Hi there fellow Austinites, this is Josh from over at The Austin Entrepreneur. I originally started writing about the Texas, and more specifically, the Austin beer scene because of its relative newcomer status in the word of American craft beers. There’s something to be said of the community spirit and do-it-yourself attitude that the brewers, bar owners, and fans seem to share. Before I moved here from the UK, I couldn’t even fathom dropping fifteen bones on a bottle of beer, nor could I wrap my mind around the idea of aging beer. Or, for that matter, could I comprehend the notion of drinking without the intentions of getting drunk (but that’s more of a cultural cornerstone of being English).
So in the spirit of the new and the fresh, I give you a brief interview with Rhett Keisler, co-founder of Texas’ newest brewery — Revolver Brewing in Granbury, Texas. Boasting a head brewer with over 16 years of experience with the Boston Brewing Company, expect some top notch brews to reach Austin shelves and taps sometime in the near future.
CraftBeerAustin: With so many breweries now operating in Texas, what are you guys at Revolver Brewing doing to differentiate yourselves from the others?
Rhett: One of the more obvious ways we are different is the drinkability of our beer. A lot of craft brewers are going the high alcohol/high bitterness route. We strive to brew interesting full flavored beers that have balance (Editor’s note: Their 6% ABV Blood and Honey wheat beer sounds like a winner). Not only do we focus on the art of making beer, but on the science of brewing. Our experienced brewers use expensive, high quality ingredients, have an active fermentation management program and rigorous specifications for our kegging operations. We also use local ingredients when we can in our recipes.
CBA: I’m happy to see local honey being listed in your ingredients, because it’s insanely delicious. Whilst we’re on the subject of locality, how does the local water supply figure in to your brewing?
Rhett: We have our own water well which gives us a unique and consistent water profile. We pull our water from a fresh water aquifer 440 feet below the surface. We do not use municipal or city water, which often changes throughout the year depending on lake levels.
CBA: What have been some of the challenges of setting up a brand new brewery from scratch?
Rhett: I guess everything is relative. But in general, putting a brewery together is one challenge after the next. There is no manual. It’s all about getting up the learning curve as fast as possible without screwing up too badly. Thank goodness we have been fortunate to have good people involved from the start. The brewing community has been a great help, as have other people involved in the craft brewing movement. Without proponents for small start-ups like Revolver, we would not be able to do what we love!
CBA: Most importantly, when do you plan on expanding your distribution to Austin?
Rhett: No plans to distribute to Austin yet. But Austin is definitely on our radar, and we had a great time at the Texas Craft Beer Festival in October.
CBA: Thanks for your time and we look forward to seeing your brews down here in the Capital City in the future. Best of luck!
Rhett: Thanks, you too.
Well I’m pretty excited about Revolver Brewing – just ask Rich, who got to sample their beers whilst moseying around Dallas/Fort worth last weekend. It’s always great to hear from people passionate about beer, taking risks, and doing their own thing. And as such, Craft Beer Austin wishes them the best, patiently awaiting their arrival into the Austin market.
