Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/118688
THE MESSAGE On Tap in Texas PHOTO: ANTHONY HEAD "We've always liked Texas, and especially Austin, which has a lot of parallels to California's Central Coast. It's not uptight," says David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing. "O ne of the great things about being a family business is that you can do things because you want to do them," said David Walker, co-founder of Firestone Walker Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA. "We're still a small enough brewery to care about what we do. It's good to be the size we are because we can do some interesting things, like come to Texas." And "come to Texas" he certainly did. In late February, Walker arrived at the Pint House in Austin to introduce Firestone Walker's beers to the Lone Star State—and he discovered he was too late. The Pint House was filled with a capacity crowd, and when Walker asked if anyone knew of Firestone Walker, a great cheer went up. "It's hugely fascinating how many people are fans of our brewery. I'd like to think that it's because we're 20 / the tasting panel / april 2013 super-fascinating," Walker told me. "But I guess social networking has helped opened up people's interests. Whether it's us or someone else, people want to know what else is out there. That's brilliant." Firestone Walker began in 1996 and for most of its lifetime sold its unique oak barrel–aged beers within 100 miles of the Central Coast brewery. But as it continued wracking up national and international titles for best mid-size brewery and best brewer (Matt Brynildson), demand began growing outside the region. Today, Firestone Walker is found in Colorado, Arizona, and throughout the Pacific Northwest. The rollout—retail and on-premise—begins in Austin, followed by Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. —Anthony Head