The five-tool player is an elusive, yet coveted type of baseball player every team aspires to have. It’s the type of player that can hit for average, hit for power, as well as run, throw, and field well. These types of players are rare (think Jose Altuve).
A brewery can also be a five-tool player in the craft beer world. These places are ones that have 1) a nice beer variety, 2) an attractive space, 3) room for growth, 4) great people involved in the project, and 5) location, location, location. Texas Leaguer Brewing Company in Missouri City checks off all of those tools.
To understand Texas Leaguer is to understand the love of baseball these fine folks have. Everything is baseball-centric with the name of the brewery, beer names, the brewery’s nickname, and even the décor all relating to the love of the game. But baseball is just the beginning for what sort of experience one can expect at Texas Leaguer Brewing. Let’s examine by doing an in-depth analysis of this five-tool player in the Houston craft beer scene.
Tool #1 – A Nice Beer Variety
As owner Nathan Rees said to us, “everybody drinks IPAs.” Obviously, this is a blanket statement with some truth to it as the style tends to be one of the most popular among craft beer drinkers nationwide. However, what can separate a good brewery from a great brewery is how the beer selection appeals to the target audience – in this case, Fort Bend County beer drinkers.
What Texas Leaguer has done is develop a starting lineup of four staple beers that are easy drinking and mass appealing.
- The Airmail Blonde is their easiest drinking beer with a slight bread flavor balanced out by a sweetness that finishes crisp and smooth with no bitterness.
- Knuckle Bock is a darker bock beer that should please any fan of Shiner Bock. Designed to be mildly sweet, this beer is a must have for anybody looking for a caramel-sweet flavor from a German-style brew.
- 2-Hopper IPA is a dry-hopped IPA that utilizes El Dorado and Cascade hops, giving the beer a fruity and floral taste with a slight bitterness that is pleasant and not overpowering. According to Nathan, this has been their top seller thus far.
- 6-4-3 Belgian was our standout favorite of all that was on tap. This Belgian pale ale has all of the characteristics of a sweet Belgian beer with a rye-flavored spiciness. Also, the beer had a slight bitterness that made it finish crisp and clean. Plus, at only 5.0% ABV, it’s the type of beer we would enjoy all day long.
In addition, they have their Farm System beers that are small batch releases that either have short-term availability or are special releases. On tap during our visit were Chin Music, a rye pale ale that is their submission for the Houston Daisy Chain project and 6-4-3 with Apricots. Chin Music is one of the better Houston Daisy Chain offerings we’ve had as it was spicy, hoppy, and clean. 6-4-3 with Apricots was good and the fruit addition created a tart bomb, but we were still partial to the traditional 6-4-3 Belgian. Plus, an outstanding addition to the team is the Little Leaguer, a house-made root beer that is one of the best brewery-made sodas we’ve ever enjoyed.
Tool #2 – An Attractive Space
An industrial park may not be everybody’s first choice for a brewery, however we love it because of the utility of the space. For one, the high ceiling allows for you to feel comfortable among the large fermenters that line the inside of the space. Plus, the space is perfectly setup to allow for expansion with an entirely unutilized area near the bathrooms that is being tentatively earmarked as a future indoor taproom.
Lovingly called the “TXL Beerpark”, the taproom is filled with long tables and benches designed to have groups of people interact with one another. Plus, with it being opening weekend for the Astros, a huge projection screen was setup to enjoy the matchup with the Rangers inside the Beerpark.
A bonus of the open concept of the brewery is the ability to admire all of the brewing equipment inside of the area. The 20 BBL brewhouse is in full view for all visitors to observe, so any brewery aficionados or first-time visitors who have never seen brewing equipment are in for a treat.
Keep in mind, it still is spring in Texas, which is a fine time to enjoy the outdoor patio area. You’ll find a cornhole game to play in addition to picnic tables outfitted with umbrellas to give a little shade to anybody wanting to spend time outside. We ended up sitting outside and the size of the umbrellas made it pleasant and enjoyable.
Tool #3 – Room For Growth
As we mentioned, the space is setup for a future taproom expansion. The area is large enough to accommodate a large amount of people, have room for a bar build out, as well as having plenty of space for more table seating. With it being on the opposite side of the cold room, one can envision installing taps on the other side to setup a new bar with little major construction.
The other aspect of growth that we see is being able to add more fermenters to the Beerpark without making the space feel cramped. Already, the Beerpark is lined with large 40 BBL fermenters, but as Texas Leaguer continues to acquire new retail accounts (by Nathan’s account, it’s around 150 retail locations in and around the Greater Houston area), they will need to add equipment to accommodate the growth. Being able to do so in that space without sacrificing seating is a huge upside to the location.
Plus, the brewery 100% self-distributes their beer. All 150+ accounts are being served by the staff internally, meaning they are putting in a lot of work and could serve even more accounts in the future if a distribution deal is signed. That currently hasn’t happened, but if growth continues at such a rapid pace, it may be necessary to accommodate the growth.
Tool #4 – Great People Involved in the Project
The two masterminds behind Texas Leaguer are owner, Nathan Rees and head brewer, Doc Rebeck. When you look at the amount of work put in by both men to get this project up and running, it’s easy to see how Texas Leaguer has become a go-to brewery for people in Fort Bend County.
Since inception, both men have worked tirelessly to get the brewery’s name out into the public with many in the Houston craft beer scene realizing what great beer is being produced in Missouri City. Pint nights are starting to pop-up throughout the surrounding area and everything is being spearheaded by two people.
The willingness to talk about the beer, future plans, and the focus of the brewery is what made our visit to the Beerpark so great. Nathan spent a great deal of time speaking to us about what they want to do each year (i.e. getting Good Dog Houston to come out to the Beerpark for Astros Opening Day) as well as their business to date. The focus to grow organically and expand in a controlled manner was encouraging, especially after seeing other large breweries (i.e. Green Flash) try to grow too quickly and fail.
Tool #5 – Location, Location, Location
For a while, it seemed like Fort Bend County was cursed when it came to breweries with the closures of Fort Bend Brewing and Texian Brewing over the past few years. However, the area is home to roughly 750,000 people and currently is only represented by a handful of breweries with Texas Leaguer being in a prime position.
There currently is no full production brewery or brewpub within a 12 mile radius in any direction of Texas Leaguer (disclaimer: technically Ruba Brewing is within that radius, but beer releases are rare and sparse). This gives them an advantage as they are, many times, the only choice available to people wanting a local neighborhood brewery in the Sugar Land/Missouri City area. Accessibility to Texas Leaguer is easy with routes from Beltway 8, Highway 59 South, or Highway 90A.
Plus, with Fort Bend County being the fastest growing county in the Greater Houston area, they are in a position to capitalize on the growth of the surrounding area as more craft beer related bars and restaurants continue to open. Texas Leaguer seems to be the only brewery that will be in the Sugar Land/Missouri City area for a while meaning they should continue to capture the craft beer scene in the county for a long while.
We were thoroughly impressed with what Texas Leaguer is doing for the area and their expansion plans. Currently, they have taps available throughout most of the Greater Houston area stretching throughout the inner city as well as the outer suburbs. If you get a chance to try one of the Texas Leaguer beers, do so, and enjoy what they are putting out to the Houston craft beer community.
You can keep track of what’s going on a Texas Leaguer through their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. Texas Leaguer is located at 13503 Pike Rd, Missouri City, TX 77489. The Beerpark is open every Friday and Saturday, but hours may vary, so check out the Facebook page for the most updated info on openings, especially as baseball season is gearing up.