McKINNEY – Dennis Wehrmann may have one hedge against a broad economic slowdown: His business is beer.

Beer consumption can be resistant to the ups and downs in an economy, a crucial advantage for his Franconia Brewing Co., which opened in February.

"There are certain things in life people don't want to cut back," he said. "You can't take all the fun out of life. When you have to spend vacations at home, you at least want to drink some good beer."

As Mr. Wehrmann began filling his kegs, prices for ingredients soared. Bulk grain shot to 45 cents a pound from 19 cents in October. A pound of hops jumped from around $12 to $58 in the same period.

He had to quickly alter his business plan to cut costs, including scuttling a tasting room. Still, he said, he's pleased with the response to his brews, an orange-golden lager and a citrusy ale, now on tap at about a dozen North Texas restaurants and bars.

Named after the area in Bavaria that Mr. Wehrmann calls home, Franconia joins a small fraternity of independent breweries in the state, including a handful in North Texas. Though the state is ranked third in overall beer consumption, Texas is only middle of the pack in beer production, according to the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo.

Brock Wagner said when he first opened his Saint Arnold Brewing Co. in Houston in 1994, "Texas drinkers did not embrace craft beer on a large scale." Many of his contemporaries' breweries didn't make it, he said.

But about six years ago, the investment banker-turned-brewer began to notice that the average age of his customer was dropping.

"Instead of being about 30, they were in their mid-20s," he said. "Now we see people in their early 20s."

The growth of the foodie movement in the United States also has boosted the fortunes of craft beer, said Julia Herz, the association's craft beer program director. As the American palate has become more sophisticated, "we all want more flavor and diversity," she said.

Mr. Wehrmann approaches beer-making with a chef's dedication to detail.

"Hops is the spice to the beer," he explains, fingering the seedlike grain, "like salt and pepper to soup."

Mr. Wehrmann and his sole employee, Gavin Secchi, brew each batch themselves, starting by creating the mash out of barley and water, and choosing the hops. Lagers are fermented cold for up to seven days, while ales ferment more quickly in warmer temperatures, in two to three days. The McKinney brewery's 21 stainless steel vats can brew as many as 15,000 kegs annually.

Once the kegs are filled, they sit in cold storage – up to six weeks for lagers – to age. Each Wednesday, the men personally make beer deliveries. Mr. Wehrmann's wife, Joline, helps in the office when she can.

"It's pretty fun," Mr. Wehrmann said. "It's not really a job."

The industrial park where the 6,000-square-foot Franconia brewery is housed is nothing like the lush landscape of German beer country. There, about 350 small breweries are crowded into about 200 square miles.

Not a surprise, then, that beer has long run through the veins of Mr. Wehrmann's family. His great-grandfather began brewing in 1845, and it's his likeness that graces the brewery's icon. Mr. Wehrmann completed rigorous coursework and apprenticeships in Germany and now essentially has a doctorate in beer.

In fact, only Mr. Wehrmann's father, a detective with the German national police, has carved out a different professional path from the family. "He still drinks beer, though," Mr. Wehrmann said.

About five years ago, he and his U.S.-born wife decided they wanted to live in the United States. They didn't know where exactly, so they took two three-week vacations, traveling around the nation. In summer 2003, they came to North Texas – Mrs. Wehrmann spent part of her childhood here – and stopped at Two Rows restaurant in Addison.

A conversation with the brewer led to one with the owner, and by July 2003, Mr. Wehrmann was Two Rows' head brewer.

Once the Wehrmanns decided last year to open their own brewery, they applied for a $1 million loan for the $1.5 million project through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Despite a credit crunch hampering lenders, Mr. Wehrmann said he found the process surprisingly easy, even considering all of the paperwork.

"Maybe it was because the loan was for a brewery," he joked.

Despite the difficult economic environment right now, he hopes to add a German-style dark beer along with a seasonal brew in time for Oktoberfest. The delayed tasting room could be open by year-end. And someday, Mr. Wehrmann wants to build a bottling facility so Franconia can sell to retailers. He hopes to be profitable in about a year.

In the meantime, he's focusing on the basics: a quality product and solicitous customer service.

If a client runs out of beer, Mr. Wehrmann is only a call away and will make the delivery himself – no matter the hour. "How many distributors will do that?" he asked.

A majority of the 1,500 breweries in the U.S. are craft brewers. Here are the different types of breweries:

Brew pub: Produces 15,000 barrels a beer or less and sells 25 percent or more of what it makes on site.

Microbrewery: Produces 15,000 barrels or less but sells 75 percent of what it produces off site.

Regional craft brewery: Produces 15,000 to 2 million barrels. It must have independent ownership.

Large brewery: Produces more than 2 million barrels.

SOURCE: Brewers Association

Dennis Wehrmann aims to make his brewery as green as possible. Here are a few parts of his eco-friendly program:

Used mash is sold to a local dairy farmer to use as feed.

Recycled water is used to make the beer.

Recycled materials were used in constructing the brewery.

The upshot: His monthly energy bill is about $750.

SOURCE: Franconia Brewing Co.