Is it really summer without a road trip to some Texas breweries? The answer is no. So, if you’ve never made a day of hitting the taps across Texas, you’ll want to check out some excellent breweries listed below and start plotting your course to Lonestar refreshment!
Spoetzl Brewery – Shiner, Texas
Located in Shiner, Texas it’s the oldest independent brewery in the state. They produce a diverse line of Shiner beers with the most popular being Shiner Bock. They also have a wonderful selection of highly anticipated seasonal beers they release throughout the year such as their Ruby Red Bird and Shiner Cheer.
Ruby Redbird
Cracking open a Ruby Redbird is like slicing into a ripe Texas ruby red grapefruit. A fresh kick of ginger combines with the citrus for a tart refreshing lager that’ll be your go-to yardwork brew.
Shiner Bock
Brewed with rich roasted barley malt and German specialty hops, this lightly hopped American-style dark lager has been a Texas favorite since 1973.
Jester King – Austin, Texas
Jester King offers an outdoor dining & drinking experience which includes almost 2 miles of hiking trails, live music, and more across their beautiful 165-acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country! It’s a fully functioning brewery, kitchen, farm & event hall that’s actually fun for the whole family – Be sure to check their calendar so you can join for a hands-on experience with their goat handlers during a 45-minute session with their family of over 50 Nigerian Dwarf goats in the Goat Pen.
Tours available Wednesday through Friday — 2-8pm / Saturday — 11am-9pm (kitchen closes at 8pm)
Sunday– 11am-8pm
Jester King Figlet
Naturally occurring wild yeasts from the Texas hill country impart a sense of place to this dry tart farmhouse ale fermented with Texas figs smoked by the world-famous franklin BBQ in Austin Texas. Unfiltered unpasteurized and 100% bottle conditioned.
Jester King El Cedro
El Cedro is a hoppy cedar-aged ale brewed with Texas Hill Country well water, 100% organic malt, millennium, cascade columbus, and citra hops as well as Spanish cedar spirals. After primary fermentation with farmhouse yeast el cedro is dry hopped with citra hops and aged for weeks with Spanish cedar spirals.
Lone Pint Brewing – Magnolia, Texas
Located between Houston and College Station, Lone Pint Brewery is located inside a former automobile shop in downtown Magnolia, Texas. It’s an eco-friendly brewery that makes an admirable effort to use compost hops, renewable energy, and recycle used grain to local dairy farmers. One famous beer to try here is the Yellow Rose IPA, and the Jabberwocky Imperial IPA is excellent too if you’re looking for something stronger.
Tours available Saturday at 2pm
Yellow Rose IPA
A SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) IPA using a large amount of malt and Mosaic hops. Whole cone Mosaic is used for bittering, flavoring, and aroma in the kettle; it is also massively dry hopped. The hops impart strong grapefruit, pineapple, and blueberry flavor and aroma. A strong beer that is extremely quaffable.
The Jabberwocky
This Imperial India pale ale uses Golden Promise malt and two very pungent whole-cone American hops. This brew is hopped so heavily that, after all of the wort has been transferred to the fermenter post-boil, the hop mass at the bottom of the kettle is more than one foot deep. Post-fermentation, Jabberwocky is dry hopped with colossal amounts of the same two hops.
Karbach Brewing Company – Houston, Texas
Located in Houston, Texas Karbach was a microbrewery until they partnered with Anheuser-Busch InBev. in 2016 and are now considered a macrobrewery. According to their facebook page “We’re still a Texas brewery, with Texas employees, making great Texas beer on Karbach Street” A few of their popular beers are their Weekend Warrior Pale Ale, Hopadillo IPA, and Love Street Kolsch Style Blonde.
Light Circus
Karbach’s Light Circus is a feel-good machine churning out dreamy flavor from hoppy, to fruity, to tropical, and back again. This hazy IPA radiates positive vibes so you can chill out with the zonk-outs and remember that time you enjoy wasting is never time wasted.
Love Street
Brewed in the Kolsch-style and hopped delicately with floral German hops, Love Street boasts a clean malt profile that refreshes to the core, without sacrificing character.
Real Ale Brewing Company – Blanco, Texas
Located in Blanco, Texas where the owner credits the local Blanco River as “some of the best brewing water for the styles of beer that we make,” making Blanco an ideal location for the brewery. They’re known for their wildly popular Fireman’s #4 Blonde Ale, Hans’ Pils German-Style Pilsner, and Devil’s Backbone Belgian-Style Tripel.
¡Vamonos!
A historic style from Northern Germany, Gose is a slightly sour wheat beer known for hints of coriander and a unique saltiness. For a lively twist on the style, they’ve added lime puree to the fermenter. The result is a delightfully tart and refreshing beer to help you slug it out with even the hottest of Texas summers.
Devil’s Backbone
Named for a winding stretch of Hill Country highway, Devil’s Backbone is a Belgian-style tripel. Featuring a beautiful pale-golden color, this ale’s spicy hops and Belgian yeast work together to create a distinctive flavor and aroma. Don’t let the light color fool you, this one has a dark side too. Traditional Belgian brewing techniques add strength without increasing heaviness.
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