Independence Brewing Co.
Imperial IPAs and oatmeal stouts out of a South Austin room The Infatuation says has a footprint barely bigger than an actual footprint.1
Why go
Brewing since 2004, which is old for Austin craft, and still small enough that the packaging line is part of the visit: don't be surprised if the line is canning and labeling beers in the background while you sip a Stash IPA at the bar counter, in McCrary's words.1 The year-round beers on the record are Austin Amber, Stash IPA, Power & Light Pale Ale and Liberty Lunch IPA, named when Lagunitas took an investment stake in 2016 with the brewery running 18,000 barrels a year and aiming at 65,000 to 75,000.2 That list is ten years old, so treat it as the spine and not the current board.
Order this / avoid
- Order: Stash IPA at the bar counter, or whatever imperial IPA and oatmeal stout are pouring, since those are the two styles the only critic on the record singles out.1
- Avoid: treating this as an afternoon-on-the-lawn brewery. The room is the argument, and it is a small one.
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary, The Infatuation Austin (5 March 2024), unrated by site policy:
this small brewery and taproom in South Austin makes some of our favorite imperial IPAs and oatmeal stouts in town.
He goes on:it feels more like an active brewery than most of the bigger breweries in town that are 95% patio.
1 - Amy Cartwright, co-founder, on keeping the beer the same after the Lagunitas investment (operator testimony, not a review):
We will continue to brew the beers we are well known for, and will continue developing our seasonal program as we have these last two years.
2
Good to know
- Where it is: 3913 Todd Ln, unit 607, off Ben White in southeast Austin. The Infatuation files it as South Austin.
- Hygiene: clean and current. Austin Public Health scores the kitchen 95 on 8 April 2025, 95 before that and 99 before that, all far above Austin's sub-70 failing threshold. The register's newest inspection anywhere is 22 May 2026 and the feed was last refreshed 15 June 2026.3
- Hours: check before crossing town.
Verdict
could-visit — A small South Austin brewery, running since 2004, that The Infatuation rates for imperial IPAs and oatmeal stouts and describes as an actual working brewery rather than a patio with tanks behind it. Stash IPA is the beer named at the bar. The year-round list on file, Austin Amber, Stash IPA, Power & Light Pale Ale and Liberty Lunch IPA, dates to 2016 and needs refreshing.