These days, out-of-state breweries tend to enter the Texas marketplace with no less than a dozen “official” launch parties per city–complete with tap takeovers, special casks and swag galore. Which is why it may come as a surprise that one Colorado brewery’s beer has started to quietly occupy space on Austin’s beer shelves with very little spotlight.

Founded in 2008, Upslope Brewing Company is a Boulder based brewery known for their lineup of quality canned brews, which, until now have only been available in Colorado.

And while us Texans tend to point fingers at our rigid state beer laws and third coast status as the reason why many breweries don’t choose to distribute here, Upslope actually chose Texas as their first out-of-state market, and for good reason.

“As a large, populous state close to Colorado’s Front Range with a booming craft beer scene, the decision to distribute to the Lone Star State was an easy one for us,” Upslope Marketing Manager Katie Hill said. “We feel that our beers, packaged in cans, will appeal to the outdoor and fun lifestyles of Texans across the state. We’re also especially excited to see how our brews do in Austin, somewhat of a larger “sister-city” to our hometown of Boulder, with an awesome vibe and killer music and nightlife scene.”

Upslope is currently testing the Texas waters with a soft launch (hence the low-profile vibe), offering three of their mainstay beers, the Upslope Pale Ale, the Upslope India Pale Ale and Upslope Craft Lager in select Texas cities. The brewery is currently expanding its production capacity in preparation for an official, hard launch into Texas this fall. With that official launch, Upslope plans to have their beers available on Texas taps, and bring in more of their lineup, including Upslope Brown Ale (2012 GABF silver medal winner).

“As a company, we’re amped about the ability to share the wealth with a new state, and look forward to sending Texas-sized proportions of our product once we get our new facility running on all cylinders,” Hill said.

For more information on Upslope, visit their website and/or Facebook page, or go pick up a six pack at your favorite bottle shop.

-Caroline