I should be taking a trip down to Austin from Houston in mid-February (thinking 15-18th or so). I fully intend to visit Jester King as they're one of my favorite breweries in the world, but what are some other places a craft beer guy CANNOT miss experiencing? Also, would appreciate any off-topic restaurant recommendations for a foodie. Bonus points for hole-in-the-wall places. And sorry if there's a thread for this already.
I haven't explored much of Austin's beer scene, but Whip-In was a good experience (not bad on the foodie front either). This is my go-to place for tacos/tortas/misc Mexican pastries when I'm in Austin. It won't blow your mind, but it's very tasty and ~$6 for a meal. Still the best tacos I've ever had.
Whip In is a must for me. A very good beer store, but an excellent selection of taps. A bit expensive, but it is worth it. I have not been since they started brewing, so that is something to check out as well. Not to mention awesome Indian fusion food. There are a ton of other places like Draught House and Bangers (I have not been to Bangers yet), all suggestions that you can find on other threads. Though if you want something slightly different that is not mentioned much here, check out Barley Swine. Very interesting small plates, and an excellent beer selection. Black Star, Draught House, and Barley Swine kind of make a triangle of good beer destinations. http://barleyswine.com/
If you're a foodie... try Olivia on S Lamar. We go at least once a month for their weekend brunch. It's amazing. Barley Swine is an amazing restaurant as well... we used to frequent their food cart a lot (The Odd Duck Farm to Trailer). Great craft beer selections as well. It gets balls to the walls after 6:30pm or so, so I'd recommend going early. They don't take reservations. I also think Snack Bar on South Congress has the best cheeseburger I've ever had. Unfortunately, it was also the most expensive, lol.
If you're here on a Friday or Saturday go by Hops and Grain. Their small batch beers will blow your mind.
This, in a big way. So many people in Austin have no idea the kind of awesome stuff that Hops & Grain are doing that never makes it out of the tap room. Alt and Pale Dog are great, but the stuff in the tap room is slamming.
When that stuff DOES make it out of the tap room.. well, the future of Hops and Grains is bright indeed.
Draught House is usually pretty good at having at least 1 special release from H&G on draught. They also did a collaboration with them recently (Grapefruit IPA)
I would check out Live Oak Brewing, and then hit up Juan In a Million. They are in the same part of town. Their Don Juan is sooo good. Juan In a Million closes around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, so plan accordingly. Also Home Slice Pizza, best pizza ever IMO. Since you will be on S. Congress, after Home Slice, I would then cross the street to Hopdoddy, decent selection on tap. Austin is such a great city, beer and food wise. Enjoy! PS. Foreign and Domestic is suppose to be a great new restaurant.
I'm sure it is, but it's a pain in the ass to get down to far east 6th in order to try it. If they weren't canning-only, it'd be easier for them to get that stuff out of the brewery and into customer's hands. From reviews I've seen, the Horchata Milk Stout would be a money-maker for them.
Oh, and I'll 3rd the suggestion for Barley Swine. Killer food and great beer available. Draught House usually has a food cart on site that put out good grub. Black Star, Pinthouse, Banger's are all great places for good food and good beer.
That stuff is/was amazing (dont know if there is any left). I wonder what their model for the future is, in terms of getting stuff to market. What they're doing now is great, but I can't imagine they're raking in the $ giving away so much of their good stuff on Fri/Sat every week. That stuff needs to be in stores, too.
Agreed. They're just playing right now, using profits from their current line up to fund their experiments. That's fine, and that may be all they want to do, but it's a shame if that work doesn't get out to a wider group of people who will appreciate it.
They have a few accounts that serve the Greenhouse beers on draft. I think Draught House, Billy's on Burnet, Drink.Well, Pinthouse, Hopfields and possibly Black Star typically have one or more on. EDIT - I think Banger's carries their Greenhouse line as well. They have not canned any beers other than Pale Dog and Alt. I was at the tasting room 2 weeks ago and Josh mentioned wanting to start canning the Half Nelson IPA after Zoe, which should be available in cans sometime soon.
I assume H&G is raking in the cash with Pale Dog and Alt. I wouldn't worry about their future. They'll be fine. It's just too bad the amount of cans you need to order minimally is so high that they can't can everything. I think I heard ABW say the minimum is something like 75,000 cans once. The tasting room is free feedback/QA for new product.
Austin Breweries: Circle - Random and no set schedule 512 - Every other Saturday in general...$10 for pint and pouts - RSVP - http://www.eventbrite.com/org/980013407?ref=eorgbtn Independence - First Saturday of each month - $10 for pint and pours - No RSVP Hops and Grains - Every Friday (2-6) and Saturday (12-4) - $10 for pint glass and 5 or 6 half pours - No RSVP Thirsty Planet - Every Saturday )11-2) - $7 for pint and 3 pours - RSVP - http://www.thirstyplanet.net/brewery-tours/# Jester King - Every Saturday (1-4) - $10 for glass and 6 half pours - No RSVP Adelberts - Every Friday (5-9) - $10 for pint and 3 pours - No RSVP Austin Beerworks - Every Friday (5-8) - $10 for pint and 3 pours - RSVP - http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1917556589 Twisted X - Not so often but they do things randomly Rogness - Every Saturday (1-4) - $10 for pint and 6 half pours - RSVP - http://rognesstours.whindo.com/event/default.aspx?lock=2437297-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&key=64012f3f4b05f60 Live Oak - twice a month on Sundays(12-3) - $10 for pint and 3 pours (could be mistake, its been awhile) - requires RSVP - http://www.liveoakbrewing.com/tour/ South Austin Brewery - Every Sunday (12 or 1-5) - I am guessing $10...never been there for a pay even, just for free Austin Area: Real Ale - Fridays - 4-7? - No RSVP Perdenales - Fredericksburg Ranger Creek - San Antonio New Braunfels Brewing Company - NB Guadalupe Brewing Company - NB Branchline - San Antonio Brewpubs Black Star Draughthouse Flix Whip In Pinthouse Pizza NXNW Uncle Billy's Wimberley Brewing Company (Wimberley) Middleton (Wimberley) Bastrop Brewhouse (Bastrop) Faust - NB Pecan Street Brewery (Johnson City) Double Horn (Marble Falls) The Granary (San Antonio) Freetail (San Antonio) Blue Star (San Antonio) Fredericksburg Brewing Company (Fredericksburg)
