more brash than ever
Houston's 'most metal brewery' makes brash moves with beer relaunch and taproom in the works
The Mystik has returned to Brash.
A popular Houston brewery has relaunched one its signature beers with a new name, which is part of a larger series of changes made by its new owners. While the names behind Brash Brewing may have changed, its status as Houston’s “most metal brewery” remains unchanged.
Equal Parts Brewing owners Matt Peterson and Nick Sorenson purchased the north Houston brewery last summer. They recruited former Brash head brewer Vince Mandeville to return and resume overseeing production as director of brewery operations.
“We bought Brash because we felt like it was a great brand with solid recipes, and a rabid following, but that it could use additional support and structure in terms of leadership and brewing,” Peterson writes in an email. “The idea was to allow Vince to come back into Brash and provide the leadership, with us providing additional operational and administrative support.”
With Mandeville on board, the brewery began producing beers such as Ghost, a German gose; EZ-7, an American pale ale; and Cali Green, a West Coast IPA. Earlier this month Brash brought back Pussy Wagon, its signature American IPA, with a new name, The Mystik. Peterson notes that several factors contributed to the switch, including the potential difficulty of securing Federal label approval and that the vehicle belonged to a character in Kill Bill who assaults the heroine (before meeting his well-deserved demise).
“We felt it was important to re-center the brand on the original vision when Brash started, which was to be a Metal Brewery,” Peterson adds. “That means focusing on the things that matter – metal and beer.”
While the name may be less aggressive than before, Peterson asserts the beer tastes as good as it ever has, owing to Mandeville being the person who created the recipe. Drinkers will find that the current version of The Mystik delivers its relatively high 8.2-percent alcohol-by-volume without being too boozy or out of balance.
Bringing back The Mystik is only one part of Brash’s production plans. It recently introduced Brutal IPA, described as an Experimental Session IPA, and is working on a double rye IPA that will be out soon.
For now, these beers are available around town on draft and for purchase directly from Brash’s brewery at 510 W. Crosstimbers St. Ultimately, Brash plans to reopen its taproom once it works through getting it properly permitted with the City of Houston.
Peterson reports that Brash’s fans have responded positively to the changes. Keeping that community happy is one of his top priorities, as it helps set the brewery apart from others in Houston’s dynamic craft beer scene.
“Our biggest focus, and a part of what we talk about every day is how we make sure Brash stays true to what our customers want from the brand, as well as staying true to building and expanding on Vince's original vision for Brash as we move forward,” Peterson writes. “We think that a year from now a lot of Brash faithful will be very happy to see how Brash has changed at its core, but still reflects the ethos of the community that built us.”
