Taprooms are Turning into Destination Spaces Thanks to Austin’s Top Architects – Austin Monthly

In the not-too-distant past, standing around a kegerator and staring at the metal siding of a utilitarian warehouse was the extent of a taproom visit. But not so today, where going to a brewery is an experience in which the setting is as much of a draw as the draft selection. Case in point: Central Machine Works, which opened last November on East Cesar Chavez Street. A 1940s-era metal works and machine shop that once built airplane parts during World War II, it was converted into a near-10,000- square-foot brewery complete with a German-style beer garden and live music space. Spearheaded by David Clark of Kartwheel Studio, it includes revolving art installations, overhead lights from New Yorks original JFK International Airport, custom leather booths, and decorative pieces repurposed from the spaces past, including a 110-year-old machine that used to turn metal stock. With much of its faade kept intact, as well as employees well-versed in the history of the building, its like a museum visitalbeit one that serves housemade lagers and sessionable pale ales.

The same could be said for Vista Brewing in Driftwood, which has become as popular on weekends as the original Salt Lick BBQ. Brewmaster Pat Korns traditional, low-ABV beers are now standard-bearers in the field, but much of Vistas foot traffic can be credited to Stephen Oliver of OPA Design Studio. Taking advantage of the bucolic surroundings, Oliver decided to create an indoor-outdoor connection that produced a sense of retreat. Not one mature tree was removed in the fabrication of the companys two main structures (a tasting room and a 5,000-square-foot brewery with underground draft lines running between them), which uses large bi-folding casement windows to frame the view of the Hill Countrys rolling hills. An on-site garden and 16-hive apiary, which provides ingredients for its restaurant, are an easy stroll from an outdoor beer garden complete with an exterior tap wall.

That effort to bring the natural beauty of a site in-doorsas well as to bridge a connection between a brewerys operational aspects and its public interface have become hallmarks of Oliver, whos emerged as the unofficial architect of the Central Texas craft beverage industry. At Live Oak Brewing Company, he used the canvas of its 22,000-square-foot campus near the airport to construct a natural amphitheater within a grove of oaks for a beer garden whose sightline leads directly to the taproom and a bar framing its massive BrauKon brewhouse.

Whether converting an old Tejano nightclub into Oddwood Ales brewery and pizza kitchen or overhauling the former Uncle Billys Brewery & Smokehouse on Barton Springs Road into the aquatic-themed site of Austin Eastciders second facility, Oliver knows how to make the best out of any situationand that has transformed the functional into the fantastic all across the city.

Once, just being a brewery where people could visit and sit around at picnic tables was such a novelty, he says. But now there is so much competition, a cool space factors into a decision where you want to hang out. I love creating places where the city just kind of goes away, and theres room to stretch and play.

Detoxifying is (seriously!) on the agenda.

Disc Golf at Live Oak Brewing Co.The free-to-use nine-hole disc golf course at this urban oasis is just the type of activity to pair with a classic, clove- forward hefeweizen and a cool spring afternoon.

Lotera Brunch at Independence Brewing Co.Cap off an eventful weekend with some Mexican bingo and a bowl of hangover-curing menudo from on-site food truck Margiez Place.

Pints & Poses at Circle Brewing Co.Even if you dont sip your complimentary beer, this $15 classwhere certified yogis guide participants through an hour of detoxifying Hatha yogais well worth the price of admission.

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Taprooms are Turning into Destination Spaces Thanks to Austin's Top Architects - Austin Monthly