St. Edward’s University hops back into rhythm with their first event of the spring semester, Hillhops. Over 44 local breweries gathered at the Munday Library and offered tastings of their unique craft beers and hosted panels, followed by a live performance by the Austin Polka Band.
This is the fifth year the St. Edward’s Archives organizes the free annual event to celebrate Texas’ rich history of craft beers in this one-of-a-kind program that allows Austinites to learn about the history and process behind each brewhouse. Attendees are introduced to the creators behind an industry that relies heavily on creativity and innovation to craft a beverage that brews people’s attention.
“One of our owners does all our artwork in-house so he designs all the labels, he’s an illustrator himself. We get to tell a little bit more of a story with the can art and it’s actually based on a couple album covers if you’ve heard of the band called Boris,” said Matt Pegolum, brewer at Oddwood Brewing.
St. Elmo Brewing Company aims to create a supportive community inside and outside of the brewing industry by collaborating with artists, coffee shops, and charity organizations. Their brewery, just a mile south of campus, recently celebrated its nine year anniversary and provides a space to enjoy their selection of brews, food and a beer garden.
The history of craft beer brewing in Texas runs deep and rich, with the first breweries appearing in the late 1800s and the recent rise in popularity in the 90s. (Enrique Rivas Carbajal / Hilltop Views)
“Instead of just having a beer for the sake of it, we wanted to have a good cause behind it. Reached out to them (Austin Pets Alive!) and said, We’re gonna make this beer. Can we send you guys a portion of the proceeds? They said yes, simple as that, ” said Nick Kibodeau, from St. Elmo’s outreach team. “In June, we have a thing that we do with one of the director performers in Austin called Louisiana Purchase. Also, I know we do one, we collaborate with Spokesman Coffee. That one is just like a fun thing that we do with each other, and that’s just fun to promote them as well as us.”
Another local brewhouse, Starbase Brewing is focused on creating recipes that are out of this world. They recently became the first brewery to grow and brew beer on the International Space Station back in August 2025. Starbase is local to Austin and works with NASA and SpaceX with the goal of becoming the world’s first brewery on Mars. Their history of working alongside NASA has led them to create exclusive flavours such as “Mission Control” along with NASA’s very own beer garden in Houston.
“People have been going from one continent to another and they’ve always brought beer with them, some type of wine, or whiskey. If we’re gonna be traveling through space, it makes sense that we continue the same process right?,” said Steve G. Hinojosa, Sales Manager at Starhouse Brewing.
Held since 2020, the HillHops beer archive creates a unique opportunity for beer lovers, or curious bar dwellers, to meet the brewers behind Austin’s vibrant nightlife and bar culture all in one room. With more and more breweries settling in the area, the growing number of attendees at the event over the years represents the rise in popularity of craft beer in Austin.