Five aspiring Texas craft brewersreceive grantsfor association membership
The recipients have been announced for the fourth year of a grant program awarding
aspiring craft brewers with membership in the Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
Grantees receive one year of membership – a $300 value – in the trade association that represents small and independent craft breweries in the Lone Star State. The grants are funded by Method Architecture, a Texas-based firm that’s also a long-time member of the Guild.
The 2024 grantees are (in alphabetical order):
Cottonwood Creek Brewery & Smokehouse – Hutto
Point City Brewing – Houston
Toasty Bros Brewing – Denton
Village Creek Brewing – Rendon
Weber Brewing – Victoria
Brewery in Planning members can access the Guild’s library of recorded and live online educational resources, attend monthly member meetups and annual conferences, connect with more than 240 veteran brewery owners statewide, and build relationships with hundreds of vendors who will be critical to their success as brewers and business owners.
Bay Area Brewing Company opened in Rockport earlier in 2024. Owners and Navy veterans Will and Deidre Amaya were selected as grantees in the 2023 cycle.
“The Brewery in Planning Grant is not just a monetary award. Upon receiving the news that Bay Area Brewing Company was selected, we were humbled and appreciative. We [used] the recognition as an opportunity to build our brand and grow our community following as we sought crowd funding and being taken seriously in a lucrative
coastal real estate market.”
The costs to enter the craft brewing industry remain high in the wake of ongoing challenges that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, people of color, women, LGBT+ individuals, and entrepreneurs outside of metropolitan areas are known to experience particularly high barriers to credit, capital, and other necessary support for entrepreneurship.
“We know the barrier to entry for starting a new business can be tough, especially for minority business owners,”said Jackie Rye, Method Architecture Partner and Project Lead for brewery projects. “Our hope is that the grantsallow these entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best and fully embrace the resources available within thecraft beer community.”
Method’s architectural brewery projects include the Houston-based True Anomaly Brewing Company (winner ofone of two Texas Craft Brewers Cup 2023 Brewery of the Year awards) and Holler Brewing Company, a 2023World Beer Cup silver medal winner, also in Houston.
“Breweries in planning have to prioritize every dollar as they get their projects going,” said Meg Ellis, DeputyDirector for the Guild. “So to benefit from Guild membership in the crucial early phases and still be able toallocate funds toward hard costs like equipment orders and facilities improvements can have a huge impact downthe road.”
Many of the grantees will join their industry peers during the Texas Craft Brewers Guild’s annual summerconference and trade show, the Texas Brewery Roundup, which takes place July 26-28 in Fort Worth.
Images and additional details about the 2024 grantees are available here:https://texascraftbrewersguild.org/2024bipgrantees/
Learn about the 2023 grantees here: https://texascraftbrewersguild.org/2023bipgrantees/
###ABOUT THE TEXAS CRAFT BREWERS GUILDA
As a member-driven organization, the Texas Craft Brewers Guild fights for the advancement of independent beer brewed in the Lone Starstate. Together, we promote, propel, and protect our collective interests while enlisting our fellow Texans to raise a glass and join us.Formed in 2009 by a band of brewers, today, the Guild has more than 300 brewery members throughout the state, including operatingbreweries as well as breweries in planning. The Guild offers membership categories for a variety of businesses and organizations that arecraft-adjacent, including suppliers, service providers, educational institutions, and retailers who feature Texas craft beer in their bars,restaurants, and bottle shops across the state. In 2024 the Guild launched the Brew City, Texas program, which aims to unite breweries andtheir home communities in propelling Texas to the forefront of craft beer generated economic development and tourism. To learn moreabout the Texas Craft Brewers Guild visit texascraftbrewersguild.org. The official mobile app of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, TexasBrewery Passport™, is available in the App Store and Google Play.
ABOUT METHOD ARCHITECTURE
Method Architecture is a minority-owned, ego-free architecture and interior design firm that specializes in brewery and distillery design.The firm has designed over 40 breweries and distilleries within the state of Texas, including Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company, KarbachBrewing, True Anomaly Brewing, Holler Brewing, and more. Method has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.