90+ Craft Facilities (Beer, Spirits, Wine, Cider, and Mead) Visited in 2019!

2019 has been an awesome design year for OPA as our growth has extended nationally to 3 new states (Florida, Colorado, and New York) and construction wrapped up on Rally Cap Brewing in Baton Rouge. 2020 is already looking good as the diversity in craft production facilities in architecture projects continues to broaden. We are working on multiple new distilleries, cider, and meaderies. The brewery projects have been both big and small both in size and location. As always, the growth in our craft experience has been fueled by the strong relationships we forge with our clients.

During the next few months, the blog will become more active as stories on such topics as the importance of branding, the value of memorable tasting room design, and what to look for in permitting requirements. Also, look for the ramping up to the 2nd annual Brewery Road Trip (http://thebreweryroadtrip.com/) where we will once again take on the tall order of heading out in an RV to tour what’s new in the craft world, and share those owners stories and experiences with you. Seeing more breweries through the lens of an Architect helps us understand how to translate that into all of our projects.

Meanwhile, as we look back on the year I thought it would be fun to share my list of craft facilities (brewery, winery, distillery, cider, meadery) I visited for the first time as well as a bunch I couldn’t help but find way back to. It’s been a fun and insightful year! Thank you all for the memories and sharing your knowledge with us!

Stephen Oliver | The Brewery Architect
Principal | OPA Design Studio

FIRST VISITS IN 2019

1.     New Republic Brewing (College Station, TX)

2.     Brazos Valley Brewing Company (Brenham, TX)

3.     Lone Pint Brewery (Mangnolia, TX)

4.     No Label Brewing Co (Katy, TX)

5.     11 Below Brewing Company (Houston, TX)

6.     Eureka Heights Brewing Company (Houston, TX)

7.     Buffalo Bayou Brewing (Houston, TX)

8.     Great Heights Brewing (Houston, TX)

9.     Brash Brewing (Houston, TX)

10.   Baileson Brewing (Houston, TX)

11.   Vallensons Brewing (Pearland, TX)

12.   BAKFISH Brewing (Pearland, TX)

13.   8th Wonder Brewing (Houston, TX)

14.   Sigma Brewing (Houston, TX)

15.   Saint Arnold Brewing (Houston, TX)

16.   Holler Brewing (Houston, TX)

17.   Spindletap Brewery (Houston, TX)

18.   B-52 Brewing (Conroe, TX)

19.   Copperhead Brewery (Conroe, TX)

20.   Southern Star Brewing (Conroe, TX)

21.   True Vine Brewing (Tyler, TX)

22.   Oak Highlands Brewery (Dallas, TX)

23.   Lakewood Brewing (Garland, TX)

24.   3 Nations Brewing (Carrollton, TX)

25.   Bitter Sisters Brewing (Addison, TX)

26.   Unlawful Assembly (Plano, TX)

27.   Hop and Sting Brewing (Grapevine, TX)

28.   Panther Island Brewing (Ft. Worth, TX)

29.   Cowtown Brewing (Ft. Worth, TX)

30.   Deep Ellum Funkatorium (Ft. Worth, TX)

31.   The Collective Brewing Project (Ft. Worth, TX)

32.   Rahr and Sons Brewing (Ft. Worth, TX)

33.   Martin House Brewing (Ft. Worth, TX)

34.   Hopfusion Ale Works (Ft. Worth, TX)

35.   Turning Point (Bedford, TX)

36.   Legal Draft Beer (Arlington, TX)

37.   Division Brewing (Arlington, TX)

38.   Peticolas Brewing (Dallas, TX)

39.   Celestial Beerworks (Dallas, TX)

40.   Steam Theory (Dallas, TX)

41.   Trinity Cider (Dallas, TX)

42.   Braindead Brewing (Dallas, TX)

43.   Four Corners Brewing (Dallas, TX)

44.   Pegasus City Brewery

45.   Outfit Brewing (Dallas, TX)

46.   Oak Cliff Brewing (Dallas, TX)

47.   Barrow Brewing (Salado, TX)

48.   Paradox Brewing (Divide, CO)

49.   Manitou Brewing (Manitou Springs, CO)

50.   Fossil Craft Beer (Colorado Springs, CO)

51.   Metric Brewing (Colorado Springs, CO)

52.   Local Relic (Colorado Springs, CO)

53.   Phantom Canyon Brewing (Colorado Springs, CO)

54.   BURLY Brewing (Castle Rock, CO)

55.   105 West Brewing (Castle Rock, CO)

56.   Epic Brewing Company (Denver, CO)

57.   Woods Boss (Denver, CO)

58.   Great Divide Brewing (Denver, CO)

59.   New Belgium at the Source (Denver, CO)

60.   Our Mutual Friend Brewing (Denver, CO)

61.   Ratio Beerworks (Denver, CO)

62.   Declaration Brewing (Denver, CO)

63.   Left Hand Brewing (Longmont, CO)

64.   Pumphouse Brewery (Longmont, CO)

65.   Westlake Brewing (Dallas, TX)

66.   Roughhouse Brewing (San Marcos, TX)

67.   Pretentious Beer (Knoxville, TN)

68.   Altstadt Brewery (Fredericksburg, TX)

69.   Nomadic Beerworks (Austin, TX)

70.   Pinthouse Pizza (Round Rock, TX)

71.   The Brewtorium (Austin, TX)

72.   Ivanhoe Park Brewing Company (Orlando, FL)

73.   Sideward Brewing (Orlando, FL)

74.   Hourglass Brewing (Orlando, FL)

75.   Crooked Can Brewing (Winter Park, FL)

76.   Clermont Brewing (Clermont, FL)

77.   Suncreek Brewery (Clermont, FL)

78.   Southern Heights Brewing (Austin, TX)

79.   The Brewer’s Table (Austin, TX)

80.   12 Fox Beer (Dripping Springs, TX)

81.   Urban Orchard Cider (Asheville, NC)

82.   Infinite Monkey Theorem (Austin, TX)

83.   Southern Roots Brewing (Waco, TX)

84.   Fairweather Cider (Austin, TX)

85.   Meridian Hive Meadery (Austin, TX)

86.   The Austin Winery (Austin, TX)

87.   Skull Mechanix Brewing (Austin, TX)

88.   Blackhorse Brewery (Knoxville, TN)

89.   Narrow Gauge Brewing (St. Louis, MO)

90.   Side Project Brewing (St. Louis, MO)

RETURN VISITS IN 2019

Colorado Mountain Brewery

Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery

New Belgium Brewing Company

Burial Beer Co

Green Man Brewery

Circle Brewing

4th Tap Brewing Cooperative

Oskar Blues Austin

Southerleigh Brewing

Blue Owl

Black Star Coop

Adelbert’s

Live Oak Brewing

ABGB

Friends and Allies

Texas Beer Company

Austin Beerworks

St. Elmo Brewing Company

Lazarus Brewing Co.

Oddwood Ales

Zilker Brewing Co

Hops and Grain Brewing

Pinthouse Pizza South Lamar

Pinthouse Pizza Burnet

NXNW Restaurant & Brewery

Vista Brewing

Whitestone Brewing

Oasis Texas Brewing Company

Family Business Brewing

Last Stand Brewing Company

Jester King Brewery

Celis Brewery

Texas Ale Project

Community Beer

Deep Ellum Brewing

Austin, Texas: Craft Beer Boomtown

* Image provided by OPA Design Studio, a local Austin-based architecture firm specializing in brewery design.

* Image provided by OPA Design Studio, a local Austin-based architecture firm specializing in brewery design.

It's only been a little over a year since Austin's iconic South by Southwest festival drew Fortune Magazine's attention to the city's burgeoning craft beer scene. In their March 2015 article, they acknowledged the presence of 18 production/destination brewery locations in the greater ATX area at the time. Speculation into national and local growth in the craft beer industry has since run the gamut from suggestions that the market was already over-saturated to optimistic assertions that it had not even begun to hit the peak of its growth spurt. One thing is certain; a lot of the big corporate beer manufacturers have to be looking more closely at these little start-ups as they continue to significantly gain market share, winning over more and more customers who look for the unique beers craft brewers are putting together to differentiate themselves.

Fast forward a mere year and a half, and the growth naysayers are eating their hats. But if they're in the Bat City, at least they can wash them down with any one among a plethora of delicious local brews from the 54 micro breweries or brewpubs now in operation or being planned in and around Texas' capital city, 31 of which operate inside the city limits. That's a 200% increase in less than two years!

Time will tell how much and how quickly the craft beer market will expand in coming years, but it would appear that local, regional, and national consumers and enthusiasts are still thirsty for more -- signalling many home and hobby brewers to consider starting their own micro breweries and many established craft brewers to eye expansion plans. Those aspiring Austin garage brewers looking to realize their "hoppy" dreams would be well-informed to have a close look at the charts above (provided by Austin-based brewery architecture firm OPA Design Studio) before taking their leap, showing how the numbers of Austin breweries are dispersed in and around the greater ATX geographic region and in which zoning areas they're running operations -- because as competition increases, strategic planning, particularly as to location selection and facility design, will work in the favor of brewers who know how to best reach a growing throng of thirsty craft beer customers.