New Brews {Southern Heights Brewing Co.}

Words by Hannah J. Phillips & Sam Lauron Photos by Shelby Bella

“We didn’t choose the Eastside, the Eastside chose us,” says Chris Rich, who co-founded Southern Heights Brewery with his former Dell coworker, Austin Russell. The concept started ten years ago this summer, when the pair took a work trip to Fort Collins, Colorado.

“The brewery scene [in Austin] was nothing like it is today,” says Chris, “but Fort Collins was the epicenter of craft beer.”

At that time, Independence and 512 Brewing were starting to make a name for themselves, introducing some of the first IPAs to a market largely dominated by lagers and ambers. But Chris says that visiting the tap room at Odell’s in Fort Collins was a new experience altogether; he loved seeing the passion of a family-run business and watching communities gather over beer in the tap room.

“We realized over beers during [our] tour that it was the complete opposite of our lives as cubical warriors, and that owning a brewery might be a bit more our speed,” laughs Chris. Two months later, they started brewing at home. They brewed every week for seven years while developing a business plan. Meanwhile, the local craft beer scene boomed, and Chris and Austin continued honing their craft and waiting for the right opportunity. 

“When you don’t have a bunch of money, and you see brewery after brewery opening up, it can be disheartening,” Chris says, “but we really wanted to make something that would be sustainable and thrive in the community.”

After searching two long years for the right space, the pair were down to their last dregs of hope when they went to view a space on the Eastside. They met their realtor only to discover the property had just been leased, but an old factory space nearby had just opened up. Formerly a chemical factory that had burned down in the 1990s, the site was bare bones and vast, with crates stacked floor to ceiling, “like a scene in Die Hard where you’re chasing the bad guy in a warehouse and you lose him.”

Today, the completely renovated space houses their enormous tap room, a huge communal area for corn hole and table tennis, and three stacked shipping containers that serve as bar back and offices. “We just want to create a unique tap room environment, a cool place with good beer and friendly people,” Chris says of his hopes for the future. “After that, the rest takes care of itself.

Highlights
Ted’s Farm, the on-site food truck at Southern Heights, is bringing one-of-kind flavors to town with their Texas-Vietnamese fusion cuisine. Their signature menu item is Ted’s Texas Bahn Mi which features smoked brisket along with traditional Bahn Mi ingredients like cucumber, jalapeño and carrot. 

Tasting Notes
IPA is king, with a wide range and ever-changing seasonal options. Excellent Pils appropriately named, “I Just Want a Pils.”

Contact
southernheightsbrewing.com
6014 Techni Center Dr.