Hopsquad Brewing Co.

Hopsquad Brewing Co

Five core beers, and the odd one out is a roggenbier: rye where a dunkelweizen would use wheat.3

Why go

The core lineup runs hazy pale ale, saison, IPA, pilsner and that roggenbier, with the stated intent not to limit production by region, style or trend.3 Fairweather Cider Co is on tap alongside it and there is a short wine list, so a table that does not all drink beer is covered. In August 2024 the Limon cousins converted the opposite side of the building into Kramer's Cocktails, an air-conditioned bar built on agave, running sotol, bacanora and raicilla alongside the tequila and mezcal, with a signature list that rotates quarterly.4 Set expectations on the beer itself. The Austin Chronicle scored Hopsquad 71 and placed it 25th of 25 in its 2023 brewery power rankings, then left it out of the 2024 list.12 One thing the record does not settle: the 2020 opening report has Cesar Limon brewing, the 2024 report has Alex brewing and Cesar running operations. Both are CultureMap and neither corrects the other.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the roggenbier, because it is the one beer in the core five you will not find down the road, and it is the house's own gloss on a German rye style.3
• Or a Euro pilsner. The Austin Chronicle describes the house keeping a variety of Euro Pilsners in French, Italian, and Spanish flavors, which spans more of the style than most Austin taprooms attempt.1
• Eat: pizza and corny dogs from Doughsquad, or gorditas from Botanita Tres Reyes, the two trucks the Chronicle records on site. The Infatuation writes the pizza truck as Dough Squad and calls the pies Neapolitan-inspired.15
• Avoid: the open warehouse side in high summer. The brewery half is open to the hot air by design, which is why the cocktail room next door was built with walls and air conditioning.4

What locals & experts say

• The Austin Chronicle's brewery power rankings, Eric Puga, 10 October 2023, ranked Hopsquad 25th and last in Austin on a score of 71, down a trend line of 19, 15, 19, and gave it one clear title: Hopsquad remains Austin's best soccer brewery. The specifics behind that are early opening for weekend and midweek European matches when no other brewery will, plus Austin FC supporters before and after a match.1
• The dissent is in the same piece's opening line: We don't know if an entire brewery can survive on vibes, but Hopsquad is gonna try. Puga then dropped it from the 2024 rankings, listing it as Hopsquad (25) among the venues that fell out.12
• The Infatuation's Austin page is bylined to Raphael Brion and carries the site's unrated tag, which it applies to rooms where you cannot eat a full meal, so its two sentences cover the opening date and the pizza truck and nothing else.5
• Cesar Limon, co-owner, on why the agave list runs past tequila (operator testimony, not a review): There's so much to this plant. There's over 200 species, over 120 grown in Mexico, and 20 of them are edible.4

Good to know

• Where it is: 2307 Kramer Ln, in the North Austin brewery cluster.
• Two rooms, one building: Hopsquad on one side, Kramer's Cocktails on the other. Different lists, different climate.
• Tuesday is industry night on the cocktail side. CultureMap reported it at the opening as a haven for servers and bartenders getting off their shifts, pouring from the same agave list. It is the only current Austin industry night I have found in print.4
• Hygiene: Austin Public Health has one inspection for the kitchen, a 92 from 31 August 2023, and nothing since. Treat a score that old as incomplete rather than a current clean result.6
• Family and dogs: reported as family and dog friendly at opening.3

Verdict

could-visit — The Austin Chronicle calls this Austin's best soccer brewery, and that is the reason to pick it: the lights go on early for weekend and midweek European kickoffs when no other taproom bothers, and Austin FC supporters drink here before and after. Order a Euro pilsner, since the house runs French, Italian and Spanish takes on the style, or the roggenbier that is the odd one in the core five. Eat pizza and corny dogs from Doughsquad or gorditas from Botanita Tres Reyes, both parked on site. The beer itself sits low on the record: 25th of 25 on a score of 71 in 2023, then out of the 2024 ranking altogether. The other half of the building is Kramer's Cocktails, air conditioned, pouring sotol, bacanora and raicilla.