Austin Area Beer Recommendations (2023)

Hi BA,

I went to reply to the 2022 version of this thread only to see it was closed, so I thought I'd go ahead and fire up a 2023 version with added information for the new year.

I've lived in Austin a little over 2 years now, and in that time I've developed a personal list of favorite places to go.

Breweries:

• S: Jester King (primarily funky beer -- some of the best in the country; recently re-added standard fermentation beers as well and typically have a lager and several pale ales/IPAs on tap; also serve amazing food and just added a food truck), Live Oak (best Hefeweizen in the country; amazing lagers)
• A: Meanwhile (GABF gold German pilsner (Meanwhile Pilsner); great execution of other styles as well and typically have a large tap list), Austin Beer Garden Brewery/ABGB (GABF gold AAL (Rocket 100); great other lagers)
• B: Pinthouse (mostly known for their IPAs but also have other styles and great pizza), Hold Out (typically have an eclectic mix), St. Elmo (nice mix of styles but leaning towards lagers), Blue Owl (primarily sours), Oddwood (nice mix of styles; also great (much less known) pizza), Batch (nice mix of styles)

Food:

• Jester King, ABGB, Pinthouse, Hold Out, Oddwood, and Batch all serve food on-site. The rest (Live Oak, Meanwhile, and St. Elmo) all have food trucks available, but you'll just want to make sure they're open before you go if you want to eat since, for example, Live Oak's is only open Friday - Sunday. If you go to Meanwhile, they have many food trucks available, but make sure to try Distant Relatives for a unique take on (African) BBQ.

Beer Shopping:

• Bottle Shops: Whichcraft, Brewtique
• Grocery/Liquor Store: Specs, Central Market, HEB

Bars/Pubs:

• Draught House Pub & Brewery (~40 beers on tap, 50/50 mix of house and guest taps)
• Mort Subite (all Belgian beer; they don't serve food but they do have a food truck usually parked outside)
• Thrive Craft House (~40-50 beers on tap)
• Hopfields (~30-40 beers on tap)

Events:

• Live Oak: Rauchfest - Satuday, January 21, 2023, 12:00 - 8:00PM (link): A smaller "metal"-themed festival all about smoked beers and meats
• Jester King: Doom Forge Day - Sunday, January 22, 2023, 11:00AM - 8:00PM (link): A larger "metal"-themed festival primarily stout-focused with live music, and more

I'll try to update this with more brewery events as more are announced throughout the year (and feel free to help!).

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things and the brewery "tiers" are definitely arguable, but these are my favorites for anyone visiting from out of town.

I'd also love to hear from others who live in the area, nearby, or just those who have visited -- what are your personal favorite places to visit in Austin?

Cheers to Austin beers!

 

Hedgehog is great! I only left them off since they're slightly outside of Austin in Cedar Park, but then again Live Oak is technically outside the city limits too.

Hedgehog has some lovely saisons, and many of them incorporate fruit very well. Prior to Jester King canning last year, I thought Hedgehog was often the better bargain between the two. They're still definitely worth checking out, either canned or the brewery itself (the location is off a highway and not quite as scenic as some others, but the owner has done his best to pretty it up a bit).

I'll have to check out Southern Heights and am honestly unsure why I haven't yet. Their tap list looks nice! Will report back eventually (i.e. as soon as I can convince my wife).

I also feel a bit guilty leaving off breweries that I've heard others enjoying a lot like Zilker, ABW, Independence, and I'm sure I'm missing a bunch. I haven't had quite as much mileage at these places so happy to hear any opinions.

Cheers!

 

The discussion about Hedgehog and Live Oak technically being slightly outside of Austin got me thinking...

If we expand our guide to include "beers that you can buy in Austin from local breweries that you should definitely check out but aren't located directly in Austin" (probably too long of a title, but I'm working on it), I have a few quick beers to mention. You can find the majority of these (maybe minus the bonuses and Blakkr) in pretty much any local grocery or liquor store.

• Lone Pint - Yellow Rose: If you don't already know, one of the best American IPAs that also happens to be SMaSH (Single Malt Single Hop; Mosaic hops and pilsner malt)
• Bonus: Lone Pint - Double Yellow Rose: Just released in 2022, but delicious; think regular Yellow Rose, but turned up to 10 (literally -- somehow it's 10% ABV and drinks like an 8% beer)
• Spindletap - Houston Haze: A great NEIPA featuring Galaxy and Citra
• Bonus: Spindletap - Houston Hazier: Houston Haze with a bolder flavor featuring a heavier 9% ABV
• Spindletap - Heavy Hands: A great NEIPA similar to Houston Haze but featuring only Citra
• Real Ale - Blakkr - Originally a collaboration between 3 Floyds, Surly, and Real Ale, Blakkr is a 9.99% Double Black IPA that you should definitely check out if that description sounds interesting to you

I just realized my list is all IPAs. Hmm...I was going to mention Real Ale's 4-pack of bombers which is a fantastic deal, but that's 4 beers. At least those aren't IPAs, though!

Does anyone else have any non-Austin Texas beers that they think are worth checking out while shopping for beer in Austin? I know I'm missing a ton here, so feel free to chime in!

 

Great question!

Hopefully others can chime in with their personal preferences, but for my money I'd grab beer at Meanwhile Brewing and barbecue with a side of spicy smoke peanuts from Distant Relatives. Another plus is that Meanwhile's space is very large and family-friendly.

For more traditional barbecue spots that also have pretty good beer options, Franklin's and La Barbecue are both excellent and have a decent beer selection.

 

I'll also add that within the last year Jester King has added an on-site food truck which typically offers brisket and/or pulled pork and has an excellent smash burger. This is in addition to their standard kitchen which already had fantastic pizza.

 

Made it out to Live Oak's Rauchfest this past Saturday and had a great time.

I grabbed two of their mixed 6 packs of their rauchbiers and posted this picture in the "Post a Picture of Your Latest Beer Haul" thread:



The pack includes Schwarzer Rauch, Heller Rauch, Fumigator Smoked Doppelbock, Bamberger, Grodziskie, and Weißer Rauch. Fumigator is new this year so I’m excited to try it.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it out to JK's Doom Forge day which was on Sunday, but they did decide to distribute their OG Black Metal to a limited footprint so you can try it without having to attend if you do come across cans in the wild. In years past, attending Doom Forge Day was the only way to get your hands on it.

Let me know if anyone else was able to make it out to either, or if you know of any upcoming beer events in the area that you can share!

 

Vinepair recently posted their "The 11 Best Breweries in Austin, Texas" list.

https://www.hopculture.com/best-breweries-in-austin-texas/

For the lazy, they picked:

• ABGB
• ABW
• Hold Out
• Independence
• Jester King
• Live Oak
• Meanwhile
• Oddwood
• Pinthouse
• St Elmo
• Zilker

Breweries not mentioned in my OP: ABW, Independence, and Zilker. Personally I'm not sure I'd have chosen these 3 over Batch or Blue Owl, but that's just my personal preference and all of them are very good breweries.

Cheers!

 

IMO this is a great list for IPAs, NE or otherwise, and I pretty much agree with the order as well:

I was at Oddwood this past weekend and don't recall them having an IPA on tap, but all of the others listed pretty much always have one in rotation. Oddwood typically has an IPA (though sometimes a WCIPA or Cold IPA), but their taplist is a little shorter so it's just subject to whatever they have in rotation at the time.

If you stop by Pinthouse definitely try Training Bines, and as a runner-up, Electric Jellyfish. Electric Jellyfish is the most popular local NEIPA consumed in Austin, but IMO Training Bines is the far better of the two.

Just bear in mind that our IPAs aren't quite on the same level as our lagers or saisons, so if you're open to expanding your range to include Texas NEIPAs that are available in Austin but not necessary brewed here, make sure to try Spindletap. Houston Haze/Hazier and Heavy Hands are their most popular but all their NEIPAs are really good, if a bit pricey.

Cheers!

 

Almost mentioned Batch myself! They're great as well, though if I included them I'd also be tempted to include a few others like Blue Owl (mostly lacto sours) and St Elmo (mix but excellent Kolsch).

I'll also echo Hedgehog though they're technically Cedar Park (slightly NW of Austin). They have excellent fruited saisons and also hazies. Their higher ABV imperial stouts and barleywines are great as well. Just be sure to eat beforehand since they (unless something has changed) don't serve food or have a food truck on site.