Southern Star Brewing Co. co-founder Dave Fougeron initially began brewing beer from his college apartment to save money on beer.

Using a home-brew station gifted by a friend, Fougeron said his first batch was a “terrible” attempt at brewing a brown ale. The beer was prepared in his apartment’s kitchen and fermented and cooled in his bathtub. Fougeron eventually discovered he could brew two-and-a-half cases of beer for $20.

“I didn’t get decent at making beer until probably my seventh or eighth batch,” he said with a laugh. “Even then it probably wasn’t all that great.”

When Fougeron had trouble getting a job in wildlife and fishery science after graduating from Texas A&M University, he applied to be a brewer at Saint Arnold’s Brewery in Houston. After working at Saint Arnold’s for eight years, six of which he was head brewmaster, Fougeron said he was ready to take what he had learned and create his own brand.

Fougeron and fellow brewer Brian Hutchins founded Southern Star Brewing Co. in Conroe in 2007, and they kicked off production in 2008. Almost a decade later Southern Star is now featured in numerous grocery chains and restaurants across Texas as well as in other states.

Its brewery and on-site taproom sits on 13.5 acres of land, producing roughly 14,000 barrels of craft beer annually. An on-site taproom features local restaurants and food trucks on weekends for taproom patrons as well as indoor and outdoor seating and games. The brewery also offers tours on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

“Between the four brewers that are here, we have 40 years of brewing experience,” he said. “We know what we’re doing, and we’re consistent in what we do. We really pride ourselves on having our beer come out and be the same beer over and over again.”

Ultimately, Fougeron said opening Southern Star in Conroe came with perks, such as the high quality of the city’s water—which he said makes for good beer—and the support of the Conroe community, which has embraced his business.

As a tribute to the community, Southern Star recently debuted a lager named “Hecho en Conroe,” which means “made in Conroe” in Spanish.

“The city and the community have been very, very welcoming to our business,” he said. “It’s been nice that the community has kind of said, ‘Hey, this is our brewery.’ They have been very generous and good-natured.”