Background
Chris Rich and Austin Russell opened Southern Heights Brewing in November 2018.
Rich primarily attributes a 2009 trip to Fort Collins, Colo., as inspiration for their 15-barrel brewery. The duo took a business trip there for a week and visited a bunch of breweries. Within two months they were homebrewing every single week so that we could eventually open their own brewery.
The day came when the two decided to move forward. Russell quit his large corporate job in Round Rock, where he and Rich met a dozen years prior, in order to move back home to North Texas. They created an LLC, got a separate checking account and a business credit card. Russell volunteered his time at a number of regional breweries while learning how to choreograph a large-scale brewery. They secured some financing and began looking for a property. After searching two long years for the right space, they came upon a former chemical factory that had burned down in the 1990’s. The building was bare bones but they saw the potential.
Experience
We arrived at Southern Heights Brewing on an early Friday afternoon and grabbed a spot at the bar overlooking some brewing equipment. The tasting room is large with many tables and an L shaped bar. There are large roll up doors in the back where the have tables and some games all in sight of the brewing equipment. A unique feature are three stacked shipping containers that serve as bar back and offices.
The day we visited there were 13 beers on tap. We ordered a flight of four plus two. We found the two Sour – Fruited beers to be good but very lightly tart. We also tried three of the hazy IPAs. Our favorite was the Tahitian Dreamin’. That was good enough to take a crowler with us.
The tasting room is pet friendly. We found the beer tender to be very pleasant and helpful. There is no food on sight but they do get food trucks in. We did not note any nearby lodging. The facility is also handicap accessible. We recommend a visit!
When visiting Austin also check out Lazarus Brewing, Zilker Brewing and if you are into kettle sours Blue Owl Brewing.
http://www.southernheightsbrewing.com/
