Not quite.
If you've heard of Johnny Max, you know he's pioneering BIG beer in Texas. And why not? Any good Texan knows bigger is better, and this is certainly true of Texas Big Beer Brewery.
The wind is high and dusty as we make our way down a series of bumpy dirt roads in the middle of nowhere, Buna. The homestead is an unassuming, dusty lot with a pond in the back and a small metal building housing the brewery operation. Without the big red truck parked out front, you probably couldn't tell that this is a brewery at all.
Johnny Max and his beautiful wife, the Queen greet us warmly and start the day off right - by pouring us some beer.
Johnny pops a bottle of his Big Blonde for us to try. At 10.5%ABV it's remarkably easy to drink. The beer is brewed in the style of a Belgian Blonde, save for the use of a clean ale yeast, rather than the typical spicy Belgian style yeast. It works well for the beer. The hops are present in aroma and flavor, but not overwhelming. Well balanced and complex.
If it's one thing I admire about the Big Beer philosophy, it's not your typical 'the more hops the better' strategy. The Big Blonde comes out at only 28 IBU, which I think is the perfect amount for this style. You can always brew a big IPA later with as many IBUs as you want but this strategy shows skill and a certain level of constraint to make something so uniquely flavorful that even non-beer drinkers can love. Johnny says that a lot of wine drinkers enjoy the Big Blonde for just this reason. It has the sweetness and alcohol, but not the bitter hop bite.
The beers are big, but the operation is small.
The setup is simple. Small tanks line up in a row. The fermentor holds 8 barrels of Blonde Ale. The bottling line - well, the bottling line is unique. In fact, Johnny fabricated it himself.
To truly make it a homestead style brewery, Johnny tells us that he would like to use self sustaining techniques, bringing the process around full circle. From growing fermentables on the land and collecting honey from his colony of bees to the use of cold pond water to chill the wort, every small piece of this brewery will contribute to the whole. There are more BIG beers in the works. For example, Cause Of Death, a 21% ABV ale. A homebrew originally brewed in 2004, all Johnny has to do is figure out how to brew such a big beer on a large scale.
A Wheatwine at 12.5% as well as some unique one-off beers are in the works as well. I can't wait to see what Big Beers Johnny comes up with next!
Brewery Tours every 1st & 3rd Saturday, from 1-3 pm.
Oh, and if you stop by the brewery, be sure to visit the Light Beer Processing Facility before you go:
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