tweaked a previously existing recipe and created Bike Rodeo, a 7% ABV Hazy IPA that was released in conjunction with Peddler Bike Shop, Red Horn’s neighbors at the Parmer location. Bike Rodeo is a blend of Simcoe and Citra hops, and is currently available on tap at that location.
With both a new Head Brewer, and expansion a continuing goal (Red Horn recently signed a partnership with the nearby HEB Center to sell 16-ounce cans of Board Czech, a Czech style pilsner, at Texas Star hockey games) Gardner added, “The (craft beer) industry had exploded and now it’s in a little bit of a shrinkage period, which everybody kind of knew a correction was coming, but we are happy to still be growing in the midst of all that.”
Jackie Von Panda is a writer and video contributor to Houston Beer Guide.
My craft beer adventures began in 2000 at the Saint Arnold Brewery Tours in Houston. I started to visit and become acquainted with the Austin craft beer scene in 2019, and my trips slowly take me between two cities both with a rich and storied history for amazing beer. #lifetakesyoustrangeplaces Follow me on Instagram @jackie_von_panda and @houstonbeer
