Texas Independence Day weekend is the perfect time to raise your Texas spirits with a trip to a Texas brewery, distillery, or winery! We’ve put together a list of some of our favorites from across the state. These offer not only outstanding products but an excellent atmosphere for learning and fun!
Please celebrate responsibly and don’t drink and drive by planning ahead.
Breweries
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, use renewable energy, and recycle used grains 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.
Wineries
Bending Branch Winery – Comfort, Texas
Situated roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, the 56-acre Bending Branch Winery uses 14 acres of land to grow several Mediterranean varietals, including the flavorful tannat grape (the basis of their award-winning wine). They offer a tasting of five wines for $30. Paid tastings include a souvenir wine glass. The wines will be served in individual carafes for self-service with a single-use menu that will guide you through the wines.
Open 7 days a week from noon until 6. (reservations recommended on weekends)
Bending Branch Texas Tannat
Bending Branch Winery’s signature red wine. The gold standard from the Tannat House of Texas. With care and experience, Tannat produces balanced, full-bodied red wines with power, structure, and complexity. The Texas Tannat is bright with flavors of mouthwatering sour cherry, sage, and smoky blackberry.
Bending Branch Tempranillo
The powerhouse red grape of Spain shines in Texas. Find notes of cranberry, mushroom, and cinnamon in the latest vintage of this award-winning Bending Branch favorite.
Becker Vineyards – Stonewall, Texas
Surrounded by lavender fields like those found in France, the Becker Vineyards estate produces fine Bordeaux-, Burgundy- and Rhone-style wines that have been served at the White House and the James Beard House. The winery is the largest purchaser of French and American White Oak barrels in the state of Texas. Guided tours are conducted hourly on the weekends and on a limited basis during the week. For the ultimate experience, try Becker’s $35 Art of Food & Wine tasting, which features five wines paired with five small bites and is available Friday through Sunday.
M-Th 10am-5pm / F-S 10am-6pm / Sun 12pm-6pm
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Canada Family
Canada Family Vineyard produces some of the most robust varietal Cabernet Sauvignon in Texas. The nose of ripe red fruit, earth, herbal spice, dark coffee and leather comes across as soon as the wine hits the glass, quickly developing the signature deep cacao and upfront red fruit that Cabernet Sauvignon is known to display.
Viognier
Pairing Viognier from three Texas High Plains growers allows the terroir of each individual vineyard to meld, yielding this voluptuous wine. A touch of Roussanne adds an additional layer of complexity and elegance. Using only French oak barrels for aging brings forth a lush, creamy mouthfeel and warm vanilla.
Distilleries
Desert Door Distillery – Driftwood, Texas
A comfy tasting room, tons of outdoor seating, and one of the most unique spirits distilled in Texas combine to make Desert Door Distillery an absolute must visit. Sotol – the raw material of the first alcoholic beverage ever consumed in Texas – was sipped as early as 800 years ago.
The three founders each have a passion for the outdoors, the wilds of Texas, and all are former service members of the United States military. Together, they unearthed the uniquely Texas spirit of Sotol. It smells a lot like tequila but tastes more like gin. It is smooth with hints of caramel, orange, and a tiny bit of herb.
Sotol
On the nose Desert Door Original is a lot like a premium tequila, with bright notes of vanilla and green grass – but that’s where the similarities end. Tasting reveals flavors like toffee, mint, and orange zest. The finish is custard-smooth – smoother than any tequila – with subtle hints of sage.
Sotol Oak-Aged
Desert Door’s Oak-Aged Sotol is finished in virgin White Oak barrels and aged to taste for roughly a year. On the nose it’s akin to a young whiskey, with pleasing notes of vanilla, cedar and caramel. Sipping reveals more vanilla, along with dried cherries and oak. The finish brings back caramel and a creamy smoothness like vanilla custard, with just a hint of Eucalyptus.
Balcones Distilling – Waco, Texas
Balcones Distilling is one of those places that just makes a really great product. They produce spirits that consistently bring home awards and accolades from around the world. Balcones has over 10 distinct products available including their Texas Pot Still Bourbon, a straight bourbon whiskey, and Baby Blue, the first Texas whiskey sold since Prohibition and the first blue corn whiskey made anywhere in the world. Book a tour of the distillery Thursday through Saturday or stop by the bottle shop bar for a taste Monday through Saturday.
Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky
The first Texas whisky on the market since Prohibition, Baby Blue is crafted from roasted blue corn. This rich and oily maize adds new sophistication to the corn whisky tradition while keeping the freshness and verve of classic American distilling. Intentionally youthful, Baby Blue captures the essence of this prized corn with a round nuttiness, roasted overtones and refined complexity.
Balcones Texas Single Malt Whisky
A timeless style of malt whisky, Balcones “1” Texas Single Malt breathes new life into centuries of distilling tradition with classic techniques and ingredients adapted for New World tastes. Opening aromas bear hints of toffee and overripe fruits. On the palate, layers of toasted malt and honey give way to mellow notes of baked pears and apples.
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