AUSTIN, Texas — The only brewery in one Central Texas town is becoming popular not for its beers. The pizza it's making is drawing the locals in because of one ingredient.
In the small town of Granger, there is no traffic, except when Peter Maurisak cooks his pies -- then the Granger City Brewery Company packs in the crowds on the weekends.
Maurisak's pizzas are made with a unique ingredient.
"This is spent grain. This is after you brew. This is what's left over," Maurisak says.
As in, the grains used to brew beer first. To be clear, there is no alcohol from the grains.
The recipe took months to perfect.
Maurisak's pizzas also contain beer wort, or the liquid produced from the brewing process.
"This doesn't have any alcohol in it either," Maurisak says.
Sunday morning, Maurisak whipped up a house favorite.
"I am making the Grumpy German," says the pizza maker.
The Grumpy German consists of sausage and sauerkraut toppings because Granger is made up of many Czech and German residents. The pizza was a request from the community.
After a few minutes at 495 degrees in the oven and a quick spin, it was done.
"We're small in a small town so that's why we name beers after people, so if someone has a suggestion I'll try it, and if it's popular, I'll put it on the menu," says Maurasik.
Of course the only brewery in Granger offers beers too -- nine different kinds so far.
The former IT specialist spent the past several years building his dream of a micro-brewery wasn't without sacrifice.
"We didn't have air conditioning the first three summers we were here," says Elle Maurasik.
Elle is Peter's wife of 31 years. That's three Texas summers without A/C. Both lived in the space during that time.
"We did it paycheck by paycheck; we just put our heart and soul into it."
The VA surgical nurse helps her husband on the weekends at the brewery, on top of her full-time job -- especially after the kitchen launched just a month ago. They hope the pizzas' success continue and the community's appetite increases.
Right now, the Granger City Brewing Co. is only open Friday through Sunday. It opens from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.