When Flix Brewhouse opened in Round Rock the summer of 2011, it was an experiment � a previously unheard-of combination movie theater and microbrewery. Sort of like the Alamo Drafthouse, except that the beer at Flix was and still is made in-house.

Needless to say, it�s proved to be a success. There are now a few additional Flix Brewhouses across the country, including two upcoming locations in Texas: one in Denton County and another in Sugar Land. And there are now big changes coming to the original Flix. With the upgrade to a 7-barrel system in June, the brewpub plans to double brewing capacity � allowing Flix to distribute into Austin.

Although very few bars will receive Flix beers on draft, that�s nonetheless a boon for Flix and head brewer Justin Rizza, who still hears groans from Austinites about how far of a drive north his brewery is.

�I want to have tap takeovers and introduce Austin to what Round Rock has to offer. Maybe inspire people to drive up here for a change,� he said.

He�s hoping the taste of Flix�s mainstay brews, like the Satellite Red IPA, Luna Rosa Wit and Saison de Walt (a tribute beer to Flix�s co-founder , Walt Powell) will lure more fans to try beers only available at Flix.

Having a bigger brewhouse will allow Rizza to produce a lot more specialty beers, including lagers, sours and other barrel-aged offerings. These are the beers that take up time and space to make, and now he�s got the room for them.

�We�ve done a couple bourbon barrel-aged beers, but I�m kind of more intrigued or inspired by the sour beers of Belgium,� Rizza said. �Most of the barrels I have are red wine barrels from Becker Vineyards. What I�ve been doing mostly is having the beer fermented clean, then transferred into the barrels with different blends of wild yeast and bacteria.�

The rotating Flix Funkhouse line where these funky beers come on has been building a following over time, Rizza said.

Plus, he�ll be able to make more beers that are based off movies. In December, when �Star Wars: The Force Awakens� first blasted into theaters, Flix Brewhouse released four �Star Wars� tribute beers; last month, when the theater was playing �Purple Rain� following Prince�s untimely death, Rizza put together a Little Red IPA. They tend to be hits, he said.

Even once the brewhouse is expanded, it�ll still be a little smaller than the ones at newer Flix locations. But that�s OK with Rizza, who has learned to make the most of a small space.

�I want to participate in Texas Craft Brewers Fest for the first time,� he said. �Business is on an up slope and not stopping. While we�ll be focusing production on keeping the tap wall filled here, we�ll send off core beers or seasonals as we can to take over the taps at the great multi-tap craft beer bars of Austin.�

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