USA, MI & TX: Atwater Brewery and Flemish Fox Brewery & Craftworks to open collaborative brewery in Austin, TX

Detroit’s largest beer maker Atwater Brewery has teamed up with Flemish Fox Brewery & Craftworks to open a collaborative brewery in Austin, Texas, Detroit News reported on March 17.

This will be Atwater’s first project outside of Michigan. The brewery distributes products to 21 states and Canada and has two locations in Metro Detroit – the original in the Rivertown-Warehouse District and a restaurant in Grosse Pointe. A third location is planned for Grand Rapids.

“We’ve been very careful when it comes to growing our production footprint, but this opportunity was too good to pass,” said Atwater owner Mark Rieth in a press release. His brewery has seen “double digit growth” over the past five years, largely due to the success of Atwater products including Vanilla Java Porter and Dirty Blonde.

“As a city that shares our passion for the craft beer culture, Austin is the type of vibrant community we sought for our first brewing operation outside of Michigan.”

The 27,000-square-foot facility on a three-acre property will have the capacity to brew more than 60,000 barrels a year. It’s expected to open in early 2017. The space will have a tasting room, beer garden, brewing museum and concert venue.

Flemish Fox is headed by Christine Celis, who will use Celis family recipes from her father Pierre Celis’ original brewery in Hoegaarden, Belgium.

A name for the collaborative brewing facility is to be announced.

18 March, 2016