Jester King Brewery is looking for a new owner, but it isn’t closing. In an Oct. 28 note, co-founders Jeff and Michael said the farmhouse brewery on the edge of Austin, Texas, is entering its 17th year and “needs a stronger financial foundation to realize its potential,” according to MyBeerBuzz, which published the full letter, and the Austin Business Journal.
“To be clear, this is not a closure announcement,” the founders wrote. “Jester King remains open as usual and a welcoming place for friends and family to enjoy good times in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.” The brewery’s website still lists seven-day hours for pizza, beer and beer to go.
Why Jester King Brewery is seeking new ownership
The note is short on numbers. It doesn’t name an asking price, a broker or a deadline, and it doesn’t say what role, if any, the founders would keep after a deal. What it does say is that the business needs more financial footing than it has now, and that the founders think someone else is better placed to provide it.
“There is a great deal worth preserving here, and we believe the right owner could build on what our team and community have created,” they wrote. They also made clear they don’t want a buyer to freeze the place in amber: “We’re not looking to erase what makes Jester King special, and we don’t believe its future should be limited to recreating its past.”
Anyone interested in acquiring Jester King Brewery is asked to email inquiries@jesterkingbrewery.com.
What Jester King Brewery has grown into
Jester King opened in 2010. The founders say they started building it at 28 and 24, aiming to make “farmhouse ale tied to a time, place, and people,” and never imagined it would become “the brewery, pizzeria, farm, and community gathering place it is today.” The Austin Business Journal describes the property as a 41-acre ranch.
The letter says the brewery has kept changing this decade, “creating a self-distribution team and expanding into pure-culture craft beer styles.” Pure culture means beer fermented with a single known yeast strain, as opposed to the mixed-culture and spontaneous fermentation that built Jester King’s name. MyBeerBuzz counts IPAs and pilsners among the newer beers. Back in 2023, we covered its partnership with Bevana to widen retail availability.
Metal, goats and a long memory
Longtime readers may remember Doom Forge Day, the heavy-metal party Jester King threw in January 2019, with local doom metal bands, a corpse paint booth, a beer foam mustache contest and the release of Even More Metal, a collaboration with Evil Twin Brewing. Whoever takes over gets that kind of reputation in the deal, too.
What happens next
For now, nothing changes for visitors. The ranch at 13187 Fitzhugh Road is open, and no timeline has been given for a sale. We’ll report when Jester King Brewery names a new owner. Until then, the goats have no comment.
Transmission complete.
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