Austin to San Antonio

Depends on the day.

Airport to San Antonio....I will just list south Austin places

If on Thurs-Sunday, then I would say you go to Bangers as it should be easy to get to for lunch. 100 taps of beer, solid sausages.

I guess there is the Whip In as well...some people rave about their food, I am neutral on it. But, 70ish taps of beer with Indian/Tex Mex fusion food.

ABGB - Brewery/Pizza place. My only issue that they only serve their own beer - while good, you may want to try some other local beers

Easy Tiger - right downtown - good food...decent beer selection (I say decent due to them seeming not to have as much local stuff and more Colorado/Cali stuff)

Wright Bro's Brew and Brew - Coffee shop/beer bar. 40-50ish taps. more of coffee shop food and sandwiches, but good beer selection

And if you need a beer store, go to WhichCraft.

 

Granary and Freetail are two good brewpubs (granted, Granary is not as much of a bar as Freetail, it is a good place to grab some lunch and beer).

Big Hops is also a good beer bar in that town.

As far as other breweries, there is Branchline, Busted Sandal and Ranger Creek.

 

If you like sours, Ranger Creek has all sorts of them.

 

The Granary is superb. I'm not entirely sold on their house beers (except the coffee IPA, it's fantastic and should be coming back soon), but they have some solid guest beers and BBQ that can hold its own against Franklin's.

Freetail is definitely worth a visit. They just tapped their wet hop beer and they currently have two sours (Endymion and Makaria) and a berliner weiss on tap. According to their website, they still have Endymion available in bottles as well.

I don't know much about that Big Hops place, but I've heard very good things.

 

Be sure to check out Stella Public House too when you're in San Antonio. The pizza is great and they have an amazing Wild Mushroom Mac n Cheese. Tap selection is usually pretty good too. Check the website.

 

Not far from Stella Public House in Southtown is The Station Cafe & The Filling Station Tap Room. I personally would recommend this over The Friendly Spot which is another option but that's up to you.

 

I think most people here would #befriendly and recommend most places over the Friendly Spot

 

Very true but it never fails when that one person comments "The Friendly Spot". Just wanted to give OP a heads up. I'm trying my best to #StayFriendly.

 

There are several amazing BBQ joints in Austin and all of them are better than San Antonio. A drive to Lockhardt is also an amazing BBQ experience and a shorter trip than standing in line at Franklins. Franklins is incredible though. I have had good brisket at Coopers in New Braunfels. It is 5 minutes west of I-35 and you can eat all the beans and onions you want. The Granary in San Antonio has very good BBQ and I like their Saison. They tap a local cask every Thursday night, and that is only $3.00 per pint. The food is pretty pricey though. B and D BBQ is across the street from the Friendly spot, and they have good Austin/San Antonio Beers and probably the best brisket in San Antonio and the price is reasonable. Freetail Brewing is very good. I like their food and they have a great beer selection. Stella also has good pizza and beer selection and the Blue Star Brewery is next door. Blue Star's food is mediocre to sometimes good. I usually like the beer when it is fresh. Have a good trip to south central Texas.

 

Lots of good responses for Austin and San Antonio. As far as what is in between, there isn't much and the drive is pretty short if during off peak hours (70-90 minutes). So, I would skip a stop in between and concentrate on SA and Austin. If you must stop, Root Cellar in San Marcos is a cool little cafe with an in house brewery. I haven't had their beer since Darkside Fermentation moved out and they got a new brewer.

I am firmly back in the anti #befriendly camp after being charged $9.75 for a pint of NB/Odell FOCO pale ale and a Crunch ice cream bar. They are really the only place downtown to find the more rare/one-off/seasonal taps but I am tired of looking like an asshole when I ask how much a tap costs to make sure I don't get raked over the coals. Sidenote: Speaking of over-priced, how long until Tuk Tuk Taproom shutters? Always seems empty when I pass by.

Filling Station (minor gripe = 75% of their taps are always IPAs) will get most of my money now when I get the energy to not just walk downstairs to GS1221.

Eagerly awaiting the new Big Hops on South Flores. pwsoldier - any idea when it will open?

 

Don't get me started on Tuk Tuk and their prices...

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that's not any longer in the works for that location. Big Hops is looking at alternate locations but I'm sure Scotty can go in depth on the details.

 

If I'm not mistaken it's the same owners of The Friendly Spot plus a partner. Someone correct me if I'm wrong I'm not 100% sure on this.

Just found a link to confirm.

http://tuktuktaproom.com/tuk-tuk-taproom/

 

That explains way too much. Thanks.

 

Unfortunately, grendle is correct. S Flores was scrapped due to a misunderstanding regarding how the building was zoned, so we're back to the drawing board with location #4. It's still very likely to be in the downtown vicinity from what i understand. I'll be carpooling to the TCBF with our brass this weekend, so I'll try to get more info then if i can.

 

Not sure why people in SA keep comparing The Granary to Franklin's. Dont get me wrong i really enjoy The Granary, but lets not get carried away here.

 

Who said homerism was just for beer