Dallas/FW Trip

I'll preach the Dallas gospel and suggest going to Taps & Caps. It's a haul but it will be well worth it. You'll probably find Live Oak Hefe there as well.

Props for doing research. Don't let a line at Pecan Lodge scare you off, it's the best BBQ in Dallas and arguably top 5 in Texas.

 

I'll second Taps and Caps. They've had Live Oak Hefe on tap everytime I've been. It's about 35-40 minutes from where you'll be but well worth the trip.

Here's a link to the tap list -> http://www.tapsandcaps.com/taps/

 

I'd probably take Peticolas over Deep Ellum.

I wouldn't drive all the way to Taps & Caps from Arlington (or even near downtown) to get Hefe. Craft & Growler, Common Table, Ginger Man and/or Meddlesome Moth (and probably a number of other bars nearby I'm forgetting) might have it and they're all pretty close to the breweries you're visiting. Google tells me there's a World of Beer in Arlington and they might have it as well.

 

Sadly they're only open those days or for events and I didn't check the calendar :/. It's $10 and you get a glass and 3 pours, but the tour itself is optional so you could just treat it as a taproom.

 

I definitely recommend Collective Brewing in Ft. Worth. I would also go to Bearded Lady or Flying Saucer in Ft. Worth for good beer selections. Bearded Lady has good food as well.

 

Not sure how big of a crew you'll have with you, but if you order the Trough at Pecan Lodge, you don't have to wait in the long line. When I went it was like $70, and it comes with 5+ lbs of various meats. It has it's own dedicated line inside that's usually not more than 5-6 people deep.

 

Well, you know what they say about Texas... and who doesn't like to be in a meat coma every now and then.

 

If there's only 3...don't get the trough unless you plan on giving half of it away.
Pecan lodge is good...but it literally smokes you out. You can only have so much.
I've gotten it with 4 people and had plenty of leftovers.
And if they are out of burnt ends or the beef rib by the time you get there...def don't do it. You need those.
Brisket is outrageously $20/lb on that note.

 

At the $/lb BBQ runs at, I wouldn't recommend it...it'll still be decent after reheating, but not great. Toughing the line out is the better option here IMO.

 

Live Oak Hefe is not too hard to find. I am pretty sure it is a staple at Meddlesome Moth. If not a few phone calls around to local craft bars should yield results in little time. If you get to Collective Brewing in Fort Worth then you might find Live Oak Hefe in that area at Bearded Lady, Live Oak (unassociated), Flying Saucer, Gingerman or the Trinity River Tap House. But I'd check websites or call before adding an unnecessary drive in Fort Worth.

Something to keep in mind with your schedule is that traffic can be quite awful even on the weekends--especially on the Fort Worth side. Your schedule is ambitious and I commend you for it (that's how I do it as well) but make sure you build in some cushion time for sitting in traffic.

 

That plan above won't happen on Friday. Traffic gets real dumb about 3:45 on a random Friday...although school is out in some places making it more manageable.
You would need to hit Collective Brewing first (not sure on hours/never been) as it's right off I-35 and then head to the game and then check in the hotel after. I would stay at the brewery until at least 6:15...even then you are probably looking at 40 mins to the ballpark.
I would personally stay at the brewery until 7 and miss a couple of innings in order to miss most of the traffic.
Once you get some of that tarrant county traffic, you may do the same.

 

Humperdinks is right down the street from the Ballpark. Beer is decent and reasonable, food is typical bar food. The better restaurants are over on Collins St to the west of the park. Most will have some of the popular local beers.

Traffic, after Friday night, will not be that bad. Don't let these guys scare you about that. As long as there are no wrecks it's really not that big of a deal.

Go to Taps and Growlers on your way in, like you said, and then take the George Bush Tollway down to I30/Arlington. The tolls will be worth it at that time of day.