Texas Brewpub Report

[assurbanipaul]

Unfortunately, the large number of brewpubs around the state and the frequency with which they make changes makes listing and reporting on brewpubs awkward. To make sure that each brewpub receives its share of reference on this site, this annual Texas Brewpub Report will be posted every year on the anniversary of brewpub legalization in Texas (September 1, 1993).


Net: 3 brewpubs added, 1 brewpub closed, 1 name change
Total: 23 independent brewpubs*



Native Brewpubs:


North Texas


Big Buck Brewery & Steakhouse (Grapevine) renamed

The Covey Restaurant & Brewery (http://www.thecovey.com/) (Fort Worth)
Firehouse Grill & Brewery (http://www.grillandbrewery.com/) (Mansfield) new!
Humperdink's (http://www.humperdinks.com/)(Arlington)*
Humperdink's (http://www.humperdinks.com/l_greenville.php) (Dallas, Greenville Ave)*
Humperdink's (http://www.humperdinks.com/l_nw.php) (Dallas, NW Hwy)*
TwoRows Restaurant & Brewery (http://www.tworows.com/) (Addison)

Uncle Buck's Brewery & Steakhouse (http://www.unclebucks.com/) (Grapevine)

* The North Texas Humperdink's franchises were bought from Big Horn Brewing and now operate independently as Humperdink's of Texas. Only the three locations listed here actually brew on-site, providing beer for the Addison and Richardson restaurants.

Central Texas


Blue Star Brewing Company (http://www.bluestarbrewing.com/) (San Antonio)
Dodging Duck Brewhaus (http://www.dodgingduck.com/) (Boerne)
The Draught House (http://www.draughthouse.com/) (Austin)
Faust Brewing Company (http://www.fausthotel.com/) (New Braunfels)
Fredericksburg Brewing Company (http://www.yourbrewery.com/) (Fredericksburg)
Freetail Brewing Company (http://www.freetailbrewing.com/) (San Antonio) new!
Lovejoy's Tap Room & Brewery (http://www.myspace.com/lovejoys) (Austin)
North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery (http://www.nxnwbrew.com/) (Austin)
Uncle Billy's Brew & Que (http://www.unclebillysaustin.com/) (Austin)
Wimberley Brewing Company & Brew Pub (http://www.wimberleyjunction.com/pub.htm) (Wimberley) new!

West Texas


Edelweiss Brewery & Restaurant (Alpine) closed
Eola School, Restaurant & Brewery (http://www.eolaschool.com/) (Eola)
Jaxon's Restaurant & Brewing Company (http://www.jaxons.com/) (El Paso, 4 locations)
Triple J Chophouse & Brew Company (http://www.triplejchophouseandbrewco.com/) (Lubbock)


East Texas


TwoRows Restaurant & Brewery (http://www.tworows.com/) (Houston)


South Texas


Padre Island Brewing Company (http://www.padreislandbrewery.com/) (Padre Island)
Port Aransas Brewing Company (http://www.portabrewing.com/) (Port Aransas)



Out-of-State Franchises:


BJ's Restaurant & Brewery (http://www.bjsrestaurants.com/) (multiple locations statewide)
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (http://www.gordonbiersch.com/) (Plano)https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/35617993-1497263188730631921?l=texasbeer.blogspot.com


More... (http://texasbeer.blogspot.com/2009/09/texas-brewpub-report.html)

[jayellis]

Anyone been to the Firehouse in Mansfield yet?

[mwedge]

I heard that the Two Rows in Addison has closed. If you go to the towrows.com website it does not show up on their locations list.

[TurboBrew]

I plan on going this weekend to Firehouse. I'll take pictures.

[jayellis]

The Two Rows link in the article shows locations in Allen, Houston, and Garland.

[Old_Airman]

I read in one of the north Dallas business papers that the Addison Two Rows was closed and will become a TexMex place.

[JayMo]

Anybody hear anything new on ZioCarlo in Fort Worth?

[jayellis]

The latest discussion about ZioCarlo was here:

http://www.capandhare.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189

Their web site indicates they're still working on it, and there's a photo of a pretty copper vessel...

[Old_Airman]

I drove by there last week and the TABC sign was taken down or at least I didn't see it and a brand new for sale sign had been put up. One day soon, I will ride my bike down that way and report back.

[assurbanipaul]

Anyone been to the Firehouse in Mansfield yet?

They just opened in August, brewing equipment isn't yet set up. But they do have almost 50 commercial taps, and hopefully will be brewing sometime this fall.

[assurbanipaul]

I heard that the Two Rows in Addison has closed. If you go to the towrows.com website it does not show up on their locations list.

The TwoRows brewpub on Greenville is still shuttered and dark. They gave up all brewing ops in NTx, now just operating as restaurants.

[mwedge]

yeah. i also heard they just closed the addison one and it is going to be reopened as a mexican restaurant.

[TurboBrew]

Out with the microbrew, in with the Corona. Yay.

I'm heading out to firehouse on Labor Day. I'll take some pics.

[pennelmore]

For those that were there, you may remember the Two Rows Addison Grain Holder was aquisitioned by the Franconia Brewery. Still had Two Rows painted on the side :)

[gwbbc]

Yeah, Lowes sells a 5g bucket of paint fairly cheap. maybe we can work for beer.

[TurboBrew]

Went to Firehouse on Monday and talked to the owner, nice guy named Robert. He's not brewing yet but he plans on purchasing the place next to him and putting the equipment there. Should be brewing early next year.

He has a decent selection of beer on tap and from what I tasted of what Chessie got, the food was pretty good. LOTS of TV's, everywhere. Robert said it's usually packed on game days and that there's a pretty solid futbol crowd as well as football.

Now for the bad, the waitstaff. Our waitress wasn't very educated (it was as if she had never heard of beer, not good for a brewpub) and was definitely new to waiting as it took a solid 20 min. to get our checks and pay. Granted, the place just opened a month ago, so I plan on going back and seeing if he worked out some kinks.

Overall, if you want to go watch the game and drink something beside coors light and eat something besides wings, it fits the bill. By the way they have both wings and coors light.

[gwbbc]

I keep saying, if these places would educate the wait staff on beer they would be much better off. Its not that hard to get an extra buck a beer with a little knowledge.

[BeerSawks]

Yeah I went with Matt, and our waitress didn't seem like she had waited tables much if at all. The place is nice though, with pretty good tap and bottle selection. They also have a cigar room that look very relaxed and manly, leather couches and animal heads on the wall. I would go back. A great place to watch a game and get good beer.

[BeerSawks]

Oh and the prices are pretty resonable. About $4-5 for pint or bottle.

[TurboBrew]

I keep saying, if these places would educate the wait staff on beer they would be much better off. Its not that hard to get an extra buck a beer with a little knowledge.

Waitstaff education is crucial for a place like that. I don't get it either

And yes the prices were pretty good. A bucking bock, an Elissa, and a vanilla porter for $13. Not too shabby.

[BeerSawks]

Went to Firehouse in Mansfield today and was talking with one of the owners. He said that they are planning on talking with local breweries and having a contest of sorts. The plan is to work with the winning brewery to make their beer. It seems that they are not planning on brewing their beer them selves but having a contract with a brewery and having it made for them. Similar to what BJ's has worked out with Saint Arnold's.

[mwedge]

well that plan will not get very far as it is illegal to contract brew in texas now. the tabc clarified the laws a year or so ago to make it illegal and when they did they grand fathered in all the people that are contract brewing, that is why saint arnolds is still able to brew bj's beers.

[BeerSawks]

That's what I thought but I wasn't sure if there was a different way for them to achieve there goal.

[jayellis]

Any idea why the prohibition on contracting beer? Seems like a good business proposition, and I'm sure the taxing authorities could figure out a way to collect revenue from it...

[mwedge]

are there any good reasons to our crazy alcohol laws, other than to protect some segment of the market that has lots of money to donate to "our" legislators?

[jayellis]

Well, there's that...

[BeerSawks]

Can a brewery make their same beer but re-label it specifically for a certain bar or restaurant?

[mwedge]

You can have a specific label for someone (ie Buffalo Butt) but it can not be exclusively sold to anyone. If anyone asks for it, the distributor has to sell it to them.

[assurbanipaul]

Went to Firehouse in Mansfield today and was talking with one of the owners. He said that they are planning on talking with local breweries and having a contest of sorts. The plan is to work with the winning brewery to make their beer. It seems that they are not planning on brewing their beer them selves but having a contract with a brewery and having it made for them. Similar to what BJ's has worked out with Saint Arnold's.

That's what he told me, but I didn't want to argue the contract brewing legalities. 50/50 odds he never brews anything.

[assurbanipaul]

Any idea why the prohibition on contracting beer? Seems like a good business proposition, and I'm sure the taxing authorities could figure out a way to collect revenue from it...

I believe it was legislation pushed through by our good friends at Miller, who saw it as an easy way to stifle competition and make it harder on start-ups. Of course, all their contract brewing was grandfathered in as well.

[jayellis]

I knew there was a good reason (besides the obvious) that I don't drink Miller products...

[BeerSawks]

I believe it was legislation pushed through by our good friends at Miller, who saw it as an easy way to stifle competition and make it harder on start-ups. Of course, all their contract brewing was grandfathered in as well.

I'm sure AB also had a helping hand in getting this law on the books.

[TurboBrew]

And the line between being a good businessman and being a prick get a little more faded...