Building permit path
A brewery is typically a mixed-use B-plus-F-1 with an A-2 taproom, which triggers the fullest Development Services review — Fire, MEP, structural, and often an accessibility review for the taproom.
Brewery, distillery & taproom buildouts in Austin
Austin Brewery, Distillery & Taproom Buildout Contractor
Bailey & Bear Construction is an Austin brewery buildout contractor, distillery contractor, and taproom general contractor for production breweries, brewpubs, taprooms, and distilleries. We handle trench drains, glycol chiller lines, TABC-compliant bar layout, cold-side plumbing, spec-grade concrete, and coordination with brewhouse, cellar, and packaging equipment vendors. One Austin commercial GC owns the entire brewery buildout, from raw shell to first pour.
What an Austin brewery buildout actually covers
An Austin brewery buildout is really three projects stitched together — a production facility, a taproom, and an outdoor patio — each with its own permit path and its own trade sequence. Common scope includes a properly sloped and coated brewery floor with trench drains sized for CIP flow, glycol and hot-liquor loop plumbing, a hoist or bridge crane pad, tank pads with anchoring, TABC-compliant taproom layout with a defined production separation, a bar with keg lines and glycol trunk, restrooms sized for peak occupant load, a music-ready audio package, and a covered patio with drainage and screening. Bailey & Bear works with owners, equipment vendors, and process engineers so the shell finish-out matches what your brewhouse actually needs.
Permits, TABC, and the City of Austin
TABC licensing runs in parallel
Federal TTB and state TABC brewery, brewpub, or distillery licensing happens alongside the build. Layouts have to show a clear production separation and a defined tasting area. TABC diagrams are their own submittal.
Wastewater matters
Austin Water treats brewery discharge under specific pH and BOD limits. Some breweries need pre-treatment or a permit; scoping this before the concrete goes in is cheaper than retrofitting.
Trade coordination unique to breweries
Three trade problems come up on almost every Austin brewery buildout. The first is floor drains — trench drains have to be sized for CIP flow and located where the brewhouse layout actually puts hoses, not where the shop drawings guessed. The second is glycol and hot-water routing — a glycol trunk that gets in the way of an operator walking a hose is a daily annoyance for the life of the brewery. The third is electrical, specifically panel capacity and location for glycol chillers, boiler control, and brewhouse controls. Bailey & Bear coordinates the equipment vendor's drawings against the building plans before we pour the slab, because moving a trench drain after the fact is a five-figure change order.
What Austin brewery owners want most
A patio that anchors the neighborhood
Covered patios drive revenue in Austin's climate. Drainage, screening, shade, and heaters all belong in scope from day one.
A taproom that hears itself
Concrete floors and metal ceilings turn a great brewery into a room you cannot talk in. Real acoustic panels are the difference.
A production floor that stays clean
Epoxy over a properly primed and moisture-tested slab, coved bases at walls, and stainless where it counts. Cheap floors cost more within two years.
Reading a brewery bid before you sign
On any Austin brewery bid, insist on three specific line items: the floor system spec (thickness, coving, chemical resistance, slope-to-drain), the trench-drain count and layout, and the glycol and hot-water routing. Ask whether the bid covers TABC diagram support and Austin Water discharge coordination — those are line items your GC either owns or you are about to own yourself. Ask for two comparable Austin brewery or taproom references and call both. Ask the GC whether they have coordinated with your specific brewhouse vendor, or with one similar — vendor-specific quirks (drain locations, panel placements, chiller footprints) are where budgets slip. Finally, confirm the schedule realistically accounts for TABC and TTB review timelines, which run in parallel and do not always finish when the drywall does.
Trades that make an Austin buildout succeed
Bailey & Bear is a full-service commercial GC — we own the trades below inside our own scope so nothing gets punted to a chased sub.
Commercial Plumbing
Rough-in, water heaters, grease traps
Commercial Electrical
Panels, service, low-voltage, EV, generators
Commercial Concrete
Slabs, tilt walls, sitework, ADA ramps
Commercial Flooring & Epoxy
Urethane, polished concrete, LVT
Commercial HVAC
RTU, VRF, ductwork, controls, exhaust
ADA & TAS Compliance
Parking, restrooms, ramps, RAS coord
Frequently asked questions
What does an Austin brewery buildout include?
An Austin brewery buildout typically includes trench drains sloped for cellar washdown, glycol chiller line rough-in, spec-grade sloped concrete, cold-side plumbing for CIP and packaging, electrical service sized for compressors and pumps, hood over the mash tun if applicable, and TABC-compliant bar and taproom layout. Bailey & Bear scopes and permits the full brewery buildout as your Austin GC.
Do you handle TABC and Austin Public Health on brewery projects?
Yes. Bailey & Bear coordinates TABC federal and state alcohol permits with the Austin Public Health food-establishment review as part of the brewery buildout. We plan the drawings around what TABC inspectors actually check, not what looks nice on paper.
Can you build a distillery in Austin?
Yes. Bailey & Bear buildouts distilleries in Austin. Distillery buildouts add fire and life-safety scope beyond a brewery — bonded storage room, explosion-proof electrical in the still area, and TTB federal DSP compliance in the drawings. We coordinate the design team on all of it.