Austin on a Tuesday

Oddwood and Pinthouse is your best bet for M-W.

 

Park it at Pinthouse Lamar

 

I’ve read this thread and others, hoping the locals can give me an assist.

I’ll be in town in about a month staying at the JW Marriott downtown, without a car. I’ll have Wednesday late afternoon and evening, then maybe a little time thurs/fri night, maybe a little time Saturday before I split (likely have a few at live oak before hitting the airport). Any great options I can get to walking? I’ll definitely get to bangers, probably with the work crew.

I’d really like to find a decent bottle shop nearby so I can have something good to drink in my room at the end of the day on a very work intensive trip. But also taprooms and under the radar, non touristy restaurants would be great too. Any guidance will be deeply appreciated!

 

Central District Brewing is an easy walk. I cant vouch for their house beers (I haven't tried them yet), but they have great guest taps. If you're willing to walk a bit further, hit Zilker and Lazarus on E 6th (they both also have beer to go). The closest bottle shop is in Craft Pride on Rainey St.

 

Thanks so much for the intel! Any other bottle shops you'd recommend within say, a mile or two in any direction? While I want to check out local beers I also want to get stuff in general that doesn't see distro to NY.

I will likely take the walk to Lazarus, Zilker, possibly Blue Owl and Hops and Grain (any of those particularly or not particularly recommended?), are there other bottle shops in that stretch (coming from the Marriot by the Congress Ave bridge)?

Anyone doing crowlers?

 

I recommend Hops and Grain. I'd skip Blue Owl. If you're willing to take a short ride share, check out Oddwood and Southern Heights. Both places make fantastic beer. Most, if not all, breweries sell crowlers. For Bottle shops, not much going on downtown. East 1st grocery is the next closest https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29049/ after Craft Pride. The best shop we have is Whichcraft in Muller.

Any particular style you're looking for? ABGB is well worth the trip if you like lagers.

 

Thanks again! I really do enjoy all styles although like so many great hoppy beers and dark beers are my favorites. An ideal night of drinking for me is prob IPA/barleywine/sour or lager to break things up/big stout to finish.

I’ve heard mostly positive things about Blue Owl,
And I do enjoy sours but less so the myriad kettle sours everyone turns out now.

 

I like Blue Owl they make some of the few kettle soured beers I've liked. They have put a lot more thought into how to make those types of beers than most any other brewery and they have some interesting ones. If you don't mind sour takes on a variety of styles you'll probably enjoy it.

Hops and Grain I like but I didn't like it as much as I expected when I went. But I fully respect their attitude towards quality.

They're very popular but I don't want to go back to Lazarus. I thought the beers had issues and the tacos were very bland and expensive.

As the previous poster suggested Oddwood is great if you can get out there.

 

Yeah, I'm starting to feel the same way about Lazarus. Since it's walkable for OP, it's worth a visit, but their beer is inconsistent.

 

I appreciate all the feedback folks. I can only consume so many calories and so many beers on a work night so I’d just as soon skip the mediocre or inconsistent.

 

I stopped into Central District last night and tried several house beers. At this point I can not recommend them. Beers weren't bad, but they weren't good either. I'll try again in 6 months to see if quality improves. They still have guest beers, but those are down to 3 taps.

 

Thanks for the heads-up, sounds like a pass at this point. Man I am bummed to make my first trip to Austin (not seeing a lot of opportunities to return anytime soon either) and not make it out to Jester King but i just cannot see a way to make it happen.

 

I’m having trouble finding a good beer store. WhichCraft seems to be best. Chain-wise, Spec’s seems to have the best selection.

picked up the Karbach hellfighter variety pack, which I really enjoyed, and the Saint Arnold 25th grand cru (haven’t tried it yet).

everything I’ve had from Live Oak has been great.

still need to try odd wood. And maybe I’ll be around some weekend for jester king.

 

Don’t feel bad about skipping JK, unless you have a major crush on sours and saisons.

I was thrilled to see that Live Oak Hefe medaled at GABF. Best Hefe this side of Germany IMO.

 

Definitely well-earned. Had an Oaktoberfest this evening and also thought it was quite good.

 

Lots of good recommendations in here. I will be coming up this Saturday-Monday. Any recommendations on places to watch the Red River Shootout?

Lots of good beer options in this thread, but I feel a lot of these types of places aren't always the best for yelling at a TV.

 

Ok I need some more help from the locals. During my visit next week I am super slammed with work so it’s looking increasingly like I’ll grab some bottles and cans for the hotel room afterwards (probably from East 1st grocery). There are so many breweries in the area that I’m completely unfamiliar with and I’m trying to do my research - but id appreciate any tips on must try and avoid beers and breweries.

Right now I’m into typical beer geek stuff - the best local hoppy beers, barrel aged stuff, stouts and barleywines. Less so the sours. Of course I will get some live oak stuff as a change up, only been hearing about them for at least a decade now. Any help? What do y’all think of B-52?

 

I still contend that making the trip to Oddwood & Southern Heights for cans and crowlers is well worth the uber ride, but if you can only do E1st, get whatever is freshest from Zilker, Hops and Grain, or Austin Beerworks. BA is not my wheelhouse, but look for things from Real Ale,St Arnold, or Prairie (OK).