Hours: Mon 5-10, Closed Tuesdays, Wed – Thurs 4-9, Sat 12-10, Sun 12-8
Suds Monkey Brewing Company.
One of the new kids on the block, Suds Monkey Brewing Company is “redefining the art of beer, one batch at a time.” The nanobrewery is already making a distinctive mark on the Austin beer landscape with its fun branding and namesake mascot, Suds the Monkey.
Life-sized cutout of Suds, the brewery’s mascot and namesake.
Todd, self-described “Illustrator of the monkey” explains, “Suds is personable and cool–there’s a little James dean in there. As each new beer comes out, it’s a different Suds character. He’s got a little bit of all of us in him.” With names like Monkey Tail Pale Ale, Cheeky Monkey, and Punk Monkey Porter, the punny primate theme runs strong through the product line as well.
Punk Monkey Porter.
The charismatic mascot is a fun and whimsical facet of the nanobrewery, but it’s not all just monkey business over at Suds Monkey. Over 15 years of planning, location changes, and a few other roadblocks had to be overcome to get the business off the ground. Greg Plummer, Suds Monkey’s Co-Founder, Head Brewer and self-proclaimed “Wielder Of Stainless Steel Machinery That Magically Changes Barley, Water, Hops, And Yeast Into An Experience To Be Enjoyed By All,” answered a few questions we had about the backstory, the brewing, and more.
Besides your iconic mascot, how is Suds Monkey different than the other breweries around town?
We have a fantastic backstory on our mascot Suds and so far have kept with a monkey theme in naming. Our beers are unique in this area with a more medium bodied series of ales that are hopped to West Coast styles. Example: our flagship Monkey Tail Pale is a deeper copper-colored medium-bodied ale that is hop-forward and malt-balanced. A super drinkable beer. Our IPAs tend to be more focused on flavor of hops rather than on face-melting hop bitterness.
Who’s your target customer?
Our target customer is anyone who loves craft beer and a good time.
I noticed your equipment is from Michigan—is that an import from your days in that state?
YES. We are all about supporting industry and businesses that are local or near and dear to our hearts. We selected Psycho Brew because they make great equipment that was in our budget and they are in Michigan [where Greg first began brewing].
Psycho Brew equipment from Greg’s home state, Michigan.
What type/size of setup are you currently brewing with? Anything specific or distinctive for how you make your beers?
Our system is a 3.5 BBL brewing system with three 7 BBL fermenters, one 7 BBL bright tank, five 2 BBL fermenters and one 2 BBL bright tank. We do a two step mash on most of our beers.
Anything big on the horizon right now that the community should know about?
Can you share any funny anecdotes about the process of opening your brewery?
We had a lot of pitfalls getting started. We initially had a location on circle drive and after building out the place we found out that the septic on the building didn’t pass inspection and we were not going to be able to fix it so we had to tear down and move to our current location. While it was not a pleasant it worked out for the best.
Learn more about the story behind Suds Monkey Brewing Company on their website, and visit their facebook page to stay in the loop on upcoming events.
