“Initially, I was just seeing if I could even make it through that process,” Brian said. “I knew it would take more than just making beer, so I thought if I get shut down, then I get shut down. But I never got shut down.”
The Cains owned a CrossFit gym and first tried to open a brewery in the same space, but plans fell through. The couple found their location on Mueschke Road last February, and brewpub license legislation changes helped move the process forward, Brian said.
Before the brewery, Brian worked in information technology and spent his free time working to build out the site. Early on in the process, the couple knew they wanted to incorporate boxers into the theme.
“I was taking an IT course—sitting in class not paying attention—texting [Jamie] ideas for the name,” Brian said. “We had just gotten our second boxer, Fenway, and [Jamie] went to Boston University where people say ‘wicked’ as slang. It’s also a play on words because boxers aren’t actually wicked.”
Brews are typically named with boxers in mind, like Downtown Shiloh Brown, a brown ale on tap that features the name of Jamie’s first boxer.
While the brewery operations are a one-man show, Jamie, a middle school physical education teacher in Cy-Fair ISD, supports her husband with logistics, marketing and working with the food trucks that park on-site.
At the brewery’s Dec. 16 soft opening, the Cains met JR Smith, founder of Guns to Hammers—a local nonprofit that specializes in projects for wounded veterans. Brian, a former Marine, said the two worked out a partnership, and he is excited to see two veteran-owned businesses working together to help their community.
“We’re doing a red ale, and a dollar from each beer is going to go toward Guns to Hammers to help them raise the funds they need and to just raise awareness for veterans in general,” he said.
By the Feb. 24 grand opening, Brian will introduce two new Belgian-style brews. He plans to keep four staple beers on tap and rotate two monthly.
Wicked Boxer might operate on a small scale now, but ultimately, Brian said he wants to distribute his brews in local restaurants and bars and eventually can them to sell in grocery stores.
“The big picture is to grow out of this space, but we want to stay in Cypress,” he said.
16326 Mueschke Road, Ste. E-10, Cypress
281-978-1866
www.facebook.com/wickedboxerbeer
Hours: Fri. 4-8 p.m., Sat. 2-8 p.m., Sun. 2-6 p.m., closed Mon.-Thu.
