“[Austin FC] game days outsell every other day by like two or three times,” said Cesar Limon, who owns and operates the brewery alongside his cousin Alex Limon.
Hopsquad hosts Los Verdes for Austin FC games, whether the team is playing away or at Q2 Stadium. The partnership began when La Murga—the drum and bass band of the supporters groups—began practicing at the brewery ahead of the inaugural Austin FC season.
“We've always strived to sort of be a neighborhood bar. The stadium kind of forced us to be a soccer hub—which is great because we love soccer,” Alex said.
The home opener was a contrast from the previous months for Hopsquad. North Austin’s newest brewery debuted in December 2019, only a few months before the pandemic closed taprooms citywide.
The pandemic forced Hopsquad to pivot and begin selling its beer in cans to go, a distribution model and business plan the brewery did not originally intend to use.
“It was definitely a sink-or-swim kind of thing. The canning machine paid for itself within like a month,” Alex said.
Now, as breweries begin to come out the other side of the pandemic, Hopsquad is planning events and collaborations to celebrate the communities they say helped them through the shutdown.
Soon, the brewery is releasing a collaboration beer with Los Verdes. The Limons said the beer is a product to show Hopsquad’s appreciation for the zealous support throughout the last several months.
When the Austin FC season comes to a close this November, the Limons said Hopsquad will take the downtime to amplify its collaborative fundraising efforts. The brewery has already brewed two beers with Tomlinson’s Feed, using the local pet store’s dog biscuits in the mash process. Some of the proceeds from these beers go to support local nonprofit dog rescue groups.
“We’re dog lovers and dog owners,” Cesar said. “Hopefully we'll start making these events bigger and better and more fun.”
Throughout the fall and winter, Hopsquad will also continue to pump out new recipes.
The brewers turn to old and international recipes to serve somewhat unorthodox beers. Hopsquad has a running global pilsner series, having produced beer recipes from countries such as Mexico, South Africa and Slovenia.
“We make beer we want to drink. I think a lot of people do that, but we’ll actually go out and look for these obscure styles and try to try to bring [them] back to make it more accessible,” Alex said.
Hopsquad Brewing Co.
2307 Kramer Lane, Austin
903-420-0895 | www.hopsquad.com
Hours: Tue.-Wed. noon-10 p.m.; Thu.-Sat. noon-11 p.m.; Sun. noon-10 p.m.; closed Mon. *Brewery opens 8:30 a.m. on select Saturdays for English Premier League matches
