The rumors have been circulating on Beeradvocate for a few days already, but Independence just sent out a formal press release anouncing that Justin Rizza, Indy head brewer since early Summer 2009, will be leaving to man the brewpub brewhouse at Flix.

This news come on the same day that Flix opens the doors and fires up the projectors for the public for the first time.

From the horse’s mouth:

Head Brewer Justin Rizza is handing over the reigns at Independence Brewing Co. to Michael Waters. Justin will head up brewing operations at a Round Rock brewpub, Flix, in mid-July.Since joining Independence Brewing in January 2009, Justin Rizza re-worked Stash IPA to its present form and developed Saison, Rood, Kill Shot Scotch Ale and a soon to be released Brewluminati beer. Justin was a key player in developing the Independence brew team, increasing production volume, and expanding the portfolio of beers.An avid homebrewer, Michael Waters joined Independence Brewing on the bottling line in October 2009. Working with Justin Rizza, Michael was able to master the techniques of brewing in a production brewery, and was promoted to Brewer in November 2010. Michael was the driving force behind the Brewluminati series, creating Gold Deluxe, Stoned Crow Imperial Porter, and Thinker’s Ale.Justin is excited to work in a brewpub environment in which he will have more time to experiment on a smaller scale. While Independence Brewing Co. will miss Justin deeply, they plan to move forward with the current brew crew with Michael Waters as Head Brewer, and continue to produce hand-crafted beer fresh in Austin for the people of Texas.

Congrats to both Justin and Michael. We look forward to the new beers each bring to our growing beer landscape (did I really just type that?)

I was sent this photo tonight.

Here is the accompanying explanation:

It was at the brewery. Feel free to retweet, no word yet on when it will hit the market

Looks like 750 ml in a capped bottle.

No other info. Maybe I’ll see if I can get something from Kevin or Nate tomorrow.

Worst case scenario, we’ll see it show up on the shelves soon-ish.

Win, win.