HOUSTON – (By Larry Koestler) – Even a global pandemic couldn’t dampen Houstonians’ appetite for craft beer. Despite the closure of a few breweries over the past year-plus, the Greater Houston area has seen its overall brewery count continue to rise—by a substantial margin.
The last time NAI Partners analyzed the Greater Houston craft beer market was in 2019. At the end of that year, before the pandemic, the region counted 61 craft breweries. Since then, 10 more have opened, bringing the current total to 71.
This growth is a dramatic change from the early days of Houston’s craft brewing scene, which for 14 years after 1994 was represented almost entirely by Saint Arnold. The scene began to expand more noticeably after Southern Star opened in Conroe in 2008, and by the end of 2013 the market had grown to 16 breweries occupying about 234,301 square feet of mostly industrial space, with some retail-classified properties.
2013 stands out as an important turning point because that year Texas passed a law allowing brewpub license holders to sell beer to-go directly from their breweries to consumers, bypassing the traditional three-tier distribution system. That change unlocked new revenue streams and helped fuel the first major wave of craft brewery openings across the region.
344 Percent Increase in Houston Breweries
Since 2013 the brewery landscape in Houston has expanded rapidly. Over the following eight years, the number of breweries increased by 344 percent, and the total brewery square footage grew by 179 percent to reach 652,533 square feet.
Growth accelerated further after a 2019 law allowed all craft beer producers—both brewpubs and production-only breweries—to sell directly to customers. In 2020, lawmakers eased beer regulations even more to allow beer-to-go during the pandemic shutdowns, helping consumers maintain access to their favorite brewers. Local services like HopDrop, Houston’s craft beer delivery service that also brings brewery-only can releases from Austin and Dallas to local customers, supported Houston breweries in maintaining their customer connections.
Brewery Boom in Houston
Recent entrants include fan-favorite Local Group Brewing, the Heights’ New Magnolia Brewing, and the much-discussed Urban South HTX. While newcomers attract attention, established local breweries continue to build reputations beyond the region.
SpindleTap Brewery, for example, has earned recognition for its Hazy Double India Pale Ale (DIPA). This heavily hopped style showcases bold tropical fruit flavors on a soft, creamy, hazy body—often compared to a glass of orange juice—and remains one of the most sought-after styles in the craft beer community. As more breweries nationwide attempt their own Hazy DIPAs, the gap between the top producers and the rest widens, making it notable when a Houston brewery like SpindleTap competes with the best in the country.
Despite Houston’s growth, Texas as a whole remains relatively underserved by breweries per capita. The state slipped from 46th to 47th in breweries per capita nationally between 2019 and 2020, according to the Brewers Association. Still, the craft brewing industry generated a $5.4 billion economic impact in Texas—third-largest in the nation and an increase from $4.5 billion in 2017—showing the sector’s significant economic contribution even with a modest per-capita rank.
Writer Larry Koestler is NAI Partners’ Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications, and a craft beer enthusiast and consultant.
July 19, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
Caption: Saint Arnold Brewery on Lyons Avenue in Houston
Photo Credit: Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report. Copyright 2021.
For more about Texas real estate, check out the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins. Available on Amazon
Houston 2020 Ebook version
File: Brewery Boom in Houston Fueled by Craft Beer Lovers
File: Saint Arnold. Brewery Boom in Houston. SpindleTap Brewery