Austin Beer Guide - Winter 2019-20 & Best of 2019

AUSTIN BEER GUIDE

WINTER/BEST OF 2019-20

12/2/19 12:11 PM

ABG_Bestof19.indd 103

The brewery tour for both visitors and

LOCALS atxbeerbus.com Veteran Owned & Operated

IN TOWN – OUT OF TOWN – CROSSTOWN – ALL AROUND

Beer and Service Industry Discounts

abgtemplate.indd 1

Beer and Service Industry Discounts

11/11/19 11:48 AM

FROM THE EDITORS Eight months since our last publication was sure to buy us plenty of runway for this issue. Yes, there was Lager Jam in the middle, but after six years that’s old hat by now. We had big, grand plans. Hard-hitting features.

Antic-filled adventures. A return to GABF. But on June 15, everything changed.

Hours after the Beer-to-Go bill signing, a simple inter-ABG text, “Beer-to-Go Bike Crawl from ABW to LO on Sept. 1?” changed everything. Bike Pub Crawls are an integral part of Austin Beer Guide history, and the chance to ride from one of BTG’s biggest proponents to one of our oldest breweries selling goods to take home for the first time was too good to pass up. Little did we know what guiding nearly 60 enthusiasts across town with an unavoidable jaunt on U.S. 183 would do to us. It was so thrilling we turned it into a Beer and Loathing (p.34), but it became quite the distraction. By the time we had recovered and looked up, deadlines were fast approaching and our kids’ schools were closing/relocating.

Thankfully this is the Best Of issue and those are still here, and considering we’re not so great at putting content online, this might be the only place you’ll find them. There’s even a new category! Most of the other ABG pieces are here, too.

We took one of everyone’s favorite topics, breweries and kids, to some of your favorite brewers to get their take (p.10). Not a fan of families at breweries? Skip to the end of their take on another fun topic...dogs at breweries. A “Brewer’s Brain” vet makes a return after many years to talk about what keeps him excited about the industry, and it’s definitely not #beertwitter (p.14). We also recap Texas GABF medals, and while we weren’t there, we found a few friends to take our place in Denver (p.18). And to close it out, we cover Last Call with a friendly face at one of our locals (p.76). And of course, more breweries in the back.

When you thumb through all that, it makes this zine a pretty good value. We’ll get these out, take a breath and hit the ground running on that next issue. It’s going to be a show stopper, just wait. NOTHING is going to get in our way. (What’s that? Lager Jam: Craft Brewers Conference Edition in San Antonio in April?) –JS

Contents NEWS & BREWMORS .......................................02

GABF .......................................08 ASK A BREWER .......................................10

BREWER'S BRAIN .......................................14 FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS .......................................18

BEST OF 2019 .......................................23 BEER AND LOATHING .......................................34 TAPROOM SCHEDULE .......................................40

CENTRAL AUSTIN .......................................43 SOUTH AUSTIN .......................................51 NORTH AUSTIN .......................................57 GREATER AUSTIN .......................................63 OTHER CEN TX .......................................74 CIDER AND MEAD .......................................74

LAST rof ruot yrewe.......................................76 rb eCALL hT Aaron Chamberlain dna srotisiv htob Josh Spradling

PROOFREADERS ........Sofia Chamberlain and Sarah Spradling

Cover design: Brett Ziebarth

SLACOL

moc.subreebxta detarepO & denwO nareteV

P.23

DNUORA LLA – NWOTSSORC – NWOT FO TUO – NWOT NI

stnuocsiD yrtsudnI ecivreS dna reeB

ABG_Bestof19.indd 1

Beer and Service Industry Discounts

11:48 AM

12/2/19 12:07 PM

NEWS & BREWMORS

This is the News BEER-TO-GO

OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!

Last issue we were so unclear where Beerto-Go would end up...but they did it! It’s a little late (and a lot) to go over everything here. As you should, and probably know, you can now buy beer to take home from all breweries and pubs. And if you didn’t know, you will by the end of this issue. It’s the greatest thing since you were granted the right to buy a single pint instead of a glass & tokens (2013).

Quite a few breweries moved from the “watch list” to a listing in the back of the guide since we last printed.

Central District Brewing, a convention attendee’s dream, was open as a bar last issue. But, they’ve since started brewing their own beer and won a GABF medal. Thanks CDB for making it easier to meet up with our college roommate we haven’t spoken with in 10 years and is in town for a conference.

Down south and just the other side of 71 from the St. Elmo drinking district, Nomadic Beerworks opened up in late spring. Wander into their comfy taproom for beer, coffee and food from Kimchi Jon’s. One of those Fitzhugh breweries in planning is ready for you. 12 Fox Beer

. . . TURN PAGE, MORE NEWS!—>

Brewmors

(brew·mor [broo-mer] 1. a beer related story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts. 2. brewing gossip; hearsay. 3. Original #fakenews)

●

Everyone’s favorite Uncle, Billy, becomes a full-fledged alcoholic, moving from beer to hard liquor. He loses his house in the city, but has found a nice plot of land out west.

Flying Man puts turn-key brewery on the market after the embarrassment of realizing their mistake in not naming the brewery Pflying Man Brewing Co.

●

●

● ●

After moving brewing operations to Georgetown (Rentsch Brewery), Strange Land’s brewers lose a collective 100 pounds thanks to dearth of neverending Hat Creek burgers and fries.

ABG_Bestof19.indd 2

PBR donates $9,999.99 to Central Texas Food Bank in Austin Beerworks' name after PBR denies ABW’s initial request to commission 99 paintings of unicorns wearing Pit Vipers.

Celis Brewery launches Chapter 11 Double Witbier, promising to “get us out of debt twice as fast.”

Following the success of their spontaneous fermentation project, Jester King build a farmhouse wave pool to serve as gigantic coolship in the winter and a fun family addition to their farm during the sweltering summer.

Photo: CraftPac

●

12/2/19 12:07 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

4/5/19 4:52 PM

NEWS CONTINUED . . .

12 FOX BEER CO.

ABG_Bestof19.indd 4

as of press time, being contract brewed offsite. Maybe by the time you read this, they'll have the system hooked up and manufacturing onsite. Former Jester King brewer Garrett Crowell released his first Yokefellow Beer, a pale hoppy ale called Billowing Clouds of Hallertau, in limited draft and cans just before ink hit this guide. In #notbeer news, Moontower Cidery has added to the east Airport drinking corridor opening up their tap room off Tillery, just by the Whataburger on MLK. You know the one.

ESTRANGED UNCLE Uncle Billy’s Brewery & Smokehouse closed their operation on Barton Springs in October after 13(ish) years to work on a new place in Dripping Springs that will forgo their brew for canned cocktails and spirits. The once award-winning brewery holds a place in our hearts for their rotating lineup of influential and budding brewers in the early-to-mid ‘00s. The prime location is slated to house a second Austin Eastciders tap room beginning sometime in 2020.

PFOR SALE Looking for a turn-key brewing operation in an Pflugerville? Flying Man, which is still brewing and open for business, put their full operation in the classifieds this fall. Maybe you’re just the lunatic Pflugerville is looking for.

12 Fox Photo: 12 Fox FB

Co. also started welcoming patrons just before summer hit. They’ve been on a small system with house beers moving quickly, but have had guest taps to fill in the spaces. They recently installed a 5 barrel system to replace the original 1 bbl, so expect more beer in the new year.

Go for the drinks, stay for the setting and castle playscape. Taking over the old Idle Vine space in north Pflugerville, Compadre Brewing started welcoming patrons in May. Slide in for a pint and grab a seat on a comfy couch. After some kickstarter headaches and limited early releases, Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches officially opened their brewery the first week of November. The 3.5 bbl brewhouse and “bug room” located across the parking lot has started with dry-hopped saison, hazy IPA, farmhouse table beer, Urwagwa banana ale and more to pair with their kolaches and new Micklethwait taco truck. Cedar Park’s newest brewery, Hedgehog Brewing, has been distributing for a little while but officially opened in early November, too.

The taproom is not open for visitors, but you can find a convenient list of where to find them around town on their website.

Two weeks too late to make it the Best Of poll for this year (we’ll catch ‘em in 2020), far east Cesar Chavez welcomed the massive Central Machine Works.

The former 1940s machine shop includes a large backyard with food served from both an inside kitchen and outside food truck. They started with guest beers, as well as three of their own that were,

12/2/19 12:07 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/22/19 10:18 PM

NEWS CONTINUED . . .

ON THE HORIZON

than to host you. Maybe if we’re all lucky by the time you get to reading this it will be in one of their taprooms.

Coffee roaster & shop/beer bar/event machine/Lager Jam host Spokesman announced a second location for Northies next to the Brewtorium in the soon-tobe-opened second Crux Climbing center.

Expect the same coffee, a little less beer and a lot more scrambles. Frontyard Brewing is moving from “feeling it out” stage to “full blown operation” with a new larger location which will be pumping

DH50

out more beers and offering a tap room for maximum lounging. Two former Breakside Brewery employees are leaving Portland, OR to open Meanwhile Brewing in Southeast Austin in (maybe) the spring. Expect plenty of outdoor space and games for family Sunday Funday. Beerburg Brewing off Fitzhugh is inching ever so close to opening, having received their approvals recently, along with Barking Armadillo in Georgetown, Hell or High Water in Liberty Hill, Old 290 Brewing in Johnson City, One Shot Distillery & Brewery in Dripping Springs, and Humble Pint in Leander.

WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART You might have had their beers or collabs at events, but we know what you really want is to drink at the source, and Hold Out and Hop Squad want nothing more

ABG_Bestof19.indd 6

ABW VS PBR = GOOD DEED After the second time of Pabst Blue Ribbon hi-jacking the idea of Austin Beerworks 2014 99-pack, ABW got even more “pissy” (their words) with their online displeasure. To settle the disagreement, PBR agreed to donate $9,999.99 the Central Texas Food Bank, proving that dumb and logistically terrible ideas keep giving.

LET’S GET PASTED Looking for another publication to guide/ validate your drinking choices? Paste recently named ABGB’s Industry, Jester King’s Atrial Rubicite and Live Oak’s Hefeweizen in their top 25 beers of the 2010s and Live Oak (#31), ABGB (#11) and Jester King (#5) in their top 50 American Breweries of the 2010s. We’ll drink to that.

Frontyard Photo: Frontyard FB

FRONTYARD BREWING

After some genealogical digging, Draught House/Horse celebrated its proper 50th year this fall. A lot has changed through the years, but walk into that (formerly men’s) bathroom and you’ll realize some things stay the same. Here’s to 50 more!

12/2/19 12:07 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

3/29/19 8:32 AM

GA 20 BF 19

TEXAS GABF MEDAL WINNERS

GOLD

Wit-Tington, Central District Brewing, American-Belgo-Style Ale Snap Yo' Baltics, Freetail Brewing Co., Baltic-Style Porter Princeps Pacis, Save The World Brewing Co., Belgian-Style Tripel Fresh Hop Green Battles, Pinthouse Pizza - Burnet, Fresh Hop Beer Roxanne, St. Elmo Brewing Co., Fruited American-Style Sour Ale Altstadt Kolsch, Altstadt Brewery, German-Style Koelsch Altstadt Lager, Altstadt Brewery, Munich-Style Helles Texas Lager, Community Beer Co., Session Beer

SILVER Golden Age Pilsner, Family Business Beer Co., German-Style Pilsener Honey Hole, SpindleTap Brewery, Honey Beer Real Heavy, Real Ale Brewing Co., Scotch Ale

BRONZE Sisters Quad, Bitter Sisters Brewing Co., Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale or Belgian-Style Quadrupel Galactic Minotaurt, True Vine Brewing Co., Contemporary Gose HefeWeizen, Live Oak Brewing Co., German-Style Wheat Ale Pumpkinator, Saint Arnold Brewing Co., Pumpkin/Squash Beer or Pumpkin Spice Beer Bourbon Legend, Great Heights Brewing Co., Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer

ABG_Bestof19.indd 8

12/2/19 12:07 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/22/19 10:20 PM

ASK A BREWER

Color and the Kids

IT'S NO SECRET WE'RE DADS. WE TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. TOO MUCH, PROBABLY. And obviously we like going to breweries. Why else would we be putting out these rags for the past nine years. So, it's nice to be able to visit breweries on the weekend with whole family and be welcomed without too much side eye. We're lucky in Austin, almost everywhere is kid friendly. I know some of you hate even the sight of a small human. To this, all we can say is sorry and we will try to make this as painless as possible.

Do you consider yourself a family-friendly brewery?

JOHN STECKER 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op Sure. Definitely during the day time.

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Yeah, somewhat selfishly. But we noticed a lot of young families showing up and asking for games and things to keep kids entertained so they could enjoy a beer without their kids constantly asking them to leave. We consider our environment to more of a meeting space and less of a bar.

KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse Definitely yes. Flix Brewhouse is catered for family dining experiences.

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing You betcha. We like families of dogs, families of humans and families of encyclopedias.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Yes, very much so.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. We do, mostly during the day.

Adult swim starts at like 8 PM, not on purpose but usually that’s how it goes. But we

ABG_Bestof19.indd 10

keep games and toys for the kiddos on site to keep them entertained.

kids are entertained and out from under people’s feet is a great idea.

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales Yes, we serve apple juice.

KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse I think they’re a fine source of entertainment because I’m always taking over-and-under bets to see how fast a kid is gonna eat it. In all seriousness, as long as they are safely constructed with considerations made for kids of all ages and abilities AND completely caged off in a Mad Max Thunder Dome type of situation because MASTER BLASTER RUNS BARTER TOWN!!

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. I guess so.

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing For sure, we see kids of all ages at Vista. We actually specialize in the 1st birthday party.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. Yes, but those families must be bachelor/bachelorette party friendly. Hard Seltzer for everyone!

How do you feel about playscapes/dedicated kid areas at breweries?

JOHN STECKER 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op High-five. Thank you ABW. WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks We can not stop young families with children from coming to breweries nor would we want to. The environment we are trying to promote in our taprooms is much different from a bar setting. So I think having a place where

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing I only have dog children but it seems like a great way to absolve yourself of parental responsibilities.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery I’ve transitioned from opposed to supportive.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. Why do kids always get the good stuff? Why aren’t there more playscapes for adults?

It’s an injustice that really needs addressing..

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales They’re fine. It’s better for the other patrons than having roaming gangs of children.

12/2/19 12:07 PM

abgtempla

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/21/13 12:04:18 AM

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. It’s good to concentrate your risk in one area.

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing Thumbs up. They provide a place for parents to relax while the kids play. Our treehouse is set far enough away that guests who don’t want to be around kids can find their own space.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. Meh. As long as the kids stay out of 6th street, it is a win.

Do you think things like board games, giant Connect Four, and cornhole add to a family vibe at a brewery? Or are those things just to attract millennials with short attention spans?

JOHN STECKER 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op OK, Boomer.

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Yes. KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse Blah blah blah huh wHuT.....I’m Sorry what was the question? I was checking my Instagram account for likes because I literally just posted a pic of my lunch.... oooooh pretty bird shiny thing!! (grabbing at the air maniacally.) But yes, I am glad that breweries and brew pubs have gone the extra miles to make their environments more kid/family friendly with games these days because the bars my mom would drag me into as a kid were pretty boring. I didn’t have any games to play other than seeing how many times

ABG_Bestof19.indd 12

the local drunk was gonna fall down that day.

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing Big board game fan here. It helps to prevent that forthcoming horn that is supposed to be growing from the top of the spinal column due to iPhone posture.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Table games = fun and familial. Giant games = tacky and distracting.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. It’s proven that to attract millennials you need to get a bunch of screens showing models walking runways with hip techno music. If connect four is too giant, kids can’t reach that high and that’s discrimination.

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales Cornhole and board games, absolutely. “Giant” versions of games degrade the moral fabric of our society.

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. Cornhole? You mean the stand-on-top-of-the-woodthing-and-throw-rocks-inthe-hole game?

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing Games definitely add a family vibe for us…we see all ages playing the games at Vista.

I’ve stopped buying popular games like Cards Against Humanity as they tend to walk away.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. I see more millennials and Tinder dates playing those games than actual children.

If you have children, do you ever bring them to other breweries?

JOHN STECKER 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op Yes. She has to learn the trade somehow.

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Yes, and no they are animals!

KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse Well DUH. Who do you think is driving us home!?

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing What’s with all the questions about children? Geez.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Bringing the kids along is usually the only way I get to visit a brewery.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. Only the breweries that love a two month old screaming infant. So ya, like all of them.

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. Yes. I need to do my part to make sure everyone’s bartenders are uncomfortable.

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing For sure, our twins’ first words were “beer.” Pinthouse South and Family Business are a few of their favorites.

J 4 K t

W A If m a a r

K F O k W k li b k te b p 5 s g w p o k s b I

J H E a

J J T o

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. N/A, but in an alternate universe, yes.

M L In s a n o

What’s one tip you would give parents bringing kids to your brewery?

T O K lo

12/2/19 12:07 PM

e

o

JOHN STECKER 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op Keep their g*dd*mn shoes on their f*cking feet. Seriously.

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks If your kids act like assholes make them pay the tab. Also, a kid area is not a baby sitter a level of attention is still required.

KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse One beer minimum for the kid. Wait, people don’t do that?

Whoops my bad. Anyway, keep them on a short leash like the dogs. Ok ok, not really but REALLY. I see too many kids running around unattended and unsupervised and breweries are very dangerous places. I have witnessed a 5 year old run past barriers set up to keep people out and get seriously hurt by playing with the equipment and the parent was not paying a lick of attention until he heard his kid screaming in pain. I’ve seen better behaved dogs at breweries and brew pubs that I do see behaved kids.

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing Enjoy yourself and don’t be an asshole.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Tell them to keep their shoes on.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. Invest in one of those human sized hamster balls. Inflatable preferred cause you need to think of safety obviously.

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales Keep an eye on them, for the love of god.

ABG_Bestof19.indd 13

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. Try to hit every spot at the Yard! You can now order an Uber with a carseat.

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing Cactus is not a toy.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. That’s a close one. I’ve seen more dog “accidents” than kids’, but that’s more of a function of the owner. I feel dogs are cuter though, so kids is my final answer.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. Make sure it’s naptime.

Who is your favorite Austin Beer Guide family?

Worse at a brewery: kids or dogs?

JOHN STECKER 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op Neck-beards.

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Depends on how bitey.

KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse Yes. JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing Kids with dogs.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery Kids haven’t bitten anyone yet to my knowledge.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. As long as they are on leashes, both are fine.

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales Dogs, there I said it.

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. The combination of the two: puppies. So awful.

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing Tough call. We see a LOT of both two-legged and fourlegged children…

WILL GOLDEN Austin Beerworks Accepting bribes! Venmo and cash only.

KIKI WHATLEY Flix Brewhouse All of ya all, silly!

JOSH HARE Hops & Grain Brewing The furry Chamberlain child is my favorite.

JEFFREY STUFFINGS Jester King Brewery We love you both.

MATT COUCH Lazarus Brewing Co. You guys have families????

Damn, I thought some wisdom would come from that.

TAYLOR ZIEBARTH Oddwood Ales Jaaron Spramberlain.

BRYAN WINSLOW St. Elmo Brewing Co. Can we still count the Troutmans?

KAREN KILLOUGH Vista Brewing Another tough call. It’s a tie.

MARCO RODRIGUEZ Zilker Brewing Co. You guys have kids?!

12/2/19 12:07 PM

BREWER’S BRAIN

th o p o th y u tr w a d h o te h Y

From the Mind of Josh Hare

ABG_Bestof19.indd 14

very much looking forward to turning 15 and getting my learners permit, I wasn’t quite there yet so figured my Lincoln Middle School identification card would be suitable. Turns out it wasn’t.

Anyhoo, after a few hundred dollars in fines, an alcohol awareness class and 100 hours of community service, the whole ordeal was behind me. Abilene was an interesting place to grow up and being the child of a Church of Christ minister made

s th o th m d m v m h to s b I c c w s “ fr ta fo e s I’ o a m w Photos: Josh Hare

THE FIRST TIME I WAS ARRESTED WAS in the parking lot outside of a John Michael Montgomery concert. I was 14 years old.

My good buddy and I were in search of some booze and wandered out to the parking lot to see if some good spirited cowboys might be interested in hooking a few teenagers up with some of the good stuff. It didn’t take long for us to find just that individual and he made us an offer that was hard to pass up. He said that he had a couple of friends in the parking lot on the other side of the arena and if we’d take a case of beer over to them, we would in turn get a 6 pack for our troubles. Little did we know, the whole thing was a set up and that particular night the cops were intent on busting underage drinkers. This would also be my first run in with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission or TABC. Funny how life shakes out.

While I sat in the back seat of the cop car, slightly buzzed and holding my night’s winnings in the form of a crisp piece of paper reading Minor in Possession of Alcohol, the gravity of the situation began to set in. When the bright lights of the police cruiser first lit up the night sky and we heard those harrowing words “put your hands up” I initially wasn’t all that concerned. As a young 14-year-old you don’t really think about consequences. Or at least I didn’t. Even more entertaining looking back on it now was the exchange with the police officer when he walked up to me and asked for my ID. I promptly pulled out my wallet, like a good American, to show him my middle school ID card. Because, well, that was the only ID that I possessed. It was the summer after my 8th grade year and while I was

12/2/19 12:07 PM

o in w w

n 0 e n e e

Photos: Josh Hare

5 ’t n d

the whole “getting arrested as a 14-yearold” even more interesting. When my parents came to collect me from the back of the police cruiser the first question they asked was “why”. And like many young kids who get busted for drinking underage I answered, “I just wanted to try it”. Truth be told, my first interaction with beer had been 3 years prior in the alley behind my best friend’s house. His dad had a beer fridge in the garage that he kept stocked with Coors Banquet and one day after school we snagged a few for testing purposes. Needless to say, I still hold this man in extremely high regard.

You might call him an idol of mine.

Since as early as I can remember, telling stories has brought me a lot of joy. For those of you that have spent any amount of time with me, you’ve surely labored through listening to me draw a story out many more minutes than is necessary. I don’t know exactly what it is that attracts me to storytelling and I’m not sure that I’m very good at it but hot damn does it make me happy. Working in the beer industry has afforded me countless opportunities to tell stories and hopefully I’ve made some of your drinking experiences a bit better with my fables. Back in 2011 when I first opened Hops & Grain Brewing the concept of a tasting room as we know it currently was not allowed. Back then if we operated a tasting room, we did so by selling souvenir glasses and pouring free “samples”. Having moved to Austin, TX from Boulder, CO I was intent on having a tasting room as part of my business model for the simple fact that I wanted a place to engage directly with our customers. And stories were an integral part of that. And I’m proud to say that back then, we were one of the only tasting rooms in town with air conditioning. That was also a time when my daily commute to work was uphill, both ways, in the snow. What a time to be alive.

What I loved about those early days of operating our tasting room was the innocence of it all. Customers would wander into the tasting room and stare with wide eyes through the large viewing

ABG_Bestof19.indd 15

window that looked into the brewery.

They would sit across the bar, sample a few beers and almost always ask how the brewery was started. Now I’m not going to wax poetic about the good old days of craft beer because let’s be honest, 2011 was not that long ago and I firmly believe that we’re still living “high on the proverbial hog” for being able to do what we do for a living. We may not make a lot of money but the fulfillment in knowing that we get to produce something that people enjoy consuming is a pretty fulfilling reality. And for me at least, I enjoy the opportunity to dispense a story or two for additional consumption. Back in those days the keyboard commandos were smaller in number and quite a bit more constructive and #beertwitter wasn’t yet the ferocious beast that it is today. One might call it a simpler time.

Fast forward a few years to 2013 and the beer industry in Texas would witness some landmark legislation pass through the hallowed halls of our state capital.

This new bundle of bills would pave the way for the Texas beer industry as we know it today. One with proper tasting rooms and brewery models that thrive on direct to consumer sales. My eyes were also opened to the incredible power that a small group of businesses, and the lobbying groups that fight to preserve the status quo, have over the laws that govern the three-tier system in Texas.

The 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions would be evidence of the stronghold that those boomers have on the three-tier system. Generational wealth is a helluva drug. *I would love to continue with a word rage on my thoughts about the middle tier but due to a number of legal documents that bear my signature and on the advice of my attorney, I’ll politely move on.

The 2013 legislative session would see the passage of a package of bills that would, among many things, allow manufacturing breweries to sell a pint, flight, pitcher or swifty of beer directly to a customer in exchange for cold hard

12/2/19 2:38 PM

cash. Imagine that, a business could now charge money in exchange for the product that they produce. And they could do it at the place that they produce it no less. The free market gods had shown their mercy on our great state.

No longer would a beer drinker have to purchase a glass in order to enjoy a libation or three and no longer would a server of aforementioned libation have to explain the antiquated nature of the beer trade in our state. It also opened up the opportunity to sell beer through distribution for those with a brew pub license. To put it in more digestible terms, if it weren’t for the 2013 legislation, none of us would have the luxury of ordering a pint of Electric Jellyfish at literally every place in town that serves draft beer.

So the second time I was arrested was outside the house of a good friend of mine who was throwing a party after senior prom. I was 18 years old. I had a 24 pack of Coors Banquet in the back seat of my truck and my buddies and I were leaving the party to head out to a friend’s ranch just outside of town. I don’t know about your high school years but for me, growing up in Abilene often meant that we’d spend Saturday nights driving out to a plot of land just outside of town and sit on tail gates, drink beer and often times, setting something on fire. What about Friday nights you ask? Oh, Friday nights were for football games. Then we’d drive out to aforementioned plot of land, sit on tail gates and drink beer. And burn something. Anyway, apparently a neighbor had called the cops on my good friend’s house party and just as I was getting ready to drive away, a police car pulled up behind me, lights ablazin.

This time around I actually had a driver’s license to show him but the mood turned sour when his flashlight illuminated that beautiful golden case of goodness that sat in my backseat. The Coors was confiscated, and I received my second Minor in Possession ticket. At this point I was a seasoned professional and knew what to expect. And I was pleasantly

ABG_Bestof19.indd 16

surprised that the same instructor who taught the first alcohol awareness class that I took was still there for this second one. And she remembered my name. Some people would have decided to avoid beer for awhile after a second arrest. And most would have certainly pursued a career outside of the beer industry. But not me, dear reader. I was hooked.

I could go on forever about all of the many reasons why I’m such a fan of the beer industry. And I can tell you with certainty that it is not for the hype, the crispy boi’s, the hazies or the absolute monsters that troll #beertwitter. It’s about the people, the ones that you can actually talk to in person rather than through 240 characters. The cast and crew that exist in all of our beer stories.

They enrich our experiences and make brewing worth doing. My hope for beer has always been that it could be a solid supporting actor in all of our stories.

Never needing to be the central figure but rather the character that makes the story so much richer. I’ve always wanted for it to be ubiquitous. Beer has been a part of my life story since the first time I laid eyes on a garage refrigerator packed wall to wall with cans of Coors Banquet. And I think that my life story has been made richer for the impact that beer has had. I’ve loved beer since I was just a young Hare living in Abilene, TX. Back when it was still acceptable to use double spacing after a sentence and kids in school were still taught how to write in cursive. It was never the flavor that I longed for or the buzz that inevitably ensued. For me, it was then and still is about the communal aspect of it all. Having beers with old friends and toasting to a new friend, those are the experiences that I look forward to.

So let’s enjoy a beer together friends and toast to where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Josh Hare is Founder and CEO at Hops & Grain Brewing.

12/2/19 12:07 PM

abgtempl

ABG 2019.pdf

abgtemplate.indd 1

1

11/14/19

12:22 PM

11/14/19 12:31 PM

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS

Great American Beer Friends Earlier this year we were definitely planning to go back to GABF. We had not been in a couple years and we were looking to make our triumphant return to Fort Collins. Denver too, I guess. But you know how it is, shit got busy and before we knew it, we were out. One problem, we had already secured our press credentials. Instead of giving them up, we decided to pass them along to Brian and Raven from Austin Beerworks. In addition to some on the ground reporting (Instagram posts), they also supplied the following photos shot on Polaroid and disposable cameras. Looks like they had fun.

See you next year, maybe.

ABG_Bestof19.indd 18

12/2/19 12:07 PM

ABG_Bestof19.indd 19

12/2/19 12:07 PM

ABG_Bestof19.indd 20

12/2/19 12:07 PM

ABG_Bestof19.indd 21

12/2/19 12:07 PM

james, showgoer shortcut, $30

Now open in Westlake! 3736 Bee Cave Rd, 78746 • (512) 582–5100 • Walk in or call ahead Now open in Westlake! 3736 Bee Cave Rd, 78746 • (512) 582–5100 • Walk in or call11/11/19 ahead11:50 AM

abgtemplate.indd 1

d

d11:50 AM

WITHOUT REHASHING HISTORY TOO MUCH, THE BEER GUIDE HAS GONE THROUGH SOME changes since the last Best Of. Mainly, where there were four there are now two (Lubbock calls, you answer). Down to two editors whose growing real-life responsibilities increasingly interfere with the ability to get out and taste it all, we questioned if an Editors’ Choice should go on. Then we saw how many social shares and likes that one guy’s power rankings in the Austin Chronicle got and he’s got three kids! (Ed note: make content more shareable online.) But seriously, we just had to remember that at the end of the day this is our guide, our picks. This is, at its heart, a fanzine, and we never knew this many eyes would see it when we started. After a couple of years we added a category. We also, for the first time, did not award a category (best bottle shop) as it seems irrelevant with only one non-grocery/convenience/liquor store in this town + plentiful options on your Sunday grocery run. Don’t worry, we left it open for you readers’ and you did it justice in its final year. Use our picks as a guide, if you want. Or use the readers’ selections to steer your next adventure. Or just keep drinking/visiting/fanning out about what you like. We’re blessed with plenty of options in Austin and the surrounding area, so find your jam and be happy. And if you do disagree, please just be kind on Reddit. As you read through this year’s editors’ choices, you’ll notice it’s undeniable that this was the year of Beer-to-Go. It weaves its way through the categories, a victory for maker and consumer alike. Some of the readers’ picks also show the value of a strong email list/social campaign. Going through trying to make our/your selections gets harder every year. New breweries come on line. Younger breweries hit their stride. The old guard maintains its place in our hearts. It’s a welcome dilemma. Austin has some pretty outstanding beer, but at the core it’s the community that’s THE BEST. Congratulate yourself, you’re part of it.

Illustration by Chantel Stull

ABG_Bestof19.indd 23

23 12/2/19 12:07 PM

Editors’ Choice BEST BREWERY

REAL ALE BREWING CO.

Maybe you’re thinking, “these lager-lovers are just giving them this award because they released that Fireman’s Light,” because you know 1) it is actually a lager and 2) #lagerjam. Not true. Though it does go down well on a 107 degree September day. It’s because while they could sit back and just let the Fireman’s 4 taps + a little Axis, Devil’s Backbone and seasonals take care of things, they keep pushing, having fun, and rarely (if ever) failing. This year saw the yearround release of 2018 Eds’ pick Best New Beer Swifty in cans, the tasty WALLBALL IPL and surprising pool-companion Skullberry IPA, and a somewhat quiet re-release of Blackr. Their pilot system has also invigorated director of brewing operations Tim Schwartz and the crew with a flurry of limited releases including experiments with new techniques and styles, as well as connected them with old friends and welcomed young pups in for (weekly?) collaborations. Add to that an always killer anniversary party, perennial GABF winner Real Heavy, a fridge/camping/ garage/staple everyday beer and expanded beer garden, and we’re sticking with the old guys.

And yes, Real Ale is an “Austin” brewery, don’t @ me.

Editors’ Choice BEST BREW PUB

ODDWOOD ALES

Sometimes when we fall, we fall hard. Like most new places, Oddwood took a little while to get their brewing legs. Or we took a little bit of time to come around. Maybe it was a bit of both. Either way, it’s no secret we’ve been crushing on them the past 12 months. They’ve leaned into an impressive lager program with semi-regular Pool Dad, summer favorite Adelita, sleeper hit Yuki-Onna rice lager + more to accompany their always impressive hoppy carousel of new-school IPAs/pales (Wolf Shirt! Work-Life Balance!), as well as their origin story saisons and wild ales. It’s a cozy neighborhood pub that should be a destination for even those that have been pushed out to suburban sprawl. You’ll find it filled with (you guessed it) wood, reliably friendly bartenders, a killer playlist, foosball and free arcades/consoles to keep kids and reluctant adults occupied while throwing down your favorite “bar pizza” and fresh tap wall offering (which if you’re lucky, may be ready to go home in a four-pack in the to-go fridge).

Editors’ Choice BEST NEW BREWERY/BREW PUB

NOMADIC BEERWORKS

This was a tough category this year. There was no shortage of new breweries, but it was hard to find one that stood tall above the rest. In the end, Nomadic Beerworks took the top spot. They have everything you might look for: a comfy and fun taproom, outdoor patio(s) and a tasty source of food (Kimchi Jon’s). Oh yeah, they also make good beer. Their Peak Season juicy/hazy IPA was a fast fan-favorite when they opened and we can see why. They’ve slowly built up a diverse tap wall that includes a semi-regular Kolsch, as well as more hoppy ales, saisons, porters, sours and lagers, with a few hybrids and experiments thrown in. A proper brew pub lineup, if you will.

Add in their coffee service and there is a little bit of something for everyone.

READERS’ CHOICE BEST OF 2019 BEST BREWERY NOMADIC BEERWORKS BEST BREW PUB ABGB BEST NEW BREWERY/BREW PUB NOMADIC BEERWORKS

ABG_Bestof19.indd 24

BEST LIMITED/ SPECIAL/SEASONAL BEER VISTA STONEWALL BEST EVERYDAY BEER ST. ELMO CARL

BEST NEW BEER NOMADIC BEERWORKS PEAK SEASON

J

BEST OVERALL BEER PINTHOUSE PIZZA ELECTRIC JELLYFISH

J

12/2/19 12:07 PM

ot d e ot a o g/ s.

et io it ol s ut a e e

o y e s p s l.

S

BEST BEER + FOOD SPOT JESTER KING BREWERY BEST BREWERY TAPROOM JESTER KING BREWERY BEST EVENT TEXAS CRAFT BREWERS FESTIVAL

ABG_Bestof19.indd 25

BEST BEER BAR CRAFT PRIDE BEST BOTTLE SHOP WHICHCRAFT TAP ROOM & BEER STORE BEST SINGLE BEER PACKAGING/LABEL AUSTIN BEERWORKS LAZER SALAD

BEST NOT BREWERY FAIRWEATHER CIDER CO. BEST PERSONALITY/ ADVOCATE FREDY CISNEROS / @STRONGTEXASBEERD

12/2/19 12:07 PM

Editors’ Choice BEST EVERYDAY BEER

REAL ALE HANS' PILS

What can you say about Hans’ that hasn't been said before. It’s the beer your mind automatically goes to when someone at work asks you “what have you been drinking lately?” You don’t want to say Hans’ because you said it the last five times they've asked you. But it’s true. It just always ends up in the fridge. And then somehow, it’s gone and you find yourself buying another twelve pack.

We tell ourselves, “this is a fine example of a northern German pils.” But we don’t know. All we know is that it’s fucking tasty and we never want it to run out. It could be said there wouldn't be a Lager Jam if it were not for Hans’. That alone makes this worthy of the Best Everyday Beer Crown.

Editors’ Choice BEST NEW BEER

THIS WEEK’S NEW BEER

What’s a Beer Guide Best Of without an abstract winner? Yes, the guys who really elevated and romanticized flagships in the last issue (thanks Rob) are advocating for all the fresh new beers. Well, not all. Some are great. A lot are okay. A few aren’t good at all. Look, there are a lot of beers out there, and if we really took a moment we could probably think of one semi-regular new beer we have really been digging. But, the truth is There. Are. So. Many. New. Beers. You likely go into your local brewery/pub/bar and there is a less-than-week-old offering on the wall that’s an IPA with experimental hops, “sure, why not?” collaboration, small-batch seasonal or throwback the brewer was just really excited to make again. Yes, our trend-chasing, check-it-off-before-anyone-else culture is a little out of hand, but when you know the core beers are there to save you, explore the tap wall a little first. And thanks to beer-to-go you can take some home, because if it’s really that good, it may be gone next week (see also: ABW Black Fog).

Editors’ Choice BEST LIMITED/SPECIAL/SEASONAL BEER

AUSTIN BEERWORKS SPUTNIK

Maybe all that stuff we just said about new beers should have gone here for “special/limited”? Oh well, that’s already written and deadlines are approaching. Plus, we decided to really focus on that “seasonal” part of this big umbrella category. (Do seasonal releases even matter anymore? That’s probably an article-in-waiting we’ll never get to.) What is that beer we still look forward to its release each year? What feels most appropriate for the season because it didn’t release two months before the Texas climate got there? What are we bummed about when it’s gone, but know it’s really best for a moment in time? Sputnik, of course. With a release party that always kicks (Coffee! Donuts!

Ridiculous merch!), flavored variants you can now take home from the brewery and a perfectly balanced Russian Imperial Coffee Oatmeal Stout that’s smooth, rich and warming, there’s nothing better in your properly-branded ABW coffee mug at the in-laws over the holidays.

Editors’ Choice BEST OVERALL BEER

PINTHOUSE TRAINING BINES

Bines > Jellyfish. That’s an unused “best of the rest” for a couple of years now. It’s not just because we are contrarians, it’s also because it’s true. Maybe there is a little home field advantage seeing as Burnet, where Training Bines was conceived, is our PH local, but nowadays we are fortunate enough to have both at our disposal and it still wins. Even with a stacked board of fresh and new IPAs and rotating lagers, it’s (almost always) our first, last or only pick. While a little bit bigger than some of the other mainstay IPAs, it’s trio of Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic still offers a wonderful juiciness that rides the haze line without ever being too heavy. It’s everything we want in a new school IPA and we’re fortunate it’s in our backyard. In 2019, we’ve also been lucky it’s become an infinite brew, meaning if it’s not on, it’s not for long. The only thing it is lacking is its own merch line and can release. If an indecisive out-of-towner asks us what we get while waiting in line, it’s always “Bines.” Now we’re telling you.

26 ABG_Bestof19.indd 26

12/2/19 12:07 PM

y o s k. e a n.

l, ut e al s s a y

h at s e e st s!

-

e g e w r ul w n h s

29 ABG_Bestof19.indd 27

12/2/19 12:07 PM

Editors’ Choice BEST PERSONALITY/ADVOCATE

TEXAS CRAFT BREWERS GUILD

Beer-to-Go weighed heavy in this category from you, our dear readers. There were a lot of votes for Caroline Wallace (Deputy Director, Texas Craft Brewers Guild) and “as seen on TV” Adam DeBower (Guild’s Legislative Committee Chair + ABW), as well as a simple “Whoever got Beer-to-Go!”. We couldn't agree more, but placing the crown on just one personality didn’t feel right. TGBG staff, board and committee volunteers worked tirelessly to keep Texas from being the only state prohibiting to-go sales (at all brewery/pub levels), and even general Guild members pounded on legislators’ doors, delivered those BTG wrapped cans and filled the gallery in a show of support, regardless if their permitting already allowed them the privilege. It took eleventh hour heroics by a few representatives to get it through (search “Eric Puga” in the Austin Chronicle for the full saga), but they did it!

So for that, we say thank you to all Guild members, past and present, for never giving up.

Editors’ Choice BEST BEER + FOOD SPOT

ZILKER + SPICY BOYS

What could 2018’s Eds' Choice Best Taproom Zilker do to get any better? They continue to pump out delectable taproom-only IPAs of both the hazy and west coast variety (now canned and ready to go!), throw in more lagers to sustain the east 6th party crawlers and aging mom & dads alike, add to their urban brewery weekday hours (praise be), and support artist/the local community through events and partnerships. That’s plenty. But no, just after the turn of the year they welcomed a fried chicken trailer who brings in a little bit of fire their lot. And we’re suckers for it.

Spicy Boys, the offshoot of St. Elmo’s companion Soursop, builds on the original trailers Hot Gai sandwich and Sambal wings with full chicken meals, six more sauces and a flurry of sides + roti that all have you grabbing a second pint to wash it down faster than you ever did before (Zilker’s evil plot). It’s a pairing so nice it inspired the fast favorite Icy Boys rice lager. Now if this award could only convince them to bring back that special brunch chicken biscuit every weekend...

Editors’ Choice BEST BREWERY TAPROOM

SOUTHERN HEIGHTS BREWING CO.

Editors’ Choice 2017 Best New Brewery. Eds’ Choice 2018 Best Brewery. Where does Southern Heights go from here? Nowhere. They stay exactly where we love them the most… their taproom, where one of the two owners is still likely tending bar. We are impressed by a fancy brewery/taproom as much as anyone else, but there is a special place in our 2006 craft hearts for feeling like you are drinking IN THE MIDDLE of the goddamn brewery. They’ve got that more “pub-like” feel in the front but can really let the bachelor/bachelorette parties, kids and dogs (both always more than welcome) stretch their legs in the back (insert your mullet joke here), all while maintaining a comfortable and cohesive feel in the massive space. We also appreciate their half pint pours as we run the board to get the freshest Tahitian Dreamin’, It’s Probably Awesome, Dave’s Not Here and/or four other new IPAs, as well as seasonally-placed lagers and ales. Even while testing our endurance in the heat of the summer/chill of winter, there’s a good chance we’re posted up here on Thursday night, Friday afternoon, Saturday or (Super Sour) Sunday.

Editors’ Choice BEST BEER BAR

50 years in and still the best. For a few years we gave Draught House best beer bar, but eventually had to spread the love. But DH has always been our true love. Some changes have come over time. You can no longer drive through the front parking lot awkwardly blasting Sugar Ray, but we now have more outdoor seating. Sure we miss the chalkboard beer menus, but we’ve learned to live with the electronic projections. House beer went away for awhile, but it’s been back for a couple years ago and it’s better than ever. The pizza and nachos are long gone, but now there is a reliable “house” food trailer.

So grab your friends on a Thursday night for the best Dad Night (or Mom Night) you’ll ever experience.

28 ABG_Bestof19.indd 28

Guild Photo: Jason Youngblood

THE DRAUGHT HOUSE

12/2/19 12:07 PM

r r e f, s’ if t!

p y e, y t. ai ti s d

.

d n e s r. e.

Guild Photo: Jason Youngblood

n m, e el e g s e r e

ABG_Bestof19.indd 29

12/2/19 12:07 PM

Editors’ Choice BEST EVENT

BEER-TO-GO BILL SIGNING

Sure parties are cool, but have you ever hung out at a brewery at 10am where people were actually excited the governor was there? Years of fighting and a leg session with a last-minute comeback made this signing of the Beer-to-Go Bill (or House Bill 1545, for you nerds) a truly historic day. Yes, there are bigger issues out there in the world, but when you know the people who have been working tirelessly for this, there’s a true happiness that even a festival’s double hazy IPAs and barrelaged pastry stouts can’t bring. The Austin Beerworks taproom abounded with high-fives, big grins and (strategically product-placed) Pearl Snaps. We’re not sure if the real winners are the consumers who can get a Crowler of a tap-room exclusive and sixer for the night or the (manufacturing brewery) taproom servers who don’t have to explain to the 36th person that Saturday why they can’t get a beer-to-go. Plus, the event inspired Instagram-worthy over-the-top cooler “unchainings” and the now infamous ABG BEER-TO-GO BIKE PUB CRAWL!

Editors’ Choice BEST SINGLE BEER PACKAGING/LABEL Beer is fun, and Austin Beerworks never forgets it. When you learned Crowlers would be a reality thanks to beer-to-go, you assumed they would not use the “bold and clean” look of the core four and maybe lean towards a play on the seasonal designs. And in a 32oz can. Boy you/we were wrong. First, they offered five different sizes requiring two machines and a game of “stack and pack” for the bartenders. Second, they let the Helms crew loose on each one individually. From the 8oz Lil Slammer to the double pint Thicc A.F. Big Tex and everything in between (we’re still partial to 19.2 party-time Big Effer), they used every square inch to create an array of vibrant, animal/dino-tastic, slogan-filled vessels that will only see your trash can hours? days? (please don’t tell us weeks) later. Crowler on, Garth.

Editors’ Choice BEST NOT BREWERY

FAIRWEATHER CIDER CO.

“Stay in your lane!” If we’re going to finally add a new category this year, you’d think it would be 100% seltzer-based, right? This (maybe) long overdo category celebrates the few times we’re not slugging beers, and we’ve got a backlog of favorites. But, if we’re looking at 2019, we can’t go any further than the beverage boys and girls at Fairweather. It’s probably because they make us feel comfortable stretching our “not brewery” legs with a beer-like party and experimental attitude.

A location, with a recently expanded taproom, in the middle of the north Austin brewery district doesn’t hurt either. We’re suckers for the illustrated artwork adorning their cans, will always get down with Pet Nat Fridays, won’t hesitate grabbing Smell the Van for the fridge, love the smallbatch hop experimentations at the cidery and are always excited to see what C&D collab they may cook up with their friends at St. Elmo. So next time you’re needing a change of pace, swing on through and tell them you are ready to get in the Porron Zone.

Signing Photo: Courtesy of the Office of Governor Greg Abbot

ABW SUITE OF CROWLERS

BEST BREW PUB CAESAR SALADS OF 2019 Aaron's 10 year old son, Santiago, fancies himself a connoisseur of the caesar salad. So, for his first assignment for ABG, we tasked him with choosing the best one from brew pubs around the city. He ranked them based on lettuce quality, crouton taste and texture, dressing coverage and flavor, and cheese impressions.

ABG_Bestof19.indd 30

Each aspect was scored on five point scale and an overall average score was awarded. These are his top five salads:

PINTHOUSE PIZZA - 4.5 ABGB - 3.75 The Brewer's Table - 3.75 NXNW - 3.75 Oddwood - 3.5

12/2/19 12:07 PM

y d t, o g sh.

e ot y el e. ct et y n

Signing Photo: Courtesy of the Office of Governor Greg Abbot

y k s, s g ’t d

9

p

ABG_Bestof19.indd 31

12/2/19 12:08 PM

Best of the Rest CARPETBAGGERS Hops & Grain

BEST PARKING Little Brother

R.I.P. David Berman

BEER BLOGGERS Beer Instagram Influencers

BEST PERSONALITY (HONORABLE MENTION) Dirty Mike

WHERE ARE THEY NOW Strange Land

FOLLOW US @austinbeerguide DBL CARBS Batch Kolaches & Brewery OK BOOMER Draught House CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP Pinthouse Openings BEST SXSW ACTIVATION Zilker FREE EVENT IDEA One hole disc golf tourney between Batch and Oddwood (Actually, no, we’re gonna run with this) AUSTIN’S OVER Lubbock

BIGGEST LETDOWN ABW Employee Insta Takeover BEST TREND Rice Lagers WORST TREND Semi-annual publishing BIGGEST SURPRISE Skullberry TOO MANY Oktoberfest Parties BIGGEST LOSS H-E-B Beer Twitter accounts FINALLY Live Oak Hef GABF medal

THE REAL BEST EVENT ABG Beer-to-Go Bike Crawl

GO FUND ME Pinthouse Special Can Releases

WHEN I'M ON MY BICYCLE I AM A SEAGULL Every Single Austin Street

ALBUM OF THE YEAR Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest

COMING SOON Lager Jam San Antonio

BEST RESURGENCE Black IPAs

STILL GOLD ABGB

BEST AGREEMENT ABW & PBR

OKRA Billy’s on Burnet

1940S COSPLAY Central Machine Works

WUT?/LOL @centraldistrictbrewing Insta

GO ON Italian Pilsners

BEST VOTERS Nomadic Fanatics

EXERCISE IN PATIENCE Tie: Hold Out and Hop Squad

LAGER FACTORY Skull Mechanix

BEST PRESS PASS Hot Luck

DO BETTER Vampire Weekend

BRING BACK Battle Axe

TOO BIG FOR JUSTIN BIEBER NOW Banger’s FOR THE REPUBLIC Craft Pride GOOD ASS BURGER Better Half SEVERELY UNDERRATED (512) Brewing’s Anniversary Party BEER GUIDE FUEL The Irishman BEST POOL BEER Pool Dad “GOTTA CLOSE MY TAB” “One more” DONE YET? Beer yoga NEVER FORGET Growlers BEST SPONSOR Yeti NOBODY CARES Bourbon County Stout THANK GOD Packaged-on dates FIRST UP Tahitian Dreamin' POPEYES? Spicy Boys BEST DOG River BEST CAT Marble

32 ABG_Bestof19.indd 32

12/2/19 12:08 PM

abgtemp

TAKE YOUR BEER FOR A WALK.

JOIN THE ST. ELMO OUTSIDERS A LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY BEER DRINKERS... WHO ALSO LIKE TO HIKE.

VISIT STELMOBREWING.COM AND SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER TO LEARN MORE!

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/14/19 12:50 PM

BEER & LOATHING

Beer-to-Go Bike Crawl JOSH TEXTED ME ON JUNE 15, I ASSUME when he was sitting in Austin Beerworks waiting for the Beer-to-Go bill signing, saying we should do a bike crawl on September 1 (the day the bill would go into effect) to celebrate.

He also knew we needed to act quickly to save the date before all the yahoos got in on the act.

"Let's make a Facebook event TODAY. Beer-to-go ride, September 1. ABW-ZilkerLO." I quickly responded, "Let's do it. Bring a basket!"

Then we didn't think about it for a month or two. But the FB RSVP list for the event kept growing. We thought the length of the ride would keep the numbers low. A 20-something mile ride is not too long, but for a pub crawl scenario, it's a beast. But the RSVPs kept piling up. As the ride drew closer, we realized we actually had to do it and thought maybe we

could get some sponsors in on the act.

Yeti was all in for our silly idea. They sent us some cooler backpacks (perfect for carrying massive amounts of beer-to-go) and some other swag. Adding a Yeti backpack giveaway was just more fuel for the RSVP fire. A few days out from the ride we were sitting at over a hundred "goings' and over 700 "interested."

This was far more than we ever got for any of our parties, much less a bike ride. And the forecast was pushing 100 and sunny. Luckily we had Wiley of Team Super Awesome fame step up to help us drive the heard. With Bicycle Sport Shop coming on as a mid-ride pitstop, we had a legit bike crawl set to go.

September 1 came and it felt like every cyclist in town made their way to Austin Beerworks around 10am set to roll. After a couple Peacemakers and handing out bike crawl passports (thanks, ABG kids), we threw some

ADAM ANNOUNCING THE BEGINNING OF BEER-TO-GO

ABG_Bestof19.indd 34

12/2/19 12:08 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/19 12:52 PM

Post-Pro Pils in our Yetis and put the wheels down and headed for Zilker.

But first we made a quick pit stop at Bicycle Sport Shop on Guadalupe, or as we call it, the old Ozone. They were nice enough to allow us to barge their restrooms and water fountains.

A few in our group needed some quick TLC from their mechanic. After about 15 minutes we were back on the road. We zipped down Guadalupe, over to the east side on Dean Keaton, and down to 6th street via Chicon Street.

We were welcomed to Zilker Brewing with cool down zones ready to go provided by Yeti and Rambler. It was a mellow (but increasingly warmer) ride down to Zilker, but that does not

mean we did not use the excuse of "working out" to chow down on some Spicy Boys chicken. Any excuse for that is a good one. I can't recall what we had to drink at Zilker, let's just say it was Heavenly Daze. Whatever we had, it was... heavenly. Our minds were preoccupied temps were rising and our most daunting task was ahead.

After we left Zilker, more to-go cans in tow, we were onto the most dangerous leg of the journey. If you've driven to the airport or Live Oak in the last six months, you know what a mess that particular stretch of 183 is.

At the time of the crawl there were no shoulders, nor sidewalks to get you from Montop-

ZILKER BREWING

DR. WALLACE #1 BEER-TO-GO FAN

ABG_Bestof19.indd 36

12/2/19 12:08 PM

abgtempla

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/26/19 5:13 PM

olis Drive to Thompson Lane. That means for half a mile you had to ride on 183...with traffic. Luckily we would be riding on a Sunday and we figured traffic would be light.

Plus, we would be riding as a large group, allowing us to take a full lane, only annoying drivers for a minute or two. Still, we wanted to make sure it was feasible, so a week before the ride, Josh and I took a test run.

It was successful, pretty much. Enough so that we were confident to keep the ride a go, with minor reservations. Josh might've had a panic attack the night before, racked with anxiety. I texted him "it's fine" and looked at my wife and said "hopefully."

Back to the ride. We were on our way

YETI WINNER

to Live Oak. It was nice and easy until after we crossed Montopolis Bridge. As we were gathering up on the west side of Montopolis Drive to take 183 as a group we had a rider wipe out. Luckily, they were fine and everyone made it in one piece. Once it was relatively clear, Sarah, Josh's wife, who was waiting for us, blocked traffic with Josh’s truck and we all made it onto Montopolis to wait for the light at 183. Once the light turned green, the group of about 50 strong hauled butt onto 183, quickly taking the left lane over. We zoomed down 183 as quickly as our 2 (3, 4, for a few 5) beers-in legs could spin. It was a bit of a blur, but we all made it and high fives and cheering were had at the Thompson Lane traffic light. From then on it was smooth sailing. Josh was finally able to breath easy.

Everyone was in a celebratory mood when we arrived at Live Oak. Berliner Weisses and Grodzs were chugged. Water too, of course, it had been hot the whole ride. We collected everyone's passports so we could choose the lucky winner of the Yeti cooler backpack and other swag. Once we were sure that we had all passports in hand, we mixed them up and started pulling names.

"Ok, that's it. Good luck getting home," we announced after getting a few blank stares. I think everyone wanted to keep going. A few brave souls got back on their bikes to head back towards the city. Our wives met us and we gladly loaded our bikes on their cars. I still think about those riders from time to time. I hope they made it.

WAITING TO MERGE ONTO 183

ABG_Bestof19.indd 38

12/2/19 12:08 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/18 10:01 AM

TA P RO O M S C H E D U L E

Brewing Co. (p.68)

Jester King Jester King Brewery (p.68) Brewery (p.68) Last Stand Last Stand Brewing Co. (p.69) Brewing Co. (p.69) Live Oak Live Co. Oak(p.47) Brewing Brewing Co. (p.47) Nomadic Nomadic Beerworks (p.52) Beerworks (p.52) Oasis, TX Oasis,Co. TX(p.69) Brewing Brewing Co. (p.69) Oskar Blues Oskar Blues Brewery (p.61) Brewery (p.61) Real Ale Real Co. Ale(p.69) Brewing Brewing Co. (p.69) Rentsch Rentsch Brewery (p.70) Brewery (p.70) Ruggedman Ruggedman Brewing Co. (p.74) Brewing Co. (p.70) San Gabriel River San Gabriel(p.68) River Brewery Brewery (p.68) Skull Mechanix Skull Mechanix Brewing (p.55) BrewingHeights (p.55) Southern Southern Heights Brewing Co. (p.48) Brewing Co. (p.48) St. Elmo St. Elmo Brewing Co. (p.55) Brewing (p.55) StrangeCo. Land Strange Land Brewery (p.70) Brewery (p.70) Suds Monkey Suds Monkey Brewing Co. (p.71) Brewing (p.71) TexasCo. Beer Texas Beer Co. (p.71) Co. (p.71)X Twisted Twisted Brewing Co. X (p.71) Brewing Co. (p.71) Two Wheel Two Wheel Brewing Co. (p.74) Brewing Co. (p.74) Whitestone Whitestone Brewery (p.72) Brewery Zilker(p.72) Brewing Co. (p.48) Zilker Brewing Co. (p.48)

12–9pm 12–9pm

Closed Closed Closed Closed

12–9pm 12–9pm

Closed Closed Closed Closed

12–9pm 12–9pm

Closed Closed Closed Closed

4–7pm 4–7pm 12–9pm 12–9pm

4–9pm 4–9pm

12–7pm 12–7pm 12–10pm 12–10pm

4–10pm 4–10pm

12–7pm 12–7pm 12–10pm 12–10pm

12–10pm 12–10pm

12–7pm 12–7pm 12–9pm 12–9pm

12–9pm 12–9pm

12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12–10pm Closed 12–6pm 12–6pm 11am–8pm 11am–8pm 12–5pm Closed 12–6pm 12–6pm 11am–8pm 11am–8pm 12–5pm Closed 4–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–8pm Closed 4–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–8pm Closed Closed Closed 1–9pm 2–6pm 4–9pm Closed Closed Closed 1–9pm 2–6pm 4–9pm Closed 5–8pm 1–6pm 12–8pm Closed 4–8pm Closed 5–8pm 1–6pm 12–8pm Closed 4–8pm 3–11pm 3–11pm 3–11pm 1145am–12am 1145am–12am 1145am–10pm 3–11pm 3–11pm 3–11pm 1145am–12am 1145am–12am 1145am–10pm 4–10pm 4–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 12–7pm Closed 4–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 12–7pm 4–10pm Closed 12–11pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12pm–12am 11am–12am 12–10pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12–11pm 12pm–12am 11am–12am 12–10pm Closed 4–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–8pm Closed 4–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–8pm Closed 3–9pm 12–9pm 12–6pm 4–9pm 4–9pm Closed 3–9pm 12–9pm 12–6pm 4–9pm 4–9pm 2–8pm 4–10pm 11am–11pm 11am–11pm 4–10pm 4–10pm 2–8pm 4–10pm 11am–11pm 11am–11pm 4–10pm 4–10pm Closed Closed 11am–9pm 11am–9pm 11am–9pm 12–8pm Closed Closed 11am–9pm 11am–9pm 11am–9pm 12–8pm 4–9pm 4–9pm 4–9pm 4–10pm 12–8pm 12–10pm 4–9pm 4–9pm 4–9pm 4–10pm 12–8pm 12–10pm 2–9pm 2–10pm 2–10pm 12pm–12am 12pm–12am 12–9pm 2–9pm 2–10pm 2–10pm 12pm–12am 12pm–12am 12–9pm 11am–12am 11am–12am 11am–12am 11am–12am 12pm–12am 12–8pm 11am–12am 11am–12am 11am–12am 11am–12am 12pm–12am 12–8pm

930am–8pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 730am–10pm 930am–10pm 930am–10pm 930am–8pm 730am–10pm Closed Closed

3–10pm 3–10pm Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed

3–11pm 3–11pm Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed Closed

2–9pm 2–9pm Closed Closed

12/2/19 12:08 PM

ABG_Bestof19.indd 40

B E E

E

BY NOW WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THE FACT THAT BREWERY TAPROOMS ARE THE NEW BARS (NOW EVEN BETTER WITH BEER TO-GO). EVEN MORE HAVE OPENED SINCE LAST ISSUE. AND OTHERS HAVE EXTENDED HOURS. PLAN ACCORDINGLY. THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST. IT'S MERELY A ... GUIDE. 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op (p.58) (512) Brewing Co. (p.52) Acopon Brewing Co. (p.64) Adelbert’s Brewery (p.58) Austin Beerworks (p.58) Bluebonnet Beer Co. (p.64) Blue Owl Brewing (p.44) Central District Brewing (p.44) Brewing Celis Celis Brewery (p.60) Brewery (p.60) Circle Circle Brewing Co. Co. (p.60) (p.60) Brewing Family Business Business Family Beer Co. Co. (p.66) (p.66) Beer Flying Man Man Flying Brewing Co. Co. (p.66) (p.66) Brewing Friends & & Allies Allies Friends Brewing (p.46) (p.46) Brewing Guadalupe Guadalupe Brewing Co. Co. (p.74) (p.74) Brewing Hi Sign Sign Hi Brewing (p.47) (p.47) Brewing Hitmaker Hitmaker Brewing Co. Co. (p.68) (p.68) Brewing Hops & & Grain Grain Hops Brewing (p.47) (p.47) Brewing Independence Independence Brewing Co. Co. (p.52) (p.52) Brewing Infamous Infamous Brewing Co. Co. (p.68) (p.68) Brewing

TUESDAY

4–8pm

Closed

12–8pm

Closed

1–10pm

12–8pm

12–4pm

12–7pm

12–6pm

Closed

SUNDAY

MONDAY

4–8pm Closed

2–8pm

4–10pm

SATURDAY

4–11pm Closed

2–8pm

5–10pm

FRIDAY

Closed

12–5pm 5–10pm

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

12–5pm Closed

Closed

Closed Closed Closed Closed

Closed

2–10pm 5–10pm

Closed

Closed Closed

3–10pm 3–10pm

Closed Closed Closed Closed

Closed

2–10pm 3–10pm

Closed

Closed Closed

3–10pm 3–10pm

Closed Closed

3–10pm

Closed

2–10pm 3–10pm

3–10pm

3–10pm 2–10pm 3–10pm 5–9pm 3–10pm 4–10pm 4–10pm 3–10pm 3–10pm 4–9pm 4–9pm

5–10pm 3–10pm

12–10pm 4–10pm 12–10pm 4–10pm 2pm–12am 12pm–12am 12pm–12am 2pm–12am 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm 12–10pm

12–8pm

12–8pm 12–10pm

12–8pm 12–8pm 12–9pm 12–9pm

12–6pm 12–10pm 11am–10pm 11am–9pm 12–7pm 12–7pm

12–10pm 12–10pm 11am–11pm 11am–11pm 12–10pm 12–10pm

11am–10pm 11am–10pm 11am–10pm 11am–10pm 11am–10pm 11am–10pm 11am–10pm Closed 5–9pm 5–9pm 3–9pm

4–8pm

Closed Closed

4pm–12am 12pm–12am 12pm–12am

Closed

3–10pm 3–10pm 4–9pm 4–9pm

Closed Closed Closed Closed

4–10pm 4–10pm 5–9pm 5–9pm

4–10pm 4–10pm 11am–9pm 11am–9pm

4–10pm 4–10pm 11am–9pm 11am–9pm

12–10pm 12–10pm 11am–9pm 11am–9pm

11am–7pm 11am–7pm 11am–7pm 11am–7pm

Closed 12–10pm Closed 2–10pm 12–8pm 2–10pm 12–10pm Closed 12–10pm Closed 2–10pm 12–8pm 2–10pm 12–10pm Closed Closed Closed 12–7pm 4–8pm 4–8pm 12–7pm Closed Closed Closed 12–7pm 4–8pm 4–8pm 12–7pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm 10am–10pm Closed Closed Closed Closed

12/2/19 12:08 PM

ABG_Bestof19.indd 41

B

1.

2.

3.

4.

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/25/19 9:15 PM

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Beer Wine Pizza Sandwiches & Arcades oddwoodales.com

10

11

3108 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78723

12

13

14

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 42

12/2/19 12:35 PM

RD .

BU RN ET

MEDICAL PKWY.

51 st

15

52 35

RB

LV D.

45 th

55 56 28

ST .

GU AD AL UP ES th

23

T.

51

41s t ST .

ST.

38 th S

12

W. 30

50

DU VA L

16

PY. / RT. 1

9

T.

N.

LA

MA

48

ST.

ST.

13 RIV ER

ST.

MO PAC EX

2

RED

N.

DEAN KEATON ST.

24 . 5

University of Texas

R MANO

RD

19th ST. / MLK

5

30

25 33

31 17 11 BARS & RESTAURANTS

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 43

15. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Triangle 4615 North Lamar Boulevard, #307 16. Back Lot Bar 606 Maiden Lane 17. Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden 79 Rainey Street 18. Jackalope 404 East 6th Street 19. Star Bar 600 West 6th Street 20. Gourmands 2316 Webberville Road 21. Latchkey 1308 East 6th Street 22. Yellow Jacket Social Club 1704 East 5th Street 23. Spider House 2908 Fruth Street 24. Thunderbird Coffee, Manor 2200 Manor Road 25. Violet Crown Social Club 1111 East 6th Street 26. The Grackle 1700 East 6th Street 27. The White Horse 500 Comal Street 28. B.D. Riley’s, Mueller 1905 Aldrich Street

7th

21

ST.

46

1. Better Half 406 Walsh Street 2. Crown and Anchor Pub 2911 San Jacinto Boulevard 3. Cuvee Coffee Bar 2000 East 6th Street 4. Waller Creek Pub House 603 Sabine Street 5. Haymaker 2310 Manor Road 6. School House Pub 2207 Manor Road 7. Little Woodrow’s 520 West 6th Street 8. The Liberty 1618 East 6th Street 9. Alamo Drafthouse, Mueller 1911 Aldrich Street 10. The Wheel 1902-B East MLK Boulevard 11. Little Brother 89 Rainey Street 12. Hopfields 3110 Guadalupe Street 13. Contigo 2027 Anchor Lane 14. Hi Hat Public House 2121 East 6th Street

6 58 44

ST.

53

27

47

29. Mort Subite 308 Congress Avenue 30. Easy Tiger Bake Shop and Beer Garden 709 East 6th Street 31. Craft Pride 61 Rainey Street 32. Salt & Time 1912 East 7th Street 33. Wright Bros.

Brew & Brew 500 San Marcos Street

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 34. Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches 3220 Manor Road 35. Draught House Pub & Brewery 4112 Medical Parkway 36. Oddwood Ales 3108 Manor Road 37. Hops & Grain Brewing 507 Calles Street 38. Live Oak Brewing Co. 1615 Crozier Lane

6th

ST.

57 41 32

ST.

8

26

20

E RD. ERVILL WEBB

42 3 37 2240 14 38 43 54 39

COM AL S T.

29

18 4

INTE RSTA TE 3

ST.

COL ORA DO S CON T. GRE SS A VE. SAN JACIN TO B LVD .

6th

WAL LER

T. DE S RAN

19 7

34 36

Texas Capitol DAL UPE LAV ST. ACA ST.

49

E. 19th

ST.

RIO G

1

12th

10 ST.

GUA

N. L

AM

AR BLV D.

15th

45

39. Blue Owl Brewing Co. 2400 East Cesar Chavez Street 40. Zilker Brewing Co. 1701 East Sixth Street 41. Friends & Allies Brewing 979 Springdale Road 42. Lazarus Brewing Co. 1902 East 6th Street 43. Hi Sign Brewing 1201 Bastrop Highway 44. Southern Heights Brewing Co. 6014 Techni Center Drive, Suite 2-101 45. Brewer’s Table 4715 East 5th Street 46. Central District Brewing 17 Red River Street 47. Central Machine Works 4715 East 5th Street

STORES 48. Central Market 4001 North Lamar Boulevard

CENTRAL

9 9:15 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 44

49. Whole Foods Market 525 North Lamar Boulevard 50. Antonelli’s Cheese Shop 4220 Duval Street 51. Twin Liquors, Hancock 1000 East 41st Street 52. Rosedale Market 1309 West 45th Street 53. Quickie Pickie 1208 East 11th Street 54. East 1st Grocery 1811 East Cesar Chavez Street 55. H-E-B, Mueller 1801 East 51st Street 56. Whichcraft 1900 Simond Avenue, Suite 200

OTHER 57. Austin Eastciders 4007 Commercial Center Drive, Suite 700 58. Moontower Cider Co. 1916 Tillery Street

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Batch Brewery 3220 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78723 Mon–Fri 7am–11pm, Sat 9am–11pm, Sun 9am–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.batchatx.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING B.Y.N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Table Beer Ferus Flower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale Ha Ha Saison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Blue Owl Brewing

2400 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702 Wed & Thu 3–10pm, Fri & Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.blueowlbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Hop Totum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sour IPA Little Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sour Session Wheat Spirit Animal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sour Pale Ale

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

You’ve had their kolaches, now you can enjoy their beer as well. The beers are brewed in their new brewery just across the parking lot. Lounge in the expansive backyard or chill in the comfy bar taproom.

Jeff Young, founding brewer at Black Star Co-op, and fellow Black Star-er Suzy Shaffer opened Blue Owl Brewing in 2015. Their sour-mashed creations are meant to be both approachable and affordable and are canned so they can please to please anyone, any day, any time, anywhere.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

B.Y.N., Ha Ha Saison

Little Boss, Hop Totum

The Brewer’s Table

Central District Brewing

4715 E. 5th St., Austin, TX 78702 Tue–Thu 4–10pm, Fri & Sat 12–11pm, Sun 11am–9pm

417 Red River St., Austin, TX 78701 Mon–Thu 2–10pm, Fri & Sat 11am–11pm, Sun 12–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thebrewerstable.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . www.centraldistrictbrewing.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

Fest Faced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vienna-Style Lager Gold Digger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Golden Ale Lawnmower King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rye Pilsner

Brillant Disguise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Fan Fare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison Wit-tington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Witbier

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Jake Maddux opened The Brewer’s Table in 2018 offering wood-focused fine fare and finer brew.

Enjoy your meal with a view of your future beer aging in the foeders.

We’re jealous of all the conference attendees that get to grab a fresh beer across the street from the convention center. Lucky for us, the brewery is open for all drinkers.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Fest Faced, Lawnmower King

Fan Fare, Wit-tington

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 44

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/19 12:31 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Central Machine Works 4824 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX 78702 Mon–Sun 11am–12am

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cmwbrewery.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING CMW Kolsch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale CMW Mosaic IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA CMW Pilsner . . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT From a 1940s-era machine shop to an Instagramworthy pub, Central Machine Works is the latest operation on east side to start slinging their wares.

Enjoy the expansive backyard, nibbling from the food menu or slugging some house beer.

WE RECOMMEND

Draught House

H

4112 Medical Pkwy., Austin, TX 78756 Mon–Thu 3pm–2am, Fri–Sun 1pm–2am

12 W

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yes (many) BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yes (growlers) BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.draughthouse.com

G B B B U

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

B

Hop Gold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Golden Ale Hop School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Northwestern Pale . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale

Su Sh W

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

B

An Austin institution, Draught House’s brewer and manager Josh Wilson heads up a varied program that includes old favorites, plus barrel-aged beers and the occasional lager. 50 years in Austin, you should go tonight.

Af P a Si do

WE RECOMMEND

W

Hop School, Northwestern Pale

Su

CMW Kolsch, CMW Pilsner

Friends & Allies Brewing

L B

979 Springdale Rd., Austin, TX 78702 Mon–Thu 3–10pm, Fri 2pm–12am, Sat 12pm–12am, Sun 12–8pm

19 M S

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.friendsandallies.beer

G B B B U

BEER SAMPLING

H

Fresh Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Springdale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .White Ale Urban Chicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison

4 P A

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

B

The crew, of Devon Ponds, Ben Sabin, and Nathan Crane, opened their brewery on Springdale, next door to Austin Eastciders, in early 2017.

L 1 to

WE RECOMMEND

W

Fresh Coast, Urban Chicken

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 46

4

DRAUGHT HOUSE

12/2/19 12:35 PM

) s ) o m

e A e

d

s

Hi Sign Brewing

1201 Bastrop Hwy, Austin, TX 78742 Wed & Thu 2–10pm, Fri & Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hisignbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Super Astronaut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Double IPA Shamus the Fiddler. . . . . . . . . .Irish-Style Red Ale Wooderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT After a previous life as a US Marine, Mark Phillippe turned his attention towards opening a brewery in Austin and opened the doors of Hi Sign in early 2017. Have fun, but make sure you don’t miss your flight.

WE RECOMMEND Super Astronaut, Wooderson

Hops & Grain Brewing 507 Calles St., Austin, TX 78702 Mon–Sun 10am–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yes (1) BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hopsandgrain.com

BEER SAMPLING Haze County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Double IPA River Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lager The One They Call Zoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pale Lager

BREWERY SNAPSHOT In 2011, Josh Hare opened Austin’s first east side brewery. They offer year-round and rotating beers canned for easy use during outdoor endeavors.

Their San Marcos location opened in 2019.

WE RECOMMEND Haze County, The One They Call Zoe

Lazarus Brewing Co.

Live Oak Brewing Co.

1902 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78702 Mon–Wed 730am–11pm, Thu & Fri 730am–12am, Sat 10am–12am, Sun 10am–10pm

1615 Crozier Ln., Austin, TX 78617 Sun–Thu 12–9pm, Fri & Sat 12–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lazarusbrewing.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING 40 Days & 40 Nights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Prodigal Pils . . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner Amandus . . . . . . Belgian-Style Strong Golden Ale

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.liveoakbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Big Bark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Lager Grodziskie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grodziskie Pilz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Czech-Style Pilsner

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

Lazarus Brewing opened in late 2016, with 16 taps of in-house beer, delicious tacos and tortas, and life-giving coffee.

An Austin staple since 1997, using old-world techniques mostly practiced throughout Germany and the Czech Republic, Live Oak is a “must visit.”

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

40 Days & 40 Nights, Prodigal Pils

Grodziskie, Pilz

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 47

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Oddwood Ales

3108 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78723 Tue–Thu 4–11pm, Fri 3pm–12am, Sat 2pm–12am, Sun 2–9pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.oddwoodales.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Adelita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mexican-Style Lager Her Black Wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schwarzbier Pure Moods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT The brothers Ziebarth (Taylor and Brett) founded Oddwood upon the“love of experimental brewing, oak barrels, and wild yeast.” Bonus: pizza and free video games.

WE RECOMMEND Her Black Wings, Pure Moods

Southern Heights Brewing Co. 6014 Techni Center Dr., Austin, TX 78721 Wed–Fri 4–10pm, Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–7pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . www.southernheightsbrewing.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING I Just Want a Pils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pilsner Samoan Joe’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Porter Tahitian Dream’in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT Tucked in a small pocket of east Austin, near 183, Southern Heights opened in 2017. They are focused on honing their takes on American craft beer styles, old and new .

WE RECOMMEND I Just Want a Pils, Tahitian Dream’in

Zilker Brewing Co. 1701 E. 6th St., Austin, TX 78702 Tue–Fri 11am–12am, Sat 12pm–12am, Sun 12–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.zilkerbeer.com

BEER SAMPLING Coffee Milk Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coffee Stout Heavenly Daze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Juicy IPA Marco IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT TCBF Photo: Jason Youngblood

Zilker Brewing was born of two brothers and their home brewing buddy out of a love of crisp, dynamic, drinkable beers. Pop into their urban brewery on East 6th for the latest and freshest, and look for Zilker on draft and in cans. Pair with chicken from those Spicy Boys.

WE RECOMMEND Coffee Milk Stout, Heavenly Daze

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 48

SOUTHERN HEIGHTS

12/2/19 12:35 PM

ADVERTORIAL

o s s s m

r r A

If you missed this year’s Texas Craft Brewers Festival, you sure done missed a good time. How many times do we have to tell you? It’s the best and biggest beer fest every year in the state (country?). And if you went and did not opt for the VIP session, then you missed out too. It gets better every year, it’s kind of hard to believe. Next year, be sure to also snag a ticket to the party the night before, Partners in Craft. It’s more intimate than the main fest and highlights the collaboration that helps make craft beer so special.

e t

TCBF Photo: Jason Youngblood

THANKS, Y’ALL. SEE YOU IN 2020!

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 49

C R O S S OA K G R O U P

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/11/19 11:49 AM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 52 CES

23 B

OLT ORF

S. 1 s

tS T.

15 25

26 BE N

RD .

8

12

24

AC A

RA

DA M

ST AS SN

28

WO OD WA RD S

6 W

HI TE

LN .

MA N

CH

17

ST.

35

13

9 11

ER STA TE

L

16

INT

S.

B

2

S. C ON GR ES SA VE .

5

AR AM

.

DR

27 D. LV

1

RIN GS R D.

10 3

4

ST.

T.

BL 14 V

D. /

71

/29 0

20 7 EY L

SOUTH

ART ON SP

AR C HAV EZ

E ID RS VE RI

C PA MO S.

./ PY EX

.1 RT

21

N.

ST. EL

MO RD .

19 18

22 29 BARS & RESTAURANTS 1. Zax Restaurant & Bar 312 Barton Springs Road 2. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, SOCO 1400 South Congress Avenue 3. Odd Duck 1201 South Lamar Boulevard 4. Black Sheep Lodge 2108 South Lamar Boulevard 5. Red’s Porch 3508 South Lamar Boulevard 6. Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden 121 Pickle Road 7. Spokesman 440 East Saint Elmo, Suite A-2 8. Stouthaus Coffee Pub 4715 South Lamar Boulevard 9. The Buzz Mill 1505 Town Creek Boulevard 10. Gibson Street Bar 1109 South Lamar Boulevard 11. Jackalope, South Shore 1523 Tinnin Ford Road 12. Radio Coffee & Beer 4204 Manchaca Road

11:49 AM

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 51

13. G & S Lounge 2420 South 1st Street

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 14. Nomadic Beerworks 3804 Woodbury Drive, Suite A 15. Pinthouse Pizza-South Lamar 4236 South Lamar Boulevard 16. Austin Beer Garden Brewing 1305 West Oltorf Street 17. (512) Brewing Co. 407 Radam Lane, F200 18. Independence Brewing Co. 3913 Todd Lane 19. Orf Brewing 4700 Burleson Road, Unit F 20. St. Elmo Brewing Co. 440 East Saint Elmo Road, Suite G-2 21. Skull Mechanix Brewing 1005 East Saint Elmo Road, Building 2 22. Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. 8201 South Congress Avenue

STORES 23. Thom’s Market 1418 Barton Springs Road 24. Central Market 4477 South Lamar Boulevard 25. Spec’s, Brodie Lane 4978 West Highway 290 26. Live Oak Market 4410 Manchaca Road 27. South Lamar Wine and Spirits 2418 South Lamar Boulevard 28. Whip In 1950 South IH-35 29. SoCo Homebrew 8201 South Congress Avenue

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

(512) Brewing Co. Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. 407 Radam Ln., Austin, TX 78745 Sat 12–4pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . No, samples only BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.512brewing.com

BEER SAMPLING (512) IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA (512) Pale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale (512) Pecan Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Porter

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

1305 W. Oltorf St., Austin, TX 78704 Tue–Thu 1130am–11pm, Fri 1130am–12am, Sat 12pm–12am, Sun 12–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.theabgb.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Hell Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Helles Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner Rocket 100. . . . . . . . . . . . . Pre-Prohibition Pilsner

Kevin Brand moved back to Austin in early 2008 and began brewing beer that summer. The initial lineup was the Wit, Pale, and IPA, but quickly added Pecan Porter. Currently (512)’s beers are only available on draft but they have some special releases in bottles, plus Pecan Porter on the way.

Award-winning brews (and pizza) in south Austin. It’s no wonder they were named Best Large Brewpub in America at GABF (3x!).

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Pecan Porter, IPA

Industry, Rocket 100

Independence Brewing Co.

Nomadic Beerworks

3913 Todd Ln., Austin, TX 78744 Wed–Fri 4–10pm, Sat 12–10pm, Sun 11am–7pm

3804 Woodbury Dr. Suite A, Austin, TX 78704 Mon–Fri 730am–10pm, Sat 930am–10pm, Sun 930am–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . www.independencebrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Austin Amber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amber Ale Power and Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Session IPA Red Bud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Berliner Weisse-Style

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.nomadicbeerworks.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Dolores Beach . . . . . . . . . American Wheat Ale Mongo Push. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPA Sunrise Getdown . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale

abgtemp

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Husband and wife Rob and Amy Cartwright started Independence in south Austin in 2004. They are currently celebrating their 15th year with a brand update and expansion to neighboring states.

Nestled south of the river and north of Ben White, Nomadic Beerworks, is slinging their fresh beers to St. Edwards’ students and the rest of us.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Power and Light, Red Bud

Dolores Beach, Mongo Push

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 52

12/2/19 12:35 PM

o.

o s s o m

- inspired by travel -

Brewed & served in South Austin

s r r

Brewery|Coffee Shop

Open seven days a week

3804 WOODBURY DR. AUSTIN, TEXAS 78704

o s s s m

e A e abgtemplate.indd 1

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 53

11/11/19 12:16 PM

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Orf Brewing Co. 4700 Burleson Rd., Unit F, Austin, TX 78744 Thu & Fri 4–8pm, Sat 12–5pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.orfbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Hoprocker I.R.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Red Ale Oocheenama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White Ale Salutation Ale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Golden Ale BREWERY SNAPSHOT Chris Orf’s Orf Brewing is now open for business.

We knew it would happen. We always believed.

Eleven years and 11 tshirts later, Orf Brewing is cooking up their unique hybrid styles in south Austin. Patience is a virtue kids!

WE RECOMMEND Hoprocker I.R.A., Salutation Ale

Pinthouse Pizza, South Lamar

S B

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinthousepizza.com

G B B B U

4236 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704 Sun–Wed 11am–11pm, Thu–Sat 11am–12am

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

H

Dated Luxury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale Fluttershy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison Handle Bier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale

C C D

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

B

The originators of Electric Jellyfish, PH continues pumping out distinct ales and lagers while dealing with their middle-child complex, following the opening of Pinthouse Round Rock this year.

S B in e t

WE RECOMMEND

W

Dated Luxury, Handle Bier

C

& fundraiser for

Tickets on sale now!

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 54

4 T S

12/2/19 12:35 PM

s s s s m

e n e

g

St. Elmo Brewing Co.

440 E. Saint Elmo Rd., Austin, TX 78745 Tue–Thu 12–11pm, Fri 12pm–12am, Sat 11am–12am, Sun 12–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.stelmobrewing.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Carl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale Chico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pale Ale Dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pilsner

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Skull Mechanix Brewing Co. 1005 E. Saint Elmo Road, Building 2, Austin, TX 78745 Mon–Thu 3–11pm, Fri & Sat 1145am–12am, Sun 1145am–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.skullmechanix.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Demon Crusher . . . . . . . . . . . . .Czech-Style Lager Horimana Dry . . . . . . . Japanese-Style Rice Lager Wahrsager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

St. Elmo was birthed from the loins of ex-Austin Beerworkers Bryan Winslow and Tim Bullock in late 2016 and was an immediate hit in an emerging south Austin brew district. Don’t miss the tasty grub from Soursop.

Opened in 2018, Skull Mechanix is helping further develop the growing south Austin hyperlocal scene with an impressive array of lagers.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Carl, Dad

Horimana Dry, Wahrsager

Thirsty Planet Brewing Co. 8201 S. Congress, Austin, TX 78745 No Current Hours*

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thirstyplanet.beer

BEER SAMPLING Buckethead IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Pale Head. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale Thirsty Goat Amber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amber Ale

BREWERY SNAPSHOT After working in the Colorado beer industry, Brian Smittle opened a full production brewery in Austin—Thirsty Planet Brewing Co.

WE RECOMMEND ST. ELMO

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 55

Buckethead IPA, Thirsty Goat *Their new expanded facility’s taproom hours have not resumed at time of press.

12/2/19 12:35 PM

SERVE AT YOUR NEXT BOARD MEETING H I T T I N G S H E LV E S

FEBRUARY 2020

DOUBLE DRY HOPPED WITH SIMCOE CRYO, CITRA, EL DORADO AND MANDARINA.

BREWED IN AUSTIN, TEXAS BY LAKE AUSTIN ALES — LAKEAUSTINALES.COM

abgtemplate.indd 1

12/2/19 1:16 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 58 PA RM ER LN .

24

9 The Domain

10

14 21

8

15

R 183 /

LN .

1

AN DE

RS O

TR D.

22

N.

INT

ER

BU RN E

NL

STA TE

5

.

BLVD RCH

N. M OPA C EX PY. / RT. 1

LN .

AM ER

ESEA

2

26

17 16 1828 19

KR

KER

35

CAP. OF TX HWY.

3

4

NO RT

HL OO

11

BARS & RESTAURANTS 1. Mister Tramps 8565 Research Boulevard 2. Alamo Drafthouse, Village 2700 West Anderson Lane 3. Pour House Pub 6701 Burnet Road 4. Billy’s on Burnet 2105 Hancock Drive 5. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Anderson 2438 West Anderson Lane 6. Drink.Well.

207 East 53rd Street 7. Workhorse Bar 100 North Loop Boulevard East 8. C. Hunt’s Ice House 9611 McNeil Road 9. Yard House 11800 Domain Boulevard, #700 10. Brass Tap, Domain 10910 Domain Drive, #120

P

20

LA

LN .

7

.

AIRPORT BLV D

25

EN IG

MA RB LV D.

13

W. KO

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 57

BR A

23

53 RD

6

NORTH

12

27 US 290

ST RE ET

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 11. Pinthouse Pizza 4729 Burnet Road 12. North By Northwest (NXNW) 10010 N Capital of TX Highway 13. Black Star Co-op 7020 Easy Wind Drive 14. Circle Brewing Co. 2340 West Braker Lane 15. Austin Beerworks 3009 Industrial Terrace 16. Adelbert’s Brewery 2314 Rutland Drive, Suite 100 17. 4th Tap Brewing Co-op 10615 Metric Boulevard 18. Oskar Blues Brewery 10420 Metric Boulevard 19. Celis Brewery 10001 Metric Boulevard 20. The Brewtorium 6015 Dillard Circle, Suite A

STORES 21. Specs, Arbor Walk 10515 N Mopac Expressway 22. Sunrise Mini Mart 1809 West Anderson Lane 23. Specs, Airport Boulevard 5775 Airport Boulevard 24. Whole Foods Market, Domain 11920 Domain Drive 25. King Liquor 5310 Burnet Road 26. Growler Room 6800 Burnet Road, Suite 2

OTHER 27. Meridian Hive 8120 Exchange Drive, Suite 400 28. Fairweather Cider Co. 10609 Metric Boulevard, Suite 108A

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

4th Tap Brewing Co-op

10615 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758 Mon 4–11pm, Tue & Wed 4–8pm, Thu 4pm–12am, Fri & Sat 12pm–12am, Sun 4–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.4thtap.coop

BEER SAMPLING Can You Dig It?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Lager Highland Scoundrel . . . . . . . . . . . . Scotch-Style Ale Kung Fu Robot IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

Adelbert’s Brewery

2314 Rutland Dr., #100, Austin, TX 78758 Wed & Thu 5–10pm, Fri 4–10pm, Sat 1–10, Sun 12–7pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.adelbertsbeer.com

BEER SAMPLING Naked Nun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belgian-Style Witbier Philosophizer . . . . . . . . . . . . .Belgian-Style Saison Travelin’ Man . . . . . . . . . . . . International-Style IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

Opened in 2015, 4th Tap Brewing Co-op is the first 100% worker-owned cooperative brewery in Texas.

Adelbert’s was Austin’s first all Belgian-Style bottle and keg conditioned brewery. They have added more sessionable and varied canned offerings, as well.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Can You Dig It?, Kung Fu Robot IPA

Naked Nun, Travelin’ Man

Austin Beerworks Black Star Co-op 3001 Industrial Ter., Austin, TX 78758 Mon–Sun 11am–10pm

7020 Easy Wind Dr., Austin, TX 78752 Mon 4–11pm, Tue–Sun 11am–11pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.austinbeerworks.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . Yes, limited draft URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.blackstar.coop

BEER SAMPLING

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

Flavor Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hoppy Pale Ale Pearl Snap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner Sputnik. . . . . . . . . . . Coffee Rusian Imperial Stout

Self Esteem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Vulcan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Waterloo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Berliner-Style Weisse

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Austin Beerworks is a collection of four friends, Michael, Will, Adam and Mike, who raised an impressive production brewery and cannery in 2011 (with a proper taproom added in ‘17). With an original lineup of four core beers, the brewery stormed out of the gate and has since added an array of popular seasonals.

Black Star Co-op is the first known cooperatively-run/owned brew pub in the world with members from across the globe. They emphasize local producers and community action, all through enjoyment of local beer.

WE RECOMMEND

Self Esteem, Vulcan

WE RECOMMEND

Flavor Country, Sputnik

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 58

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/19 12:30 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

The Brewtorium

6015 Dillard Cir., Suite A, Austin, TX 78752 Tue–Thu 4–10pm, Fri 11am–11pm, Sat 12–11pm, Sun 12–9pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . Yes, limited draft URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thebrewtorium.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Dr. Doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner Lightning Wizard . . . . . . . . . Belgian-Style Witbier Pillow Fort. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hazy IPA

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT From the hands and minds of Chris Rauschuber and Whitney Roberts, Brewtorium offers a rotating variety of clean lagers, classic ales, rotating IPAs and fun variations to throw down with their semiupscale pub grub in an expansive space.

WE RECOMMEND

Celis Brewery

N

10001 Metric Blvd, Austin, TX 78758 Mon 5–10pm, Tue–Thu 3–10pm, Fri–Sun 12–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.celisbeers.com

BEER SAMPLING Celis Raspberry . . . . . . . Belgian-Style Fruit Beer Juicy IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New England-Style IPA

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Witbier BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BEER SAMPLING Alibi Blonde. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Blur Texas Hefe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hefeweizen Ladybird. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Circle Brewing appeared on the internet beer rumor mill in the second half of 2008. Fast forward two years, Ben Sabel and Jud Mulherin were brewing their first batches of beer for Austin. You can now find their year-round beer in cans and others in bottles.

WE RECOMMEND Blur, Ladybird

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 60

H

B B P

B

N th m p

WE RECOMMEND

W

Celis Raspberry, White

B

Circle Brewing Co. Lake Austin Ales GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.circlebrewing.com

G B B B U

Celis is back baby! Relive the old days sipping on their Pale Bock or revel in the modern era as you chug their Juicy IPA. Their new home is on Metric Boulevard, along with half the other breweries in town.

Dr. Doctor, Pillow Fort

2340 W. Braker Ln., Suite B, Austin, TX 78758 Thu 5–9pm, Fri 5–10pm, Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–6pm

1 M S

10001 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758*

URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lakeaustinales.com BEER SAMPLING Juicy Blonde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Juicy IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Juicy Double IPA. . . . . . . . . American Imperial IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Kris Gray and Zack Fuentes launched Lake Austin Ales in September of 2018. They started with just two beers: an IPA and a DIPA, both juicy and fruity. They also began contract brewing (at Celis) out of the gate. Plans for a brewery and taproom of their own are a little ways down the road.

WE RECOMMEND Juicy!

*Lake Austin Ales is currently brewing out of the Celis facility. They hope to find a space in 2019 to build out their own brewery and taproom.

12/2/19 12:35 PM

o s o s m

r A

r

North by Northwest Oskar Blues 10010 Capital of TX Highway N., Austin, TX 78759 Mon–Thu 11am–10pm, Fri & Sat 11am–11pm, Sun 10am–10pm

10420 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758 Mon 3–10pm, Tues & Wed 12–10pm, Thu–Sat 12–11pm, Sun 12–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.nxnwbrew.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . .www.oskarblues.com/brewery/austin

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

BEER SAMPLING

Bavarian Hefeweizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hefeweizen Black Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barrel-aged Black Ale Prost Pilsner. . . . . . . . . . . . .German-Style Pilsner

Dale’s Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pale Ale Mama’s Little Yellow Pils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pilsner Old Chub. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scotch Ale

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

North by Northwest is Austin’s oldest and one of the most upscale brew pubs and offers a complete menu, with the restaurant itself driving many people to the establishment.

While you may feel it is not technically “local beer” as most of their recipes were originally born in CO, Oskar Blues (OG beer canners) are now brewing here and operating a taproom in north Austin (the Tasty Weasel).

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Black Jack, Prost Pilsner

Dale’s Pale Ale, Old Chub

Pinthouse Pizza, Burnet

m

4729 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78756 Sun–Wed 11am–11pm, Thu–Sat 11am–12am

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinthousepizza.com

e A A

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Fully Adrift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Double IPA Man O’ War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Training Bines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPA

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT Pinthouse opened to much anticipation in the fall of 2012, slinging beers from the bar and pizzas from the counter. Director of brewing Joe Mohrfeld oversees a solid line up of staple beers, along with special releases and experimental IPA series.

WE RECOMMEND PINTHOUSE

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 61

Training Bines, Man O’ War

12/2/19 12:35 PM

@v is tab rewin g

BA

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/16/19 10:24 AM

2 1 A C R E R A N C H 혺 B R E W E R Y 혺 FA R M 혺 R E S T A U R A N T 혺 L I V E M U S I C

1. A S 5 2. T 4 C 3. A G 1 4. T 2 R

BR BR

5. F 2 6. H 3 C 7. C 1 P 8. R 6 9. H 1 10.

11.

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 62

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 64 6

18

17

33 2

4

ROUND ROCK

CEDAR PARK

10 25

34 3

43

35 32 31

29 7

42

PFLUGERVILLE HUDSON BEND

28

5

21

GREATER ATX

30

15

MANOR

41 11 14 45 19 38 20 40 22 24

AUSTIN

OAK HILL

1

36 BARS & RESTAURANTS

10:24 AM

1. Alamo Drafthouse, Slaughter Lane 5701 West Slaughter Lane 2. The Dig Pub 401 Cypress Creek Road, Cedar Park 3. Alamo Drafthouse, Lakeline / Glass Half Full Taproom 14028 U.S. 183 4. The Brass Tap 204 East Main Street, Round Rock

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS 5. Flying Man Brewing Co. 2400 Patterson Industrial Drive 6. Hedgehog Brewing 3200 Woodall Drive C-1, Cedar Park 7. Compadre Brewing 16920 Joe Barbee Drive, Pflugerville 8. Roughhouse Brewing 680 Oakwood Loop, San Marcos 9. Hops & Grain, San Marcos 110 East MLK Drive, San Marcos 10. Double Horn Brewing Co. 208 Avenue H, Marble Falls 11. Acopon Brewing Co. 211 West Mercer Street, Dripping Springs

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 63

AUSTINBERGSTROM INT. AIRPORT

8 9 44 39 23 12 13 16 26 27 37 12. Wimberley Brewing Co. 9595 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley 13. Middleton Brewing 101 Oakwood Loop, San Marcos 14. Pecan Street Brewing 106 East Pecan Drive, Johnson City 15. San Gabriel River Brewery 500 Chaparral Drive, Liberty Hill 16. Faust Brewing Co. 240 S. Seguin Ave., New Braunfels 17. Red Horn Coffee House and Brewing Co. 13010 West Parmer Lane, Suite 800, Cedar Park 18. Pinthouse Pizza, Round Rock 2800 Hoppe Trail, Round Rock 19. Jester King Brewery 13005 Fitzhugh Road 20. Hitmaker Brewing Co. 11160 Circle Drive 21. Infamous Brewing Co. 4602 Weletka Drive 22. Twisted X Brewing Co. 23455 West RR 150, Dripping Springs 23. Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Co. 15898 TX-123, San Marcos

24. Real Ale Brewing Co. 231 San Saba Court, Blanco 25. Save The World Brewing Co. 1510 Resource Parkway., Marble Falls 26. New Braunfels Brewing Co. 180 West Mill St, New Braunfels 27. Guadalupe Brewing Co. 1580 Wald Road, New Braunfels 28. Oasis Texas Brewing Co. 6550 Comanche Trail 29. Bluebonnet Beer Co. 1700 Bryant Drive, #107, Round Rock 30. Bull Creek Brewing Co. 7100 FM3405, Liberty Hill 31. Strange Land Brewery 2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown 32. Rentsch Brewery 2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown 33. Whitestone Brewery 601 E Whitestone Boulevard, Cedar Park 34. Flix Brewhouse 2000 S IH-35, Round Rock 35. Barrow Brewing Co. 108 Royal Street, Salado 36. Vista Brewing 13551 FM150, Driftwood

37. AquaBrew 150 South LBJ Drive, San Marcos 38. Treaty Oak Brewing 16604 Fitzhugh Road, Dripping Springs 39. Two Wheel Brewing Co. 535 South Loop 4, Buda 40. Suds Monkey Brewing Co. 1032 Canyon Bend Drive, Dripping Springs 41. Family Business Beer Co. 19510 Hamilton Pool Road, Dripping Springs 42. Uncultured Ales 12307 Roxie Drive, #206 43. Texas Beer Co. 201 N Main Street, Taylor

OTHER 44. Texas Keeper Cider 12521 Twin Creeks Road, Manchaca 45. Argus Cidery 12345 Pauls Valley Road #2

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Acopon Brewing Co.

211 W. Mercer St., Dripping Springs, TX 78620 Mon & Tues 12–5pm, Wed & Thu 2–8pm, Fri & Sat 12–8pm, Sun 12–6pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.acoponbrewing.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Gaspipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .English-Style Bitter Homunculus . . . . . . . . . . . . .English-Style Mild Ale Pandemic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . English-Style Porter

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT Acopon brewer/owner John McIntosh intends to focus on English ales as well as America craft styles. Two doors down from Barber Shop, Acopon is keeping downtown Dripping Springs buzzing.

WE RECOMMEND Gaspipes, Pandemic

Bull Creek Brewing Co.

7100 FM 3405, Liberty Hill, TX 78642 Sat & Sun 1–6pm

Bluebonnet Beer Co.

1700 Bryant Dr., #107, Round Rock, TX 78664 Thu & Fri 5–9pm, Sat 3–9pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.bluebonnetbeerco.com

BEER SAMPLING American IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Cream Ale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cream Ale Texas Pecan Brown Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown Ale

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Bluebonnet Beer Co., owned by David and Clare Hulama, started brewing in Round Rock in late 2014. Their taproom is open Thu–Sat, serving up year-round beers and one or two others.

WE RECOMMEND

M

Y

American IPA, Texas Pecan Brown Ale

CM

Compadre Brewing

MY

CY

CMY

16920 Joe Barbee Dr., Pflugerville, TX 78664 Thu 4–11pm, Fri & Sat 2–11pm, Sun 2–8pm

K

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bullcreekbrewing.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.compadrebrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

Iron Balls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imperial Stout Longhorn Blonde. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Tommy Raj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPA

Ale Captain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale Bidi Bidi Hop Bomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Dia de los Compadres Muertos. . . . Amber Lager

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Bull Creek has been brewing small batches since 2011 and distributing in small amounts. In 2014 they began a major brewery expansion so they could eventually distribute to a larger area. Grab the kids and get out of town.

Located in the old Idle Vine (RIP) space, Compadre is the newest brewery in Pflugerville.

Enjoy their brews in the taproom or around the suburbs of Pflugerville: Austin and Round Rock.

WE RECOMMEND Iron Balls!

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 64

C

WE RECOMMEND Bidi Bidi Hop Bomb, Dia de los Compadres

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemp

TBC-ABG-Winter_FullPg_final_HR.pdf

1

11/12/19

1:54 PM

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/13/19 10:33 AM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Family Business Beer Co.

19510 Hamilton Pool Rd., Dripping Springs, TX, 78620 Wed–Fri 3–10pm, Sat 11am–10pm, Sun 11am–9pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . www.familybusinessbeerco.com

BEER SAMPLING Hamilton Pale . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale The Fox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rye IPA King Biscuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ESB

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Jensen and Danneel Ackles and fam had celebrity cred, but needed a brewer with some real brewing cred. Nate Seale fit the bill. Nate returned to Austin to create more great Austin brews.

WE RECOMMEND

Flix Brewhouse

200 S. IH-35, Round Rock, TX 78681 See website for showtimes.

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.flixbrewhouse.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING 10 Day Scottish Ale . . . . . . . . . . Scottish-Style Ale Luna Rosa Wit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Witbier Lupulus IPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT How many movie theatres in town have a brewhouse in their front window? Just one.

Drink from their six year-round and four seasonal house taps or one their 30+ guest taps.

WE RECOMMEND Luna Rosa, Lupulus IPA

The Fox, King Biscuit

Flying Man Brewing Co.

2400 Patterson Industrial Dr., Pflugerville, TX 78660 Thu–Fri 4–10pm, Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–7pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.flyingmanbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Black Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imperial Stout Supersonic Blonde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blonde Ale Weedhopper Honey Wheat . . . . . . . . . .Wheat Ale

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Flying Man is the latest brewing operation to open its doors in PFL. They missed a great opportunity to call themselves Pflying Man, but whatever.

WE RECOMMEND Black Box, Supersonic Blonde

Front Yard Brewing

1607 Cuernavaca Drive N., Suite 202, Austin, TX 78733

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No* BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.frontyardbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Belgian Blonde Ale. . . . . Belgian-Style Blonde Ale Coffee Milk Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Milk Stout Rye IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rye IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Front Yard, located in the Cuernavaca area of Austin, is the brainchild of Kevin Jones, Chad Worner, and Bryan Russell. Out of the gate they were on the tap walls of 10 spots and had cans in a few stores around town.

WE RECOMMEND Coffee Milk Stout, Rye IPA *Front Yard is not currently open to the public, but facitlity is under construction

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 66

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

4/30/18 10:37 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Hitmaker Brewing Co.

L B

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hitmakerbrewing.com

G B B B U

BEER SAMPLING

B

Coconut Porter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Porter French Saison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison India Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

C S C

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

B

WE RECOMMEND

The folks at Hitmaker Brewing Co. have been pluggin’ away in Thirsty Planet’s old space since May 2018. Hitmaker’s beers can be found pouring at select joints as well as their newly opened taproom.

K c b o ta

French Saison, India Pale Ale

WE RECOMMEND

W

French Saison, India Pale Ale

C

13187 Fitzhugh Rd., Austin, TX 78737 Thu 4–9pm, Fri 4–10pm, Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–9pm

2 S

Hedgehog Brewing

3200 Woodall Dr., Unit C-1, Cedar Park, TX 78613*

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hedgehogatx.com

BEER SAMPLING Happy Place . . . . . . . . . . . . Fruited Farmhouse Ale Hop and a Skip . . . . . Dry-Hopped Farmhouse Ale Hoptimism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT Brothers, Jonathan and Chris Harris, opened Hedgehog Brewing in Cedar Park in 2019. They celebrated their grand opening in November with their three core beers and special releases.

*Taproom hours not set at time of press.

1 T

11160 Circle Dr., Austin, TX 78736 Thu & Fri 4–8pm, Sat & Sun 12–7pm

Infamous Brewing Co.

Jester King Brewery

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.infamousbrewing.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.jesterkingbrewery.com

G B B B U

BEER SAMPLING

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

H

Hijack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cream Ale IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Sweep the Leg . . . . . . . . . . . . Peanut Butter Stout

Black Metal . . . . . . . . . .Farmhouse Imperial Stout Le Petite Prince . . . . . . . . .Farmhouse Table Beer Spon . . . . . . . . . . . . Spontaneously Fermented Ale

F M M

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

B

Jester King made their commercial debut with a session beer, wearing the moniker Commercial Suicide. It was anything but. They transitioned this beer, along with their original lineup, to farmhouse versions.

R fa o b

4602 Weletka Dr., Austin, TX 78734 Wed 5–9pm, Thu–Sat 11am–9pm, Sun 11am–7pm

Josh Horowitz got the wheels running at Infamous Brewing Co. in Austin in 2012. They began canning their year-round beers in late 2013.

WE RECOMMEND IPA, Sweep the Leg

W

WE RECOMMEND

A

#greenbottles, Black Metal

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 68

P R

12/2/19 12:35 PM

o s s s m

r n A

m

s s s s m

t r e

a

Last Stand Brewing Co.

Oasis Texas Brewing Co.

12345 Pauls Valley Rd., Building I, Austin, TX 78737 Thu 4–7pm, Fri–Sun 12–7pm

6550 Comanche Trl., Austin, TX 78732 Tue–Sun 12–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.laststandbrewing.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.otxbc.com

BEER SAMPLING

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING

Coffee Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coffee Porter Saaz Blonde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blonde Ale Citra SMaSH IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPA

Luchesa Lager. . . . . . . . German-Style Kellerbier Meta Modern. . . . . . . . . . . . .American Session IPA Slow Ride Pale Ale. . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Kerry and Mandi Richardson quit their day jobs to chase their homebrew dreams. Go for the beers, but stay for the outdoor beer garden. Also check out the Brewer’s Choice Grill trailer serving up tasty bites to pair with the suds.

Oasis Texas Brewing Co. is located out in the enclave of Oasis, TX, just west of Austin overlooking Lake Travis. Sunsets are always better paired with good beer.

WE RECOMMEND Coffee Porter, Citra SMaSH IPA

Pinthouse Pizza, Round Rock 2800 Hoppe Trl., Round Rock, TX 78681 Sun–Wed 11am–11pm, Thu–Sat 11am–12am

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pinthousepizza.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Feather Free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Maybe It Isn’t? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale Mango Face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gose

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT Round Rock is the third location in the Pinthouse family. Expect more of the same, that which the other locations do so well, beer and pizza. Oh, and bubble hockey and foosball.

WE RECOMMEND Meta Modern, Slow Ride Pale Ale

Real Ale Brewing Co. 231 San Saba Ct., Blanco, TX 78606 Wed & Thu 12–6pm, Fri & Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 12–5pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.realalebrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING Axis IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Hans’ Pils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . German Pilsner Swifty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American Pale Ale

BREWERY SNAPSHOT One of the oldest breweries in central TX, Real Ale has been in operation since 1996. In 2006 they moved to a new facility just outside downtown Blanco.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Any Fresh IPA

Axis IPA, Swifty

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 69

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Red Horn

Coffee House and Brewing Co. 13010 W. Parmer Ln., #800, Cedar Park, TX 78613 Mon–Thu 7am–10pm, Fri & Sat 7am–11pm, Sun 8am–10pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.redhornbrew.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING HapSlappy IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .American IPA Trail Runner Golden Ale . . . . . . . . . . . .Golden Ale Wonder Boy Hefeweizen . . . . . . . . . . . Hefeweizen

Rentsch Brewery 2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown, TX 78626 Wed & Thu 4–10pm, Fri & Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rentschbrewery.com

BEER SAMPLING Blonde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Hefeweizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hefeweizen IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

S B

1 W S

G B B B U

H

A M P

Opened in early 2015, Red Horn concentrates on fresh-brewed beer and fresh-roasted coffee.

Stop in for a pick-me-up or a knock-me-down.

A small menu of food is also available.

Andrew (son) and David (father) Rentschler were just homebrewing hobbyists until Andrew’s travels in Europe. Imagine the number of brewery ideas that come from getting drunk in Europe. They are now the first brewery in Georgetown. Stop in for a beer and to compare passport stamps.

S h in D

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

W

HapSlappy IPA, Trail Runner Golden Ale

Hefeweizen, IPA

M

San Gabriel River Brewery

Strange Land Brewery

2500 NE Inner Loop, Georgetown, TX 78626 Wed & Thu 4–10pm, Fri & Sat 12–10pm, Sun 12–8pm

T B

6 F

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . www.sangabrielriverbrewery.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.strangelandbrewery.com

G B B B U

BEER SAMPLING

BEER SAMPLING

B

Amber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amber Ale Honey Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Porter IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

Austinite Pilz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Czech Pilsner Entire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Porter Ploughshare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison

A B U

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

B

The brainchild of brothers Patrick and John Peck, San Gabriel River Brewery opened in 2016. They even have a bottle club. For $35 a month you get four bottles, three of your choice and one seasonal.

Originally located behind the Hat Creek in southwest Austin, Strange Land is now sharing space with Rentsch Brewery, brewing up an eclectic mix of brews.

Y v o T

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

W

Honey Porter, IPA

Entire, Ploughshare

A

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

500 Chaparral Dr., Liberty Hill, TX 78642 Fri 4–9pm, Sat 12–9pm, Sun 1–6pm

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 70

12/2/19 12:35 PM

B

m

o s s s m

e n A

s

Suds Monkey Brewing Co.

1032 Canyon Bend Dr., #B, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 Wed & Thu 4–9pm, Fri 3–9pm, Sat 12–9pm, Sun 12–6pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.sudsmonkeybrew.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Astro Monkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Moxey Monkey . . . . . . . . . .New England-Style IPA Punk Monkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Porter

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT

Texas Beer Co. 201 N. Main St., Taylor, TX 76574 1331 W. 2nd St. Taylor, TX (Production Brewery) Tue–Thu 4–10pm, Fri & Sat 11am–11pm, Sun 2–8pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.texasbeerco.com

BEER SAMPLING Hoppy Duck IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA Pecos Amber Lager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amber Lager Pickett Porter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Porter

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

Suds Monkey started like so many before: homebrewing in Mom’s basement. Work in the industry, then years later Suds Monkey was born.

Drink your beer with a slice from Hop’d Up Pizza.

Taylor is no longer just about Louie Mueller. Now you can fill up on beer instead of brisket when you head out east. They have a taproom on Main Street and a larger production facility down the road (tours most Saturdays 1-3), to supply beer to the rest of Central Texas.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Moxey Monkey, Punk Monkey

Hoppy Duck IPA, Pickett Porter

Treaty Oak Brewing

Twisted X Brewing Co.

m

6604 Fitzhugh Rd., Dripping Springs, TX 78620 Fri–Sun 12–9pm

23455 W. Ranch Rd. 150, Dripping Springs, TX 78620 Thu–Sat 11am–9pm, Sun 12–8pm

o s s s m

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . www.treatyoakdistilling.com

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.twistedxbrewing.com

BEER SAMPLING

BEER SAMPLING

Austin Speedshop Amber . . . . . . . . . . .Amber Ale Brightside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Blonde Ale Unamed New England IPA. . . . . . . . American IPA

Austin Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Premium Lager Gulf Kölsch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale Whoa-Mango . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

BREWERY SNAPSHOT

You’ve had their bourbon, gin, and sweet tea vodka. Now you can drink their beer. Located on Fitzhugh Road, with those other breweries, Treaty Oak opened in late 2016.

Established in 2011, Twisted X is situated in Dripping Springs. You can enjoy a fresh pint at the brewery in Dripping Springs or grab a sixer at your local grocery store before the big sports match.

WE RECOMMEND

WE RECOMMEND

Austin Speedshop Amber, Brightside

Austin Lager, Whoa-Mango

r r n

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 71

12/2/19 12:35 PM

BREWERIES & BREW PUBS

Vista Brewing 13551 FM 150, Driftwood, TX 78619 Thu 11am–9pm, Fri & Sat 11am–10pm, Sun 11am–9pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vistabrewingtx.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Adair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale Dark Skies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pilsner Le Saison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saison

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT Vista Brewing hopes to become the ultimate destination brewery, with a restaurant, farm, and tiny-house hotel cottages. Enjoy a beer in their huge outdoor beer garden or on their sprawling porches.

WE RECOMMEND Dark Skies, Le Saison

Whitestone Brewery

601 East Whitestone Blvd., Cedar Park, TX 78613 Mon & Tue 2–9pm, Wed & Thu 2–10pm, Fri & Sat 12pm–12am, Sun 12–9pm

GUEST TAPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .No BEER SOLD ON-SITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER TO-GO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes BEER SOLD OFF-SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.whitestonebrewery.com

HOUSE BEER SAMPLING Könverter Kölsch . . . . . . . . . . . . Kölsch-Style Ale Long Gone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blonde Ale Lovely Day IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American IPA

BREW PUB SNAPSHOT Whitestone opened the doors to their Cedar Park brew pub on New Year’s Day a few years back. Stop in their handsome taproom for a taste or two of their year-round brews.

WE RECOMMEND Könverter Kölsch, Lovely Day IPA

VISTA

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 72

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemp

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/19 9:51 AM

OTHER CENTRAL TX BREWERIES Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15898 TX-123 San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.altmeyerlewisbrewing.com AquaBrew LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 South LBJ Drive San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.aqua-brew.com Bear King Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Avenue G Marble Falls, TX 78654 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bearkingbrewing.com Barrow Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Royal Street Salado, TX 76571 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.barrowbrewing.com Distant State Beer Co. LOCATION. . . 3799 Hwy. 290, Dripping Springs 78620 Double Horn Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 Avenue H Marble Falls, TX 78654 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.doublehornbrewing.com Faust Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 South Seguin Avenue New Braunfels, TX 78130 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.faustbrewing.com Granger City Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 West Davilla Street Granger, TX 76530 URL . . . . . . . fb.com/grangercitybrewingcompany.com Guadalupe Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1580 Wald Road New Braunfels, TX 78132 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.guadalupebrew.com Hops & Grain Brewing, San Marcos LOCATION. . . . . . . .110 East Martin Luther King Drive San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hopsandgrain.com

Ruggedman Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . .7600 South Old Bastrop Highway San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drinkthedamnbeer.com Save The World Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1510 Resource Parkway Marble Falls, TX 78654 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.savetheworldbrewing.com Sean Patrick’s Pub LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 East San Antonio Street San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.seanpatrickstx.com Two Wheel Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 South Loop 4 Buda, TX 78610 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.twowheelbrewing.com Uncultured Ales LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12307 Roxie Drive, Suite 206 Austin, TX 78729 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.unculturedales.com Wimberley Brewing Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9595 Ranch Road 12 Wimberley, TX 78676 URL . . . . . . . . . www.wimberleybrewingcompany.com

CENTRAL TX CIDER AND MEAD Argus Cidery LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12345 Pauls Valley Road, #2 Austin, TX 78737 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.arguscidery.com Austin Eastciders LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . 4007 Commercial Center Drive Austin, TX 78744 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.austineastciders.com

Middleton Brewing LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Oakwood Loop San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.middletonbrewingtx.com

Fairweather Cider Co. LOCATION . . . . . . . 10609 Metric Boulevard, Suite 108 Austin, TX 78758 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fairweathercider.com

Pecan Street Brewing LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 East Pecan Drive Johnson City, TX 78636 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.pecanstreetbrewing.com

Meridian Hive Meadery LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . 8120 Exchange Drive, Suite 400 Austin, TX 78754 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.meridianhive.com

Root Cellar Cafe & Brewery LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 North LBJ Drive San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rootcellarcafe.com

Moontower Cider Co. LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1916 Tillery Street Austin, TX 78723 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.moontowercider.com

Roughhouse Brewing LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680 Oakwood Loop San Marcos, TX 78666 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.roughhousebrewing.com

Texas Keeper Cider LOCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12521 Twin Creeks Road Manchaca, TX 78652 URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.texaskeeper.com

ABG_Bestof19_Listing.indd 74

12/2/19 12:35 PM

abgtemp

Roughhouse Ad - 11-12-19.pdf 1 11/12/2019 2:23:09 PM

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/19 3:57 PM

LAST CALL

Erin Cotton of Pinthouse Pizza

FAVORITE SHIFT BEER Whatever’s dank and on a serving tank so I don’t blow a keg! (Man O War) (never Jellyfish)

CLOSING TIME SONG It’s Britney Bitch! Or whatever hippity hops the cool kids are listening to now!

LAST CALL CEREMONIES 12 on the dot, pour up a plastic cup and begin the hustle!

LAST CALL BEER RECOMMENDATIONS Whatever’s a small pour :p

BIGGEST WALKED TAB Not an issue honestly cause we do 20% Most of you walk your tabs at the ol Pinthouse! We be busy!

ABG_Bestof19.indd 104

WEIRDEST/CRAZIEST LAST CALL EXPERIENCE It’s always the couples in the corner making out. Then when they finally do leave you’ll find them pinned up against their car when you take the trash out an hour later.

HARDEST CUSTOMER TO GET OUT Last Call Paul (we love you tho!).

BEST PLACE TO GO TO KEEP THE PARTY GOING Aristocrat or Bar Flys! Love me a dive bar and sometimes you just need a Highlife and an Espolon!

BEST ADVICE FOR LESS REGRETS THE NEXT MORNING Don’t take my advice on the next bar!

12/2/19 12:08 PM

Hey, Y’all!

We’re now hosting private events.

Milli

e

email millie@theabgb.com

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/14/19 8:39 PM

abgtemplate.indd 1

11/12/19 12:33 PM