Well, this has certainly been a mentally and emotionally draining week. Besides every aspect of all of our lives being upended, we at WhichCraft had to reduce hours for most of our employees down to zero. We haven’t formally laid anyone off, as we love our staff and will (hopefully) continue to employ them (when) things get back to “normal,” whatever that means going forward. Our heads and hearts go out to those more acutely affected than we are: people who are already sick, or who are in the most crucial potential affected populations. We can get through this by being smart, keeping our distance, and supporting each other.

Our plan until May 1st based on Mayor Adler’s order to close all dine-in restaurants and bars is as follows:
• Packaged beer, wine, and cider to-go is ok
• Coffee to-go is ok, though no personal cups/mugs
• Crowlers to-go are ok (though no filling of glass growlers)
• Sandwiches to-go while we can still source ingredients, though this may be suspended based on supply chain issues
• No Tacodeli tacos for the foreseeable future
• 8am until 9pm operating hours all days of the week
• We’re asking customers to wait for prepared items (coffee, sandwiches, crowlers) outside, where they can keep a safe 6-foot distance between themselves and other customers & staff
• No more than FIVE customers in-store at any given time for the same reason as above
• We’re of course following all cleaning, sanitizing, hand-washing and cleanliness protocols laid out by the CDC and Austin Public Health. We’re even sanitizing your credit cards and pens for you! (CC only by the way… no cash)

The nature of our packaged beer assortment doesn’t easily allow for call-in or online orders, just based on the quantity of items we have in stock. So that’s why we’re still allowing customers inside to shop for beer but being smart about waiting outside when applicable.

WhichCraft management has offered to pay our employees fully through the end of this current week (Sun 3/22) for the shifts that they would have worked this week but couldn’t, inclusive both of hourly wages AND expected average historical tip amounts. BUT please know that any and all tips you provide (obviously) go directly to the employees, and any additional $$$ you tip this week we immensely appreciate and are extremely grateful for.

You’ve likely read every opinion on earth about this scenario so I don’t feel the need to add my thoughts. Just know that WhichCraft will continue to operate in this tough time and continue to be a resource for craft beer lovers in Austin.

See y’all soon–
Jody Reyes,
Founder & CEO, WhichCraft

Back In Stock: Lone Pint Jabberwocky IPA, 5 Stones Joyful Sol Kolsch, 5 Stones Braunfelsner Pils, 5 Stones Back From Bridge City.

Yokefellow Ilk – “ordinary pale beer” / Austin, TX / Availability: Good

TUPPS Evil Dankster IPA – Brewed with distilled Azacca and El Dorado Hop Oils.  7% ABV / McKinney, TX / Availability: Good

903 Coconut Macaroon  – Tasty Pastry Stout.  10.8% ABV / Sherman, TX / Availability: Great

Clown Shoes Haze Cake –  Haze Cake is our latest addition to the Space Cake family. Wheat joins the signature Space Cake malt bill of sweet notes and shockingly smooth flavor, adding a fuller mouthfeel and hazy appearance in this Hazy Double IPA. Multiple dry hoppings of Mosaic and Citra make this beer a powerfully aromatic and tropically engaging tale of laser-aided rescue. 9% ABV / Boston, MA / Availability: Good

Clown Shoes Hephaestus –  Collaboration with The Blacksmith’s espresso with the Good, the Bad, and the Unidragon from Clown Shoes. A coffee-infused Russian Imperial Stout.  12.5% ABV / Boston, MA / Availability: Good

Lone Pint Beer Keeper – Mead Braggot (Braggot is a form of mead made with both honey and barley malt. It typically uses 1/3 or more malt and may have as much as 50% malt.) 7.3% ABV / Magnolia, TX / Availability: Decent

Austin Beerworks Invisible Hand – ThisHazy IPA is bursting with tropical aromatics and juicy flavor. But no fruit was added. It’s just hops and yeast working together to create this beautiful hazy baby. Do not shake.  7% ABV/ Austin, TX / Availability: Decent

5 Stones Eleazar – IPA dry-hopped with Azacca and Cashmere. While not as “sexy” relative to name recognition as Citra, Galaxy, etc the combination of Azacca and Cashmere connect well to present a profile chock-full of fruit and citrus  6.8% ABV/ New Braunfels, TX / Availability: Good

5 Stones Galaxy Shepherd – IPA dry-hopped with Citra and Galaxy  6.8% ABV/ New Braunfels, TX / Availability: Good

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New Beers on Draft at WhichCraft Taproom

St. Elmo Carl Kolsch – Carl is our best friend. He should probably be your best friend too.  4.6% / Austin, TX 

Friends & Allies Hilltopper Bock – Rock out with your bock out. 5.5% ABV / Austin, TX

Hitmaker HIllcountry Haze –  Hazy IPA. 6.8% ABV / Austin, TX / Availability: Good

Offshoot DDH Relax –  Relax is the perfect name for this hazy IPA because it’s impossible not to when you’re drinking it. We use a combination of fruit-forward hops like Citra and Amarillo along with Centennial and Simcoe, to impart fruity, tropical and citrus notes, and London III yeast to give it that soft, round mouthfeel. DDH Relax is juiced up even more with the second addition of hops. This smooth IPA drinks like a breeze.  6.8 % ABV / Placentia, CA

Great Divide Strawberry Rhubarb – Strawberry Rhubarb Sour is a gift for the senses. Strawberry is the yin to rhubarb’s yang—the sweet to the tart. This beautiful partnership creates a beer that glows ruby in the glass, bursts with strawberry aroma, and bites with every sip. Bright and effervescent, this sour is a fun and refreshing, lip-puckering treat perfect for every occasion, any time of the year. 6.4% ABV / Denver, CO

Southern Heights Tahitian Dreamin’ – This majestic beauty tasting like a tropical voyage to the end of a rainbow. Brewed with Citra, Centennial, Simcoe, and happiness. No reservations or tickets needed.  6.5% ABV/ Austin, TX / Availability: Decent

St. Arnold’s French Press – French Press is an imperial coffee porter brewed with Java Pura Coffee Roasters Espresso blend coffee. It pours dark brown/black color with a creamy and tan head. It has a bold chocolate and coffee flavor and aroma with a balanced roast bitterness and mild sweetness. It finishes with a nice balance of coffee and a slight chocolaty sweetness that doesn’t build and keeps you coming back for another sip.  9.4% ABV/ Houston, TX

Austin Beerworks Put It All On 29 – Hazy Black IPA.  7% ABV/ Austin, TX

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This Week’s Specials

• New Brewery of the Month Alert! Houston’s own SpindleTap Brewing Co.  Enjoy such crushable six-packs as the Hoptown Gusher IPA, Honey Hole ESB,  and the Boomtown Blonde — each just $6.99

Parking at WhichCraft Mueller. The garage behind us on McBee is free to use.