Hopes were high that you’d be able to read this article with a glass of Yellow Armadillo or Thirsty Goat in your hand. Alas, Thirsty Planet wasn’t quite ready to send its brews to bars at press time, but start asking for them next week.

That puts Brian Smittle and wife Tammy at the front of the line for Austin’s new brewers, completing a two-decade journey. After he received a business administration degree from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., “the job market wasn’t very good, so I decided to go be a ski bum in Vail, Colorado,” says Smittle. Within a couple of days, he attended a beer festival and got an invitation to watch a local brewer work. “He was mixing up 300 gallons of beer, and I said, ‘Are you getting paid for this?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I usually ski in the morning and brew beer at night.’ And I thought: ‘Wow, that could be the best sentence I’ve ever heard. It’s a scam, and I want in on it.’” Within a few years, he was also getting paid to do it, including stints at Oklahoma brewpubs.

Now that you’ve returned from the bar, enjoy your Yellow Armadillo – it’s an American-style wheat, with 50% wheat and 50% barley, and Smittle promises it will be refreshing and citrusy. Or if you got the Thirsty Goat, expect an amber with “a spicy bitterness, but nothing too heavy.” And eventually, the more adventurous among you can try Bucket Head IPA, which should be out soon. “It’s a big-alcohol beer,” says Smittle. “It’s not a double IPA, but you can see it from there. It won’t quite pull the enamel off your teeth, but it will get you where you want to go. It’s not for everyone and doesn’t try to be.”