Ash & Ember closing brewery in Cedar Hill

Image credit: Ash & Ember Brewing.

Ash & Ember Brewing of Cedar Hill has announced it will permanently close on November 18.

Brian Krajcirovic and Timothy Martin launched Ash & Ember in June 2020, making it the first known brewing operation to exist in the city. The partners, who had been homebrewing together since 2013, opened Ash & Ember hoping to establish a small, family-friendly pub with a Cheers-like atmosphere. A sign reading "Cheers Cedar Hill" was even hung in the taproom.

Doors opened at Ash & Ember at the height of the pandemic, and the aftereffects of that event were cited as a contributing factor in the closure, according to a social media post.

"We started with a vision of bringing our passion for traditional and delicious craft beer to our community, and we achieved that goal. However, the pandemic wreaked havoc on small businesses and breweries everywhere, and we were no exception. Despite our best efforts to pivot and adapt, we faced ongoing challenges that hindered our operations and growth. Now, due to significant cost increases, we have no choice but to close."

Ash & Ember brings first brewery to Cedar Hill

All photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D.

Pandemic or not, the roster of North Texas breweries continues to grow, as evidenced by this weekend's opening of Ash & Ember Brewing in the City of Cedar Hill.

Located just off U.S. 67 at 226 Texas St., Ash & Ember is the first brewery in Cedar Hill. Its facility sits a fair distance away from other like businesses, with no other breweries existing within a 10-mile radius. This, according to co-founder Brian Krajcirovic, played a role in site selection as he and business partner, Timothy Martin, were deciding on where to establish the enterprise.

Now up and running, Ash & Ember occupies a 5000 square foot building. Currently, the company is utilizing about half of the space for its taproom and production areas, with the rest reserved for the possible addition of a lounge-like room in the future.

For production, Ash & Ember employs a five-barrel brewing system and four 10-barrel
fermenters. Beer names call attention to points of interest around the City of Cedar Hill.

As for the here and now, Ash & Ember's opening day offerings were Lumber Yard Lager, High Pointe Porter and Tower Red IPA. All were easy-drinking styles of moderate strength, and such characteristics will be the norm for most brews produced onsite. Bigger beers will occasionally appear, but the focus at Ash & Ember is on making what Krajcirovic refers to as "beers for the beer drinker."

In terms of the brewery's overall portfolio, Krajcirovic says recipes will rotate. At a minimum, though, patrons can expect Ash & Ember's tap wall to feature a light beer, something dark and an IPA on a typical day, with future selections to include a German-style hefeweizen and a Scottish wee heavy.

Once the pandemic passes, taproom hours will take place on Fridays at Ash & Ember, with tour packages set for Saturdays, and to-go only service available Tuesday through Thursday. Of course, for now it's to-go only all the time, so stay tuned to social media (Facebook, Instagram) for updates on operations at the area's newest brewery.