Whole Foods Market Brewing Co. to distribute first beer

Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas, said its Houston-based Whole Foods Market Brewing Co., the first craft brewery in a grocery store, will begin distribution of its first draft beer in two phases, starting with the Greater Houston area on Aug. 8 and followed by the launch of statewide distribution in Texas on Sept. 18. Both launches will be celebrated by special tapping events, including a tapping event in Austin on Sept. 18 at the Lamar Whole Foods Market, hosted by Dave Ohmer, brewmaster of Whole Foods Market Brewing Co.

Guests are invited to visit any Houston-area Whole Foods Market store on Saturday Aug. 8 at noon and help tap the first keg of beer. All 10 Houston-area Whole Foods Market stores will tap kegs simultaneously, the retailer said.

The first beer for Houston distribution will be a Post Oak Pale Ale, a deep golden beer that starts off with an orange-marmalade sweetness and rolls directly into tangerine, grapefruit and tropical tones. The hoppy bitterness continues to build all the way through, finishing dry, Whole Foods Market stated.

Post Oak Pale Ale is one of 38 beers produced by the Whole Foods Market Brewing Co., located inside the company’s Post Oak store in Houston. To date, more than 5,220 gallons of beer have been produced, and Whole Foods Market said it opened the company’s second on-site brewery in a store in San Jose, Calif.