For years, Houston clubs and pubs tried to tap into the beer produced at Galveston Island Brewing but, according to founder and owner Mark Dell’Osso, “Galveston just drank it all.” Demand has always been high for their product, Dell’Osso says. “Our battle was figuring out how to increase supply to meet that demand. We needed more equipment to make more beer; and we needed more space to house the equipment.”

To those ends, Dell’Osso designed and constructed a 4,400-square-foot addition, located on the existing brewery property, with more space for equipment and a climate-controlled seating area.

The new construction is home to a 120-barrel fermenter (think two-story-high building) and the packaging and production systems. When not in use, it also serves as an event space with additional indoor seating for customers.

Since opening their doors in June of 2014, GIB has seen steady growth in market and sales. They’ve grown from a 500-barrel-producing brewery to an expected distribution of more than 6,000 barrels in 2022. A distribution deal with Del Papa in 2016 satisfied the Galveston coastal area (Beaumont, Galveston, Lake Jackson, Clear Lake). Last year, they partnered with Silver Eagle Distributors, one of the largest beer wholesalers in the country, to finally get its products to thirsty Houstonians.

In less than eight years, this BOI (brewed on island) beer has made its way to most restaurants and bars in the Galveston/Houston area, as well as HEB, Walmart, Randall’s, Specs and Total Wine, among others.

The key to their success? “We focused on doubling our core beers while expanding the specialty beers division. And a great team,” he says.

Head brewer Jason Stromberg joined the team early on. “Making alcohol is easy. Making great alcohol is a trick,” Dell’Osso says. “While I concentrated on growing the business, Jason concentrated on improving the quality of our product.”

Stromberg gives a lively tour every Saturday at 1 p.m. The tour is open to the public and rolls with a kid-in-a-candy-store vibe.

For those less familiar with the particulars of a pint, Stromberg breaks beer down to the basics.

There are four or five main components used in making beer, he says: grain (malted barley); hops (grown in many different varieties); yeast (responsible for fermentation); water and sometimes flavoring.

There are three basic types of beer, Stromberg explains: ales, lagers and sours.

All hale the ales as they are the most popular of beers. Your stouts, porters and IPAs are all ales.

There are lighter ales, sometimes referred to as pale or blonde, which are smooth, easy-to-drink beers with clean, crisp notes. Think light and refreshing, summertime, back-yard-barbeque refreshment. GIB’s Mardi Gras Blonde is a good example of a light ale.

Porter and stout ales are darker drinks with malty, roasted flavors and often contain natural hints of caramel or chocolate. GIB’s Pit Pat is a porter with chocolate and peanut butter notes.

Lagers are lighter in both looks and flavor, although you will find darker lagers as well, Stromberg says. Most of the time they are a drier, crisper style of beer.

Lagers use a different strain of yeast and take a longer time to age. GIB’s Badda Bing! is a popular lager that is currently sold in the tap room.

Sour beers are a “bit funky but fabulous,” Executive Administrator of Operations Charday VanOrstrand says. The mother culture for a sour beer can take years to develop. GIB’s sour culture has been barrel aging for more than a year and might take an additional year and a half to complete fermentation, Stromberg says.

“There is a niche drinker that really goes for a sour beer,” VanOrstrand says. “You know that thing your mouth does when you eat something sour? That thing that makes your mouth pucker? That’s what happens when you drink a sour beer,” she says.

“Our mother culture is doing her thing. She’ll be ready when she’s ready and will be worth every bit of the wait.” A family environment has grown from the relationship between Dell’Osso, Stromberg and VanOrstrand. All three are island residents with growing families of their own.

Dell’Osso is a fourth-generation Galvestonian. He and his wife Liesel come from a long line of Italian immigrants and business owners. His great-uncle owned a corner grocery store on 23rd Street in town.

Dell’Osso worked in the marine industry and dabbled in home brewing for a number of years. After medaling in several competitions, he made the leap to go pro. He wanted to keep his family on the island and decided that Galveston was ripe for a brewery.

“In the beginning, Jason and I made and delivered all the beer. We pieced together frankenbrews from used dairy equipment. We hustled, giving away tasters at every venue that would have us,” he says. “We worked as a family.”

That family environment extends to the atmosphere at the brewery. All 16 of the fermentation tanks are named for children or relatives of the brewery crew, save one that was named for a canine mascot Samson.

There’s a playground on premises for customers’ kids and pet-friendly, outdoor seating. The new event space, called “the cellar,” is open for public seating on weekends or when the space is not used for production.

There’s live music on the weekends in the summer and family-friendly events like bingo on Monday nights in the off-season.

New for spring is the fruited Tiki Wheat series, which is scheduled for release in early-spring. These craft beers are tap room favorites and will be canned and on grocery shelves soon. With notes of blackberry, guava, passion fruit and colada, these specialty beers aren’t your grandad’s PBR.

For those who want to eat, drink and make merry, fresh Maceo sandwiches are available for purchase, and local food trucks operate on premises year-round. Brown baggers are also welcome to stop by for lunch or dinner. Just make sure you raise a glass half full with the rest of the folks in the tap room when they call “cheers.”

At a Glance

What: Galveston Island Brewing
Where: 8423 Stewart Road in Galveston
Hours: 2-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 2-9 p.m. Friday; noon-9 p.m., Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday
Details: Covered and non-covered seating is available outside. Tap room and indoor seating is available during all hours of operation. Additional seating and event space is available in the climate-controlled cellar
Info: 409.740.7000, galvestonislandbrewing.com, info@galvestonislandbrewing.com

Tiki Wheat

This flagship brew has a rich wheat flavor combined with German Hallertau hops and a final dose of coriander makes for an extremely refreshing brew.

Citrus Mellow

An India Pale Ale that boasts citrus resin flavors from the extensive use of Citra hops.

Causeway Kolsch

A light, crisp German-style ale that bridges the gap from the mainland and immerses you in island time. Possible Photo caption for a tap room photo: ON TAP: A dozen hand-crafted beers are always available in the tap room of Galveston Island Brewing, 8423 Stewart Road. You can consume a pint on premises or have the beertender fill 32- or 64-ounce, reusable, glass containers called “growlers” to go. A variety of cans and 22-ounce specialty bottles, called “bombers,” also are available for carry out. Photo caption for photo with owner, brewer and manager: GALVESTON ISLAND BREW CREW: From left, Founder and Owner Mark Dell’Osso; Head Brewer Jason Stromberg; and Executive Administrator of Operations Charday VanOrstrand. (Photo and caption from Charday) Photo caption for Mardi gras beer photo: The countdown to Mardi Gras has begun. Toast to the season with GIB’s newest release. This blonde ale is a light and crisp beer made for day drinking.