Roughhouse Brewing Launches Cave Cellaring Program

(San Marcos, TX) – Roughhouse Brewing, a family-run farmhouse brewery located in the Hill Country outside of San Marcos, has started a beer program in a new kind of cellar–a natural, underground limestone cave.

Discovered during the brewery’s development in 2018, the feature was full of trash and thought to be nothing more than a small sinkhole. After a long and careful excavation process, the small hole slowly gave way to an underground room, roughly 18-by-20-feet wide. With some minor site improvements, including a small slab and structure, a dehumidifier and lighting, the space became a natural cellar for fermenting beer and other goods.

In February 2020, before COVID-19 took hold, Roughhouse brewed its first beer destined for the cave: a collaboration with Jester King Brewery using their mobile coolship and aged hops. “We wanted to make a beer that honored the natural space we were given, and a spontaneously fermented beer using all Texas ingredients was the most honest way to do that.”

This beer marks the first of a series at Roughhouse, titled UNDERGROUND series, whereby beers will be 100% cave-aged and often spontaneously fermented. The cave will cellar other food products in addition to beer, as time goes on. Currently, the brewery is working on a 4-month cave-fermented hot sauce to be released by the end of the year.

Preorders will likely begin for Roughhouse’s first cave-aged beer in early 2021.

MORE ABOUT ROUGHHOUSE BREWING

Best New Brewery of 2020 by Austin Monthly Magazine
Top 10 Best New Texas Breweries of 2019 in the Texas Craft Beer Report by Hopalytics

Family-run American farmhouse brewery on 50-acre family ranch Fermentation takes place entirely in American oak foeders Native yeast cultured from the ranch used to ferment beer