Blue Owl Brewing is a sour brewery in Austin, Texas. We started Blue Owl in 2015 to make sour beers approachable yet still unique. Our souring style accentuates the beer rather than dominating your taste buds. We aim to produce clean, well-balanced sour beers that retain the characteristics of their style.
Approachable to us also means your experience in our tasting room. We want to make you feel welcome, whether you’re looking to hang out with some friends or nerd out about beer science.
Packaged primarily in cans, we strive to make consistent and affordable sours that you can be proud to hold, from fancy dinner parties to shenanigans on the lake.
Blue Owl is owned by Jeff Young (brewing) and Suzy Shaffer (business) and staffed by a small gang dedicated to making and serving their absolute favorite beers.
Be Unique. Drink Unique.
March 28, 2023Test Batch Flight ResultsIn January 2022 we held a Test Batch Flight Focus Group and asked you to try a few new beers we were working on. We wanted to hear your feedback ...[...]
March 19, 2023Sour Sanctuary Beer MenuWelcome to Blue Owl Brewing! Blue Owl Brewing is a sour brewery, located in East Austin, TX. How it Works: Pick a glass size to purchase. You will get 4 ...[...]
February 16, 2023Hiring: Tasting Room EmployeeWe’re adding to our brewery tasting room team! We are seeking a part-time (12-20 hours/wk) employee for our unique brewery located in East Austin. The position entails ensuring our customers ...[...]
February 15, 2023What You’re DrinkingHere’s your cheat sheet for all your Pallet Flight needs! Let us know if you have any questions. Cheers! (SA) Spirit Animal – Sour Pale Ale 5.1% ABV | 67 SU ...[...]
January 11, 2023The Gang’s Favorite Brews Of 2022The Gang’s Favorite Brews Of 2022 Heading into 2023, it seemed like a good time to reflect and get ready for what’s to come. And, with plenty of beers to ...[...]
December 9, 2022Celebrate With Sours – Holiday Beers‘Tis The Season To Celebrate With Sours! And we have quite the nice list for you! Check out our top four Holiday Beers: Visit our Tasting Room in East Austin, ...[...]
June 23, 2022What To Expect When You VisitWHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU VISIT BLUE OWL BREWING: Our Sour Sanctuary is a unique experience where we offer draft pours, traditional flights, and our OG tasting experience. Our bartenders ...[...]
June 21, 2022Is Hard Seltzer Beer?Is a seltzer a beer? Short answer: No. Long Answer: Nooo. But at Blue Owl Brewing, we still love the possibilities of what a “craft seltzer” can be. Mojito – ...[...]
May 19, 2022LoteríaJoin us for a game of Lotería! In honor of our sour seasonal release, ¡Limetastico!, from March until June 1st we will be playing Lotería! Each Monday we will pick ...[...]
April 25, 2022Fruited Little BossFRUITED LITTLE BOSS Why mess with a good thing? So it can be a gooder thing! We’ve brewed a new series called Fruited Little Boss where we will be rotating ...[...]
April 19, 2022Join The Local Love Club!Are you a Blue Owl regular? Check out the Local Love Club and enjoy multiple tastings at a discounted rate! The Local Love Club was made with you in mind, it’s ...[...]
March 1, 2022Dapper Dog Runway Show!DAPPER DOG RUNWAY SHOW! Join us for some tail-waggin’ fun! On March 20th from 12pm-2pm, we’re holding a Dapper Dog Runway Show on our patio with proceeds benefitting Emancipet! Competing ...[...]
March 1, 2022Stellar HazeSTELLAR HAZE – Sour Double Hazy IPA We’re back with one of our favorite combos — Hops and Sour! You might remember our early collaboration with my previous brewhouse home ...[...]
July 29, 2021What’s A Smoothie Beer?Kokomo Royale – Tropical Fruit Smoothie Sour Ale A tropical fruit smoothie sour ale with pink guava, pineapple, Tahitian lime, cherry, Madagascar vanilla, milk sugar, & pimento berry. IBU: 15 ...[...]
June 14, 2021Seltzers For SheltersSeltzers For Shelters Help For Those Experiencing Homelessness We’re excited to announce a new program called “Seltzers For Shelters,” created to raise awareness and give aid to those experiencing homelessness ...[...]
May 18, 2021SMash SMaSH Sour Tex-Aus IPASMash SMaSH – Sour Tex-Aus IPA. A two-part seasonal, SMash SMaSH uses one type of Australian hop and one type of Texas-grown Malt for each batch. IBU: 34 ABV: 6.7% ...[...]
March 25, 2021Liquid Bake SaleLiquid Bake Sale Sour Peach Cobbler Blue Owl is excited to be participating in the Liquid Bake Sale to help raise funds for the Texas Craft Brewers Guild. Texas Craft ...[...]
February 11, 2021Non-Sour BeerThe rumors are true, friend. Blue Owl Brewing presents non-sour beers! When the idea of Blue Owl first began, Co-Owners Jeff Young and Suzy Shaffer dreamed of creating a brewery ...[...]
February 2, 2021Drift Into Your DreamsDrift Into Your Dreams. TANGERINA – Milkshake Sour IPA w/ Tangerine & Vanilla Drift into your dreams with this pillowy milkshake sour IPA. Tangerine and Madagascar vanilla create a sunburst ...[...]
October 25, 2020Inspiration & Art Behind The Sour BeerINSPIRATION, ART, & SOUR BEER Sure, you’ve held a Blue Owl sour beer can time and time again. Maybe you could even point one out on the store shelf from ...[...]
October 2, 2020Let’s Go To The Hop!Let’s Go To The Hop! Teeny Hopper – Juicy Sour Session IPA w. Grapefruit Availability: Fall This new edition to our sour seasonals will keep you movin’ and groovin’ all ...[...]
September 1, 2020Seasonal Release: Plum de PlumeSeasonal Release: Plum de Plume Plum de Plume – Plum Jam & Orange Marmalade Sour Availability: Fall/Winter IBU: 18 ABV: 5.6% SU: 68 FLAVOR PROFILE: Refreshing and rich with jammy ...[...]
July 22, 2020Tiki Hop TotemConstructing A New Seasonal — Blue Owl Style Tiki Hop Totem – Milkshake Sour IPA w/ Pineapple & Coconut Availability: Summer This fruited milkshake sour IPA combines two sets of ...[...]
June 19, 2020Little Gose – Salty DogPlease welcome Blue Owl’s newest iteration of Little Gose – Salty Dog! Little Gose – Gose with Grapefruit & Juniper Berries Availability: Summer A Gose made with grapefruit & juniper, ...[...]
June 12, 2020Tropícal Brut Passion Fruit & Pink Guava Sour Sparkling AleHave you heard? Tropícal Brut is back for your summertime, poolside hangs! Tropícal Brut – Passion Fruit & Pink Guava Sour Sparkling Ale ...[...]
April 29, 2020SMash SMaSH Sour New Zealand IPASMash SMaSH Sour New Zealand IPA Be Unique. Drink Unique. That’s the motto of Blue Owl and I don’t think there’s a better representation of that sentiment than this year’s ...[...]
March 3, 2020It’s Bramble Time!This SXSW, we’re having a celebration of shrubbery! As you might have noticed, here at Blue Owl, we love all things sour. There are many kinds of sourness because of ...[...]
January 23, 2020A ¡Limetastico! New SeasonalBlue Owl Brewing is excited to announce its new seasonal, ¡Limetastico!, sour Mexican lager with lime and salt. As those warmer Austin days approach, the annual search for the perfect ...[...]
March 19, 2019SMash SMaSH SeriesHey everyone! We are so excited to be releasing our SMaSH SMash Series #1 on Friday, March 22! I wanted to write a blog post to talk about Smash beers, in general, ...[...]
February 18, 2019Wild Boss: By The BarrelWild Boss: Barrel Aged Sour Session Wheat Expanding our barrel program over the last several years has opened up a whole new world of experimentation and creativity for us. We’ve ...[...]
July 26, 2018Sour IPAs: A New Kind of BalanceI’ve always been of the opinion that the bulk of the credit of a good hoppy beer has to go to the hop farmer. To some degree, it’s just up ...[...]
April 19, 2018Presenting Wild AnimalA Mixed-culture, Barrel-Fermented Misc. Pale Ale We’ve spent the last couple of years working to make sour beers approachable. Our sour-mashing process produces a “clean” sourness that allows the style ...[...]
January 30, 2018Don’t Stop. Collaborate and Listen.Collaborations are as much a part of craft beer as odd-shaped glasses and punny names. Projects among various brewers allow the creatives to share their ‘style’ of brewing as well as ...[...]
June 20, 2017What is a Sour Unit?Our Sour Units© (SUs) are a measure of the level of acidity (and “sourness”) in a beer. During the sour-mashing stage of our beer production, we introduce wild cultures of bacteria into ...[...]
June 9, 2017Defining Sour BeersHOW WE DEFINE OUR SOUR BEERS Trying to define “sour beers” is both a hot topic and perhaps even a fool’s errand. There’s not even much agreement among brewers themselves, ...[...]
May 3, 2017Tiny Barrels. Wild Beers.Blue Owl Brewing’s Tiny Barrel Program began more than a year ago with three discarded 13-gallon Garrison Brothers whiskey barrels. Currently, we’ve got about 250 gallons of barrel-aged beer at any given ...[...]
April 26, 2017Dapper Devil in Bottles!When we started Blue Owl, we decided to package our core beers in cans for a few reasons, including affordability, recyclability, and convenience. Our seasonals would be available on tap ...[...]
March 22, 2017A Peek Inside Jeff’s Sour HeadWhat “Sour” Means to Blue Owl. A Look at 10 Sour Beers… and What’s Next I’m proud to say that we’ve made it through a whole brewing year and have explored the ...[...]
June 29, 2016The OG’s of Craft Beer | Six Pack Stories Panel OneLive Truth or Dare Panel between The OG’s of Craft Beer Alamo Drafthouse and Blue Owl Brewing to kick off Six Pack Stories, a monthly series highlighting the craft ...[...]
June 7, 2016Say Hello to Czech Czech, Our Sour Czech-Style PilsnerTo make a good sour American pale ale, you have to first make a solid pale ale, second make a clean and controlled sour, and third figure out how to ...[...]
May 23, 2016A Few Words from our Co-Owner/Brewer, Jeff YoungWe’ve now been open about 6 months and have had an awesome ride. Four core beers, a collaboration sour double IPA, our first seasonal experiments (Dapper Devil and Saison Puede), a ...[...]
