Live Oak Brewing Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brewing |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Austin , United States |
Area served | Texas |
Key people | Chip McElroy (founder), Dusan Kwiatkowski (head brewer) |
| Products | Craft beer |
| Website | liveoakbrewing |
Live Oak Brewing Company, located in Austin, Texas, is a locally owned craft brewery that produces four beers available year-round along with nearly 20 seasonal or limited-edition brews. Their beverages are served on tap across numerous bars and restaurants throughout Texas, and since 2016, they have been distributed in cans for retail sale in grocery stores, liquor outlets, and convenience stores statewide.
The brewery utilizes the traditional decoction mashing technique—a sophisticated and historic brewing process—for certain beers such as the Live Oak Pilz and Oaktoberfest, while employing conventional step mashing for other varieties. Instead of the more common cylindroconical fermenters, fermentation takes place in large horizontal dairy tanks.
Between 1997 and 2015, Live Oak Brewing operated out of leased industrial premises on East 5th Street in Austin. In December 2015, the company moved into a newly constructed facility and taproom situated on a 20-acre site adjacent to the Colorado River near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, following an 11-month building phase.
The Taproom & Biergarten functions as a public gathering space featuring The Black Forest food truck, hosting group events, brewery tours, beer release celebrations, art markets, trivia nights, and various other community-oriented activities.
In 2018, founder Chip McElroy and head brewer Dusan Kwiatkowski partnered with Poland’s Browar Grodzisk to create Grodziskie Imperialne, an enhanced oak-smoked interpretation of the classic Grodziskie beer style.
Live Oak received a bronze award at The Great American Beer Festival in 2019 for its Hefeweizen.