Round Rock nano brewery Bluebonnet Beer Company has already been pumping out beers to area bars in recent weeks, but will officially open its taproom to the public this Friday.

Helmed by decorated homebrewer David Hulama and his wife Clare, Bluebonnet operates with a modest one barrel brewhouse tucked away in an industrial complex off Gattis School Rd., making it one of the smallest breweries in Central Texas.

After racking up numerous awards over the course of 20 years of homebrewing, David attended the University of California Davis Master Brewers Program, where he was one of only 12 in his class to pass the final exam. Armed with a certificate and decades of practical know-how, he decided to pursue his dream of starting a professional brewery. Clare was along for the ride to lead the brewery’s sales and marketing efforts and pitch in on brew days.

“I’ve always wanted to do this for a living and decided to pull the trigger on it,” David said, in a recent interview with Bitch Beer. “It’s been great because now we’re finally starting to see some of our beer out in the field.”

Bluebonnet debuted at Flix Brewhouse’s Firkin Fest to a warm reception from folks who were eager to get a taste of the new kid on the block’s beer. Since then, they’ve scored a few tap handles at Round Rock and Cedar Park craft hangouts like The Brass Tap, Homefield Grill, Flix Brewhouse, The Dig Pub, Greenhouse Craft Food and High Country Market & Cafe.

They’ve launched with four flagship beers–a super clean Cream Ale, an approachable Pecan Brown Ale, an American IPA with a nice, dry finish and an American Amber based on David’s award winning homebrew recipe. They are also currently offering a smoked porter as a warming winter seasonal.

Though Clare calls Bluebonnet’s current setup essentially “homebrewing on steroids” the pair hopes to follow in the expasion footsteps of breweries like Twisted X, which started in a humble industrial space with a three barrel system up in Cedar Park before gaining enough community support to build a sprawling 30 barrel brewhouse out in Dripping Springs. But as Round Rock locals, David and Clare couldn’t picture their brewery anywhere else.

The Bluebonnet taproom will be open from 5-8pm on Friday, December 19 and Saturday, December 20. Beer will be sold for $3 a pint and logo merchandise will be available for purchase. American Homebrewers Association members who present their membership cards will receive $1 off beers and 25 percent off merchandise purchases.

Check out Bluebonnet’s Facebook page for information on future taproom hours, as these are subject to change after opening weekend.

Can’t wait til Friday to try the beers? There’s a Bluebonnet Smoked Porter pint night at Homefield Grill tonight (Wednesday, December 17) check out this Facebook event page for details.

-Caroline

Bluebonnet Beer Company