New East Austin Brewery is First of its Kind in the Nation

Blue Owl Brewing, a new beer company coming to East Austin, is making history as the first brewery to exclusively sell sour-mash beers in the United States. 

The idea for this stand-out brewery comes from Jeff Young and Suzy Shaffer, alums of Black Star Co-op. “As many ideas do, this one developed over beers. It was a pretty simple formation: I wanted to start a business and Jeff was ready to start brewing on his own,” Shaffer told Austin’s CultureMap.

A sour beer - typically a beer of the Belgian variety - is a brew that intentionally retains its sourness from the fermenting stage. The term “sour mash” is in reference to a fermenting process that is usually used in making liquors like bourbon, but, in this case, is used on beer. According to the company website, sour mashing is a brewing technique that uses naturally occurring bacteria and yeast found on the grain to produce acidity and tartness into the resulting beer.

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The company’s starting lineup includes a starter pack of beers: Spirit Animal pale ale, Little Boss session wheat, Professor Black cherry stout, and Van Dayum! red ale. The difference between Blue Owl’s beers and the typical ales is the sour taste, a beer flavor that is rare and difficult to achieve on a commercial level.

With a central location in an industrial park on East Cesar Chavez Street, the brewery is hoping to serve as an accessible hangout spot for locals. “The idea that folks can visit a brewery that is bikeable, even walkable, is very appealing to us. We enjoy being part of a bustling community and sharing our process with our neighbors,” Shaffer told the paper.

The tasting room at Blue Owl Brewing is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. A grand opening celebration, complete with brewery tours, is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13. For now, you can find a growler at Whole Foods Market or Black Star Co-op.