Going to be driving up through Lubbock and the panhandle in a few weeks and was wondering if there was anything up there worth a stop. Thought I might be able to find a couple of dusties not around in Austin anymore. Anyone have any info...?
I wrote this a couple weeks back for someone going through Lubbock. "So, I spend more time than I would like to admit in Lubbock. As far as beer goes, there is one brewpub currently open (Triple J's). Their beer is average, nothing really stands out but it is decent enough to try and fairly cheap. The best places I have found to get beer are either Crickets, Crafthouse, or Bash's. Crickets has something like 90 taps, and a lot of them are good taps. Granted, some of the taps are your usual light crap and mexican beers, but a large percentage are actually craft beers. The reason I do not go there often is that it is smoking. Crafthouse is sort of a newer gastropub and has 10 or 15 rotating taps. They are all craft beer and there is always something I like on tap. It is one of the few places that I have seen with Wicked Beaver (a local Lubbock brewery). It is not really the best atmosphere, but I have no issue with going there and having a couple of pints. Lastly, Bash's. This was my college beer bar back in the day. They have around 100 or so different bottles to choose from. It is a mix between random craft beers and imports. Most of which are less than $4 a bottle. It is a divey college bar but you can get a lot there for cheaper than it should be (Chimay and others are there, and on Sundays, they used to be 3 bucks). As for Wicked Beaver....they are the local brewery and have been around for a year. You can find their bottles at Spec's, Doc's, and Market Street. They are OK. If they were in Austin, they probably would not last. I say give them a shot just to give the local guys a shot. I do wish they would pull their shit together and make something other than their 3 beers they currently make. Other than that, do not expect much. Fox & Hound used to be good until I realized (in college) that all of their beers were MCB beers just with fancier crafty names."As far as bottle shops...I would go to Spec's (off of Slide) or Doc's (off of Quaker? or Indiana?).
