Infamous Brewing Release Party - Austin Sessions
A few years ago I met Josh Horowitz. At the time, he ran a small business called Beer Bouquet in far west Austin. And by far west, I mean far west. The business premise was brilliant and exactly what it sounds like. Instead of sending someone a bouquet of flowers, you send them (you guessed it) a bouquet of beer. Josh was a home brewer and I was a craft beer enthusiast. Naturally, we got along pretty well. One extremely hot summer day, he gave me a 6-pack of different bottled home brewed beers to taste and rate. The beer styles were written with a black sharpie on the bottle caps. "Do me a favor. Bring back the bottle caps in the order you like them from best to worst." Best. Homework. Ever. That night, my wife and I split each beer and rated them per his instructions. All were good. Some better than others. The next time I saw him, I gave him his bottle caps and gave him our amateur opinions. He took note, thanked me, and that was that. Roughly a year later, he told me he was looking to sell Beer Bouquet and start something new. He wanted to open a brewery.
I was already a huge fan of local brewers (512) Brewing, Thirsty Planet, Jester King, Live Oak, Circle Brewing... You get the idea. His idea made complete sense to me and I wished him the best of luck. I told him to keep me in the loop and that was that. Later I would learn how during a chance encounter, he met Zach Perry at a bar in New York. As it turned out, the two had a lot in common. That was the beginning of Infamous Brewing. (Obviously there's more to it that just that, but I'm saving it for the podcast) In the past couple of years I've seen the brewery grow, piece by piece. It was pretty amazing. Fast forward two years.
When Josh told me about the Infamous release party I made sure to schedule off for the day. My wife Julie, a friend Lindsay, and I showed up to a packed Bangers on Rainey Street. We arrived to some live music, crazy beer lines, and an extraordinary vibe. Zach, Josh, and Matt were surrounded by friends and fans who were standing in line to congratulate them. It was fantastic!
And let us not forget, let us NOT forget, as always the food at Bangers was awesome. The poutine is a personal favorite. Do it.
My wife and I were seated next to Horowitz's parents who had flown in from New York for the release. They were extremely sweet and shared how they surprised Josh by flying in. Take a listen as they give a peek inside Infamous' origins.
And lastly...I have a podcast tentatively scheduled with the Infamous Brewing crew so keep an eye and ear out. I have several sessions in the works over the next couple months and will be posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Cheers! - J