*This article was written by both staff writers Kaci and Mikayla

A mecca for craft beer lovers, music enthusiasts, cajun food fans and, of course, family. That’s right, we’re talking about Family Business Beer Company in Dripping Springs, Texas — just 30 minutes from the bustling city of Austin.

The craft beer brewery, lovingly dubbed FBBC, is co-owned by Supernatural’s Jensen and Danneel Ackles, Gino Graul and Ed and Debby Graul, opened its doors on January 10, 2018. Now 1 year later, the brewery is thriving in the Texas Hill Country.

The brewery and taproom isn’t the only business that sits on the 15-acre property. Duck Dynasty’s Jep Robertson’s food truck, Jep’s Southern Roots, also opened its doors on that cold January day last year.

A lot has happened during the one year they’ve been in business. FBBC offers brewery tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with head brewer, Nate Seale, as well as taproom tunes, where live musicians perform on Friday nights. And, it’s not just for those over 21. The brewery is family-friendly, equipt with a playground and snow cone stand, and is open to people, and furry friends of all ages. The brewery also has discounts for all military veterans and first responders.

The crew at FBBC take their customers experience to heart, offering fun events throughout the year to make each person’s time at the brewery a little more special. Just within a year of opening up shop, they have hosted a two-day Halloween Festival with local vendors, a canned-food drive, costume and pumpkin decorating contest and a spooky take on their popular Imperial Stout beer, “The Grackle,” called “Dark Harvest.” They’ve also held a Holiday Gumball party, a Louisiana Crawfish boil and BBQ and a beer-filled Memorial Day Sunday to help honor the nation’s veterans and military servicemen and women.

Not only does the FBBC staff care about their customers’ experience, they also care about others and lend a helping hand to people in need. In its first year of business, the brewery rallied together several times to raise money and awareness for matters close to their hearts.

As KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin, Texas, reported in December, Family Business Beer Company was one of more than 1,400 breweries across the country to participate in brewing a special IPA beer called “Resilience”. The IPA was first brewed at a local California brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, right after the deadly wildfires swept through the state in early November, and they agreed to donate 100% of the profits to help the victims of the Camp Fire. After Sierra Nevada sent out a call for help, the family behind Family Business Beer Company agreed to step up and brew the beer as well and donate 100% of their profits.

Family Business Beer Company also took part in Ales for ALS in 2018. Every year, breweries from every corner of the world are invited to join in. With this, they are gifted a special blend of hops, different every year, created by YCH HOPS and the participating breweries get to create their own special beer. Family Business Beer Company was invited to take part and created their unique beer, “Randy”. For every pint sold, $1 was donated to ALS Therapy Development Institute by the end of the calendar year.

Besides raising money for wildfire victims and ALS, the brewery also wanted to help their four-legged friends. In the beginning of April, the brewery held an event called Pints & Pups. The event was in honor of Austin Pets Alive, a local Austin animal shelter, hoping to raise awareness for animal adoptions in the Central Texas area. Family Business Beer Company is hosting this event again on January 19, 2019.

As of December 2018, just 11 months after they opened, Family Business Beer Company officially started canning their drinks for beer lovers to take home and enjoy. Their crowlers, alongside their growlers, allow any fan of the business to bring home their favorite beverages or try some new flavors from the comfort of their home. 

Family Business Beer Company has also started distributing to certain places in Central Texas. In Austin, you can find their brews at Radio Coffee & Beer, Whichcraft, The Brass Tap, Pinthouse Pizza South Lamar and Hi Hat Public House. Places in Wimberley, Lakeway and Spicewood also serve their craft beer. Unfortunately, FBBC doesn’t distribute to other places across the nation at this time, but the expansion of the company isn’t slowing down.

FBBC, however, doesn’t just sell their own beer, but also their own merchandise as well. With a merch shop right next to the taproom, there’s a wide variety of shirts, hats and jackets to pick from to sport your favorite brewery all year long, including the Red Plaid Hooded Flannel Jacket that just dropped for the winter season.

With the success of the first location, it was also announced that they are opening their second location in Fall 2019. It will be a part of a new 40,000-square-foot market in South Austin.

Now, just to recap — a lot has happened since Family Business Beer Company opened one year ago today. In their first year alone, Family Business Beer Company has hosted numerous events, raised money for multiple organizations, grew their original location, decided to expand to a second location, began canning and distributing their beer and started selling their own merchandise.

So, whether your driving through the Texas Hill Country or spending the weekend in Austin, be sure to stop by Family Business Beer Company for fun, friends, and plenty for fermented things. Here’s to a successful first year for Family Business Beer Company, and many many more! You can learn more about the brewery by following them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.