Great Minds Drink Alike - The Bend Magazine

Great Minds Drink Alike

The Coastal Bend's Newest Brewery Opens Just In Time For Summer

By: Laura Shaver Photos By: Rachel Benavides

It’s around a table that friendships are made and businessbris handled – and that’s precisely the atmosphere driving Corpus Christi’sbrnewest full-fledged production brewery, Nueces Brewing Company. Located onbrSouth Water Street, the addition complements the growth in the city’s downtownbrdistrict at the perfect time.

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What started as a dream ten years ago began to take shape inbr2016 when Cale Moore, co-owner of Nueces Brewing, landed in Corpus Christibrbecause of a job move. Six months later, co-owner Brandon Harper showed up andbrsaid, “Let’s do it. Let’s open a brewery.”

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They found their building right away, but it was unavailablebrat the time. “We drove by it and knew it would be awesome,” Moore says. “It wasbrold, it looked like an expired skating rink.” By the time they got otherbrbusiness logistics in place, it was up for lease, and the owners jumped on it.

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There’s a huge wall in the back of the tap room that stillbrfeatures some retro painted palm trees. “With that ‘Miami Vice,’ beach feelbrfrom the 1980s,” says Moore. It’s a tribute to the paintings they first foundbron the walls throughout when they made the move.

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The brewery boasts 3,000 square feet of space to mix andbrmingle among both friends and strangers. There are large, wooden picnic-stylebrtables in the main room, as well as a 1,800-square-foot deck out back, for allbrkinds of conversations to be had. “That’s how I got into home brewing,” saysbrMoore, “by sitting across a picnic table from a friend and starting abrconversation.”

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Both Moore and Harper thrive on the laid-back atmosphere ofbrour city by the sea, and set out to implement that same vibe into their newbrbusiness through both atmosphere and décor choices.

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“The theme of everything we do here is basically ‘go playbroutside,’” says Moore. The tap room features earth-like materials such as wood,brstone, and concrete, a color palette of coastal blues is seen throughout, andbrtons of big windows allow natural light to flood in. All of these designbrchoices were made in an effort to bring the outside in, so customers can sit,brchat, relax, and enjoy a brew.

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The brewery’s overall goal is to make quality beer that willbrbring people together. “We just make good beer,” says Moore. “We are not caughtbrup in the who’s who of beer and who does what to their beer. It’s just good.”

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As they open their doors this summer, Nueces Brewing will bebrcreating four different brews, all well balanced in flavor with one thing inbrcommon: They are light and refreshing.

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The brewery offers plenty of space for food trucks, and thebrowners plan to build their own kitchen in the future. But first, they will workbrtoward canning their created beers and delivering to stores, bars, andbrrestaurants around the city.

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Moore knew when he arrived in Corpus Christi it would be abrplace to stay. “I saw a good thing happening here. Even in the last threebryears, the revitalization of the downtown area has been incredible.”

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And Nueces Brewing Company is thrilled to be on thebrforefront of more development for the south side of downtown. “This is going tobrbe the place to be,” he says … “with a cold beer in hand.”

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401 S. Water Street

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FB, IG, and Twitter: @nuecesbrewing

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nuecesbrewing.com