Rank your favorite Texas Breweries.

I do like Hops & Grain's Alt... but their offerings are still a bit thin. The Grapefruit IPA they did with the Draught House Pub this week was fantastic though.

Austin Beerworks kicks ass. Literally the clearest beer one can get outside of BMC and purveyors of excellent lager stylings.

Gotta remember too that some of these beers are nigh impossible to get outside of their home regions. ABW doesn't really leave Austin too much, for instance. Karbach doesn't make it out of the Houston metro...

 

Thin? I think they put out about 26 different Greenhouse series offerings this year. I think why they don't get much talk is that you have to go THERE to get their beer (other than Alt and Pale Dog). Although the same is true for Circle, Black Star and Uncle Billy's, and they showed up on lists too.

I could drink ABW Black Thunder all day, and when Sputnik comes out in cans, it will be one of my base beers. I wish more people outside the Austin area had access to their stuff, but at the same time, maybe we should just keep it all here.

 

I'm going to rank my favorite TX breweries in 5 broad 'tiers'. Because fuck you, that's why.

(1)
Freetail
Jester King
Austin Beerworks
Real Ale
(512)
(2)
Live Oak
Hops & Grain
Southern Star
Karbach
Uncle Billy's
(3)
St Arnold
Ranger Creek
No Label
Deep Ellum
Draught House
NXNW
Black Star
(4)
Root Cellar / Darkside
Adelbert's
Rogness
Thirsty Planet
Rahr
Independence
(5)
Circle
Franconia
South Austin
Twisted X

 

I didn't even know they had beers other than Pale Dog and Alt. I'll have to visit the brewery sometime.

 

Shit, I forgot Adelbert's. Definitely on the top half of my list.

 

Follow them on Facebook/Twitter, and they announce the GreenHouse stuff pretty regularly. Their tasting room is open every Friday and Saturday, and they rotate stuff pretty regularly. They also do a good amount of collaborations - you mentioned the grapefruit IPA, but they also recently collaborated with Live Oak on Schlager (inspired by Schlitz!) and with Thirsty Planet on Common Denominator.

 

Right, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people have had Austin Beer Works, but only in the Austin market, much like Karbach in Houston and Freetail in San Antonio. Hops & Grain is a different story, although they do can 2 beers that can now be pretty easily found in the Austin market, but the majority of what they do is tap only, and most of it only at their tasting room. I think when people DO figure out what they're doing, they will be very pleasantly surprised.

 

Keep in mind that this order could shuffle quite easily. At this second I'd say:

Deep Ellum
Karbach
Jester King
512
Peticolas - I've only had a few, but the Velvet Hammer is quite tasty
Austin Beer Works - Need more experience with them, but love the Missile Dropkick and Fire Eagle
Real Ale
Buffalo Bayou
Southern Star
Saint Arnold
Independence
Ranger Creek
Freetail - I'd probably rate higher if I had tried more than just the Ananke
No Label
Rahr
Spoetzl

 

Freetail
Jester king
512
adelberts
Live Oak
Real Ale
Uncle Billys
Ranger Creek
Southern Star
NxNw
Rogness
Circle
Deep Ellum
Independence
Black Star
St Arnold
Thirsty Planet
Austin Beerworks
Rahr
Fredericksburg Brewing
karbach
Spoetzl
Pedernales

Thats somewhere around what ive had, sort of in order as i can remember. List subject to change with mood, money and taste.

 

No faulting anyone, as I myself have not had a lot of the breweries listed, but more folks need to find a way to try Peticolas. It's a small brewery, but well worth finding a keg. They are poised to be the next great thing out of the Metroplex (and not many things come out of DFW... ). I know they have shown up in Houston, but not sure about anywhere else outside of DFW.

 

I don't think I've seen them in Austin yet

 

I hope we start seeing more access for all areas of Texas. I've only seen the Velvet Hammer once in Houston.

I had both the Royal Scandal and VH at Common Table in Dallas.

 

Real Ale - Their barrel aged beers are phenomenal!
Karbach
Hops & Grain
512
Live Oak
Southern Star
Thirsty Planet
St. Arnolds
Jester King

I haven't made it to Freetail yet, but I hear great things. Same for the majority of Austin only available beers, haven't had em, didn't list em. Really want to try some of Deep Ellums stuff too.

 

Jester King
(512)
Freetail
Real Ale
Southern Star
Live Oak
St Arnold
Hops & Grains
Thirsty Planet
Lakewood
Austin Beerworks
Peticolas
Four Corners
Deep Ellum
Independence
Rahr
Spoetzl
Franconia

 

Jester King
(512)
Real Ale
Austin Beerworks
Deep Ellum
Thirsty Planet
Ranger Creek
Live Oak
Saint Arnold
Adelbert's
Rahr
Rogness (growing on me)
Independence
Southern Star
Hops & Grain
Circle
Spoetzel
Franconia

Only had 1 each of Freetail, Karbach, Twisted X, Guadalupe, and No Label. Don't think it's fair to assess those based off 1 beer. That begs a side question, though. How many beers to fairly judge a brewery? If not a number, then maybe a combination of Year-round/Seasonal/Limited releases?

 

Karbach
Karbach
Real Ale
Freetail

 

Michael Peticolas has said in interviews that he's not very interested in spreading beyond DFW for now - he wants to establish as firm a base as possible before venturing to other cities. Apparently he has received calls from Austin establishments, but he's told them that, for now at least, they either have to wait or come to Dallas to pick up any kegs.

 

I wonder if Saucer Sugarland had to come get it. That's where I had the Hammer in Houston.

Either way, I dig what Mike is doing!

 

It's more difficult for me to rank breweries, than it is individual beers. I think almost every Texas brewery makes at least one good beer, and many make several "very good" or even world class beers.

Rahr has been low on some people's list, but their Bourbon Barrel Winter Warmer and Angry Goat are both absolutely fantastic beers. If you look consistently across product lines, then no brewery is 100% across the board with great beers. In fact, I struggle to name any brewery in the world who hasn't produced a sub-par beer every now and again. Although it's tough to name much from Hill Farmstead or Russian River that I haven't loved.