For many years, the building that occupied 26452 Sorters McClellan Rd in Porter, Texas was a very different type of establishment. Though today the brewery bustles with machinery and fills with the aromas of beer, this old church building used to house a congregation and fill with the sound of prayers.

Though church folk are known for following tradition, we beer guys aren’t so easily defined. We seek inspiration from sources strange and fantastic, and we passionately brew our beers with creative characters and daring twists.

We are the ones who do things differently, because it’s the only way we know. We are the misfits, the ones who don’t do things by the book, the ones who spurn convention, the ones who occupy the back pew. 

Back Pew Brewing makes its home in the hallowed halls of an old church building. But don’t let that fool you into thinking our brewery is conventional. 

Doing things by the book isn’t our approach. We chart our own course and venture into the beer-brewing unknown, whether or not it’s what everyone else is doing. We’re inspired by the unconventional, the strange, and the original. We aren’t afraid to brew boldly if that's what it takes to get the results we seek, because we don’t confine ourselves to one straight and narrow path. 

At our core, we're fueled by a passion to create damn good craft beer.

So, to the misfits, the rebels, the ones who forge their own paths to get where they need to be: join us in the back pew.

BOBBY HARL, PhD, MBA
Founder & Head of Brewing Operations

Bobby Harl has many passions, but beer runs in his blood. Now, this isn’t to say the Back Pew Brewmaster stumbles around with a BAC that could also be the Richter rating of a small earthquake…it just means crafting beers full of flavor and rich character is what he was meant to do.

While earning his PhD and MBA at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, Bobby also helped brewing mentor Steve Scoville and business mentor Michael Kwas start Little Harpeth Brewing Company. Although his schoolwork may not have done much to further his brewing skills, the mentorship and experience gained at Little Harpeth has helped Bobby learn the ins and outs of his craft.

Now, the prodigal son has returned home. Bobby grew up in Houston, and his vision is to bring the technical knowledge gained at Vanderbilt and the artistry practiced at Little Harpeth together to create Houston’s next legendary craft brewery.