Love and Drinking Games

Brewery named after famous character Old Gregg debuts in Austin suburb

Old Gregg is now open in Pflugerville.

Photo courtesy of Old Gregg Brewing Company

However far Austinites think they can stretch a comedy bit, they've got two rivals in Matt Luckie and Max Moreland. On November 22, the two beverage industry vets launched a new Pflugerville brewery called Old Gregg Brewing Company that makes plenty of references to the delirious 2005 Mighty Boosh skit, but is worth a visit even for those who don't get the joke.

The sketch, which follows a dilapidated Rocky Horror-esque water dweller, is famously lowbrow and chaotic. The new brewery, however, couldn't be more different in tone. The design at 1900 E. Howard Lane, Building H in Pflugerville is rustic but sleek, with no visual warning that someone may pose the memeified question, "You ever drunk Bailey's from a shoe?"

Old Gregg Brewing Company interior The inside looks nothing like the chaotic underwater world of Old Gregg.Photo courtesy of Old Gregg Brewing Company

Luckie and Moreland operate through FBR Management, which also runs Austin-area bars like Sign Bar, Midnight Cowboy, and Gibson Street Bar, among many others. The duo has been extra busy this month, having spent the day before Old Gregg's opening debuting a second location of the Johnny Cash-themed dive bar Mean Eyed Cat in Driftwood. For that one, they also had some help from Jed Thompson.

In this venture, the FBR Management duo is joined by head brewers and partners Matt Couch and Kirby Kirkconnell. Austinites may be familiar with Kirkconnell from his work as co-founder of Oasis Texas Brewing Company, the Lake Travis taproom famous for an amazing view.

Although the name Old Gregg Brewing is jokey, the brewery itself is real. It offers signature beers, plus its own hard seltzers, root beer, and Dr Pepper. There are also some cocktail options; notably a rotating menu for frozen drinks.

Old Gregg Brewing Company cocktails espresso There's more than just beer.Photo courtesy of Old Gregg Brewing Company

"Our experiences over the past years oblige us to share beers that encourage bringing people together from all walks of life," said Matt Couch in a press release.

There's more to brag about when it comes to food, which is covered by chef John Bates of Interstellar BBQ — one of the first-ever barbecue restaurants to receive a Michelin star this November. Bates is opening a new Chicago-inspired pizza concept called Deft Pies to live alongside his existing food truck Yellow Bell Tacos at Old Gregg. Customers can pick up their pies at a service window.

The release also points out that the space is located at the Howard Post adaptive-reuse development. It's managed by Topo, which also worked on popular East Austin complexes Canopy and Springdale General. Finally, it's designed by perhaps the most recognizable firm in Austin, Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.

The space was inspired by "vintage Texas barns," the release says, and a covered wraparound patio certainly brings back those old-fashioned cooling techniques. Beyond that, there are picnic tables and fire pits for more "flexible" seating.

Old Gregg Brewing Company exterior Old Gregg joins an unofficial network of other cousin bars with at least one connection between owners.Photo courtesy of Old Gregg Brewing Company

“We are thrilled to welcome Old Gregg to Howard Post,” said Topo founder and principal Daryl Kunik in the release. “Fun fact – Matt Luckie and I have been friends and partners since college and opened bars together like Oslo and Red Fez. There is a reason only one of us is still in the business. Matt and his team are excellent at what they do and will be a huge draw for Howard Post and the Pflugerville area.”

Old Gregg Brewing Company will be open Mondays through Thursday from 3-10 pm, Fridays from 3 pm to midnight, Saturdays from noon to midnight, and Sundays from noon to 10 pm.

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Movie Review

Gladiator II doesn't fight to distinguish its story from the original

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Paul Mescal in Gladiator II.

There are some films for which making a sequel is natural, and others where a follow-up is wholly unnecessary. Gladiator, which both made tons of money and was named Best Picture at the Oscars, told an impactful stand-alone story that ended with the protagonist dead and no real loose ends. And yet because there’s always more money to be made, here we are 24 years later with Gladiator II.

The lead character this time around is Lucius (Paul Mescal), a general in a North African army who becomes a prisoner of war when the Roman army led by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) bests him and his troops in battle. Taken back to Rome, he is put in the pool of captured men forced to fight at the Colosseum for the amusement of twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracella (Fred Hechinger).

Lucius is controlled by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), an ambitious schemer who bets liberally on his prized fighter and always has an eye to move up in the world. Meanwhile, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the sister of Emperor Commodus from the first film, is now married to Marcus Acacius and has a unique connection with Lucius that is fairly obvious from the get-go.

Directed once again by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa, the film commits a number of sins throughout its 150-minute running time, the most blatant of which is that, aside from a few embellishments, it essentially tells the same story as the first film. Lucius, like Maximus, is a deposed military leader who’s out for revenge on the person who killed his family. Instead of one obnoxious emperor, there are now two. And the only way for Lucius to earn his freedom is to fight his way out.

Stories told in the same world can echo each other and, if done well, overcome those similarities. But Gladiator II is shockingly boring for a purported sword-and-sandals epic. Scott and his team try to introduce new elements to the fights, like a gladiator riding a rhinoceros or a ship battle inside the Colosseum (with sharks!), but most of the sequences are inert with no propulsion to them.

The action fails because none of the relationships in the film amount to much. There are stand-out characters like Macrinus and the twin emperors, but instead of creating antipathy or strong feelings of triumph or defeat, the story just kind of happens without any sense of excitement or importance. Much of that issue lies at the feet of Lucius, who simply doesn’t inspire in the same way that Russell Crowe’s Maximus did.

Mescal is a fine actor who’s done good work in more intimate roles, but he’s not up to the task of being an action star, at least not in this film. Any bombast he shows with the character feels forced, and the story doesn’t give him enough opportunities to counteract that lack. Washington, however, fills up the screen with his charisma, and it’s during his scenes that the film comes closest to being rousing. Quinn and Hechinger are a lot of fun as the twin emperors, but in the end they feel like retreads of Joaquin Phoenix from the original.

Any sequel should have a purpose that sets it apart from what came before, but Scott, Scarpa, and the rest of their team fail in that respect in Gladiator II. It’s a mostly lifeless film that delivers scenes that would be exciting if they had any kind of good story to back them up.

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Gladiator II opened in theaters on November 22.

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