Beverages

Your Guide to American Craft Beer Week in Dallas (Updated)

It's American Craft Beer Week. For many of you, this means it's business as usual. For some of you, it's an excuse to imbibe in some craft beers all week long. The Brewers Association, a national non-profit group, created this "Mother of all Beer Weeks" to advance the beer culture and give beer geek ... More >>

One Year Out: An Interview with Jack MacDonald of Jack Mac's Swill and Grill

Jack Mac's Swill and Grill opened on Preston Road in North Dallas last year, right on the heels of the explosion in the local craft beer movement. Jack and Amy MacDonald's restaurant has a strong local focus that supports not only Texas breweries, but wineries and distilleries as well. The drinks ar ... More >>

The 14 Best Spots to Get Cheap Food and Drinks on Cinco De Mayo in Dallas

It's certainly not a weekend for lightweights. Leave your fanny pack at the house and imbibe in many of the options around town as we collectively celebrate General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín's defeat of the French in 1862 in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Despite the fiesta, many ... More >>

TX Whiskey in Fort Worth Takes Best American Craft Whiskey at World Spirits Competition

Fort Worth-based Firestone and Robertson Distilling Co. won double gold medals and Best in Class in the category of American Craft Whiskey for their TX blended whiskey at the 13th Annual World Spirits Competition in San Francisco recently, where more than 1,407 spirits were poured from 63 countries ... More >>

Pearl Cup in Richardson Now Open

Pearl Cup Coffee in Richardson at II Creeks shopping center is now open (2701 Custer Parkway, Ste. 917). This is the third spot for one of Dallas' favorite locally owned coffee shops; other locations are the original at 1900 Henderson Ave. and 750 N. Paul Street downtown. Tuesday was their first d ... More >>

Ascension's Fix: One Man's Obsession Gives Dallas a Whole New Addiction

Shock Top Sent Me $100 Worth of Swag and Two Awful Beers. That Sums Them Up Perfectly.

Yesterday I received a box full of suburban "camping" gear and a couple of sample beers from Shock Top, a package that stands as the perfect symbol of Anheuser-Busch InBev's utter contempt for and cluelessness about the culture of craft beer. Packed inside a shock-resistant SwissGear Synergy laptop ... More >>

Wine Poste Open in Design District for a Unique Wine Experience in Dallas

A new wine venue unlike any other in Dallas, Wine Poste (2001 Irving Blvd., Ste. 145), has opened in the burgeoning Design District. James Jordan, a local wine industry veteran of 30 years, and Matthew Thompson, a certified sommelier and wine writer, are leading the charge in this new concept that s ... More >>

State Senate Passes Craft Brewing Bills That Would Allow Expanded Sales

Earlier this week, the Texas Senate approved a family of bills dear to the heart of Texas craft brewers. The legislation lets brewpubs sell a limited amount of beer through distributors, while craft breweries will get to sell their products to consumers on-site. See also: - Public Hearing Set for C ... More >>

Craft Brewers Say People Really Like Craft Brews. Especially Canadian People.

Beer-drinkers across the globe are growing ever more thirsty for American craft brews, and more craft breweries are opening as a result, according to two not-remotely-unbiased reports from a craft-brew trade group. On Monday, the Brewers Association, which represents small and independent crafter b ... More >>

Craft Beer Bills On Their Way to Senate Floor, The Good and The Bad

Craft brewers had one week to reach a compromise with the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas (WBDT) regarding five pieces of legislation recently introduced through Senate Committee on Business and Commerce. Senate bills 515, 516, 517 and 518 were a set of bills carefully crafted after a year of w ... More >>

Dallas Senator John Carona Files Bill that Would Close a Tap for Craft Brewers

Recently we wrote about four bills Republican state Senator Kevin Eltife of Tyler introduced that would open new revenue opportunities for craft breweries around the state. As the law stands now, Texas requires a clear separation between those who make, distribute and retail beer in Texas. None of t ... More >>

A Texas Lawmaker Filed Four Bills Yesterday to Make Life Easier on the State's Craft Brewers

State senator Kevin Eltife, a Republican from Tyler, filed four bills yesterday that could breath new life into the craft beer industry in Texas. The legislation "will modernize laws that unfairly advantage out-of-state beer producers over Texas' small businesses of the beer industry -- craft brewer ... More >>

Ascension Coffee Thinks They're Funny: They Are

When I wrote about Ascension's fancy coffee machine and said a monkey with a tamper could make good coffee with the thing, I meant it as a tongue and cheek comment about the automated capabilities of the equipment. Certainly skill is still required to draw flawless java, no matter how technologicall ... More >>

Tasting Balcones Texas Single Malt Whiskey

Yesterday we pointed out the mention of Balcones Texas Single Malt Whiskey in The New York Times as part of a larger discussion about malt whiskeys and their recent domestic rise. Today I got a bottle of the stuff. It tastes like this... When it comes to whiskey, I am a man seduced by dark and drea ... More >>

Tom Vincent of Texas Coffee School Delivers the Most Fantastic Cup of Coffee

Tom Vincent opened the Texas Coffee School in 2011 to teach the world how to make great coffee. And that might sound a little crazy. But, Vincent perhaps is a little crazy. After being laid off as a creative director at an ad agency several years ago, he decided to pursue his passion for a great cup ... More >>

Budweiser Releases New "Black Crown"

Because we try to be equal opportunity beer people ... Budweiser has just announced a new beer called Black Crown. The story line goes that a year ago Budweiser sent memos out (presumably) to its 12 brewmasters to "envision their own unique version of one of the world's most iconic beers." Called " ... More >>

Taking A Closer Look At Ascension's $20,000 Coffee Machine

If I'm writing this blog post too quickly it's because I just got back from Ascension Coffee and I'm a very thorough journalist and I really wanted to capture a short video that demonstrates some of the characteristics of espresso and crema and it took me multiple attempts to get a good take with my ... More >>

Ascension Coffee: Great Java, but Where's the Show?

Well, sure the brew at the newly open Ascension Coffee is good. Really, really good, in fact. And, the shop's Design District space is lovely. Broad windows send light flowing into a space filled with blond wood and open ceilings. The air is not saturated with the heavy aroma of over-roasted beans. ... More >>

Holiday Gift Idea: A Craft Beer Mixed Six

On Wednesday the Beer Institute announced that the number of permitted breweries in the U.S. has reached an all-time high of 2,751, up from 2,309 in 2011. Not that we needed a stat to validate this craft beer resurgence, but it's reassuring nonetheless. "Resurgence", you say? Yes, our forefathers we ... More >>

Just Bring ’Em All Out At Once, Please

The Best Foodie and Beerie Events of the Week (December 12-17)

Wednesday, December 12 The new bar and craft beer retailer, Craft and Growler (3601 Parry Ave.) is hosting a little gathering for Friends of Fair Park today. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawling's deputy chief of staff, Shawn Williams, will take 20 minutes worth of Q&A regarding the #GrowSouth Initiative at 6 ... More >>

A Chat with the Matt Leff of The Dallas Winter Warmer Beer Festival

Tapping into the burgeoning local craft beer scene, The Dallas Winter Warmer is a one-day craft beer festival on December 15 featuring some local and national craft brewers. See also: - The Dallas Craft Beer Guide - Rise of the DFW Brew Today I spoke with the architect of this event, Matt Leff of ... More >>

The Common Table Will Soon Stop Serving Horrible Beer

The Common Table enjoys a good reputation among local beer lovers for the ever-changing array of brews it offers. But in the next few days, that reputation stands to get even better for the beers it won't be pouring. "Starting next week, we will no longer be offering mass produced beer," owner Co ... More >>

The Rise of the DFW Brew

Free from the hangover of the '90s craft beer bust, Dallas' small brewers cheer another round of growth.

North Texas Beers: A Guide

Following North Texas' big win at the Great American Beer Fest, this week's cover story by Lauren Drewes Daniels profiles the rise of the DFW craft brew. To see what kind of growth we're talking about, Lauren's broken down each of the local brewers. Check it out below. Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. rahr ... More >>

Texas Brewers Win Big at Great American Beer Festival, including Peticolas and Rahr

Saturday was the conclusion of the 31st annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado. This Super Bowl of beer competitions sold all 49,000 tickets in just 45 minutes when they went on sell back in July. This past Thursday through Saturday, 580 breweries poured over 4,300 different beers ... More >>

Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters Talk the Challenge of Selling Coffee in Dallas, The Science of Roasting

Kevin Sprague started roasting his own coffee beans as a hobby almost ten years ago when his wife, Marta, gave him a small tabletop roaster. His hobby eventually turned into Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters and now their small-batch artisanal coffee is served at several restaurants (Sissy's and Bryan St ... More >>

The Best Food Events for the Week (October 3 - October 9)

This weekend is the 4th annual Rib Rub and Run (say that three times fast) in downtown Rockwall. In addition to a 5K and 10K race, there's a rib cook-off and a People's Choice Award for chicken wings. Perhaps even more enticing - AVA, Bin 303 and Fatted Calf are all part of the food and beer garden, ... More >>

Roll Out the Barrel

Sixth-Generation Rum Maker Robert Serrallés on Trending, Aging and Sipping

The Serrallés family has been producing rum in Puerto Rico since family patriarch Don Serrallés imported a copper still from France and made his first batch in 1865. Almost 150 years later, the Serrallés family continues to produce the Don Q line of rums at their family distillery, Destilería Se ... More >>

Sundown at Granada's Prickly Pear Margs are Mediocre, but the Beer'll Do

I can't imagine the headache that the Sundown at Granada must be on weekends, because with patios like that, its Thursday through Sunday crowd must be hanging over the rooftop's railings. But for a lazy and breezy Wednesday evening, the atmosphere can't be beat. Fact: scientific research has proven ... More >>

Brad Hensarling's New Bar The Gold Standard Opens Today in Fort Worth

If you wanna talk cocktails in Fort Worth, you're likely speaking of one person and one person only: Brad Hensarling. The thirtysomething behind dive bar The Chat Room and creative cocktail den The Usual has almost single-handedly shaped the Cowtown craft drink scene, and today he expands his empir ... More >>

Pepper Smash Opens at Plano's Shops of Legacy

Chef Vijay Sadhu's cocktail-centric restaurant and bar Pepper Smash (7200 Bishop Road) soft-opened Monday in the same Shops at Legacy spot where his upscale-Indian venture Sutra closed in March after being open for less than a year. The bar program is the brainchild of Keith LaBonte, the mad scient ... More >>

Patience Is A Virture In Matters Of Pour-Over Coffee

"So you really brew every cup by hand?" I asked the petite barista wrapping up her shift at Mercantile Coffee House. She told me it was the only way they could do it, so I pointed to the two massive drip machines perched on the counter, prompting her honesty. "Gotta have some reason to keep people f ... More >>

City Inches Forward With Beer-Friendly Zoning Rules

Wouldn't it be nice if you had a magic wand you could wave and -- voila -- a keg or three of small-batch craft beer from a local microbrewery. The city of Dallas is working on its own version of the trick which, this being the city, happens in slow motion as it requires approval from several layers ... More >>

The Dram Brings a Bit of Class to Henderson Avenue's Late-Night Scene

There are a lot of things that irritate me about clubs (long lines in the girls' bathroom, aggressively flirty dudes in Tapout tees), but the thing I hate the most is shitty, expensive drinks. Fourteen dollars for a poorly mixed gin and tonic made with well liquor that's guaranteed to produce a han ... More >>

The North Texas Beer Festival Heads to Las Colinas, Gets Shunned by Deep Ellum Brewery

The North Texas Beer Festival is coming to that far- off convention center in Las Colinas. More than 200 beers will be available for tasting, organizers say, and 50 brewers will be featured at the event, including large-market brewers Samuel Adams, New Belgium and Magic Hat, and smaller breweries li ... More >>

Standard Pour, the Long-Awaited Cocktail Den, is Open and Pouring on McKinney

Standard Pour, Uptown's newest cocktail den, brought to you by Brian McCullough of Smoke and pop-up bar fame and the team behind Sfuzzi, opened last week in the old Lotus space at 2900 Mckinney Avenue. The patio was packed on a breezy Wednesday night, and inside was at about three-quarters capacity ... More >>

Dallas' Best Cocktail Wizards Threw Down at the Dram, and the Porch Won the Day

The Dram, the local chapter of the United States Bartenders' Guild and Campari recently teamed up for a cocktail competition showcasing many of Dallas' finest bartenders. The game: to create an aperitif -- that is, a drink meant to be enjoyed prior to a meal -- featuring Campari, an Italian liqueur ... More >>

Fedoras and $12 Drinks Don't Make the Bar

It's a relatively quiet Wednesday night at Deep Ellum's newest watering hole, Swallow Lounge (double entendre or just a hastily chosen name? You be the judge). I take a seat at the empty bar lined with bright red vinyl stools. Above the bar, back-lit swallows -- those little birds that adorn collarb ... More >>

New Brewing Company, Four Corners, Looks to Make it Easier to Open a Brewery

Yesterday Robert Wilonsky over at the Dallas Morning News (that feels like putting a shoe on the wrong foot) reported on a fast-tracked code issue aimed at easing restrictions on Dallas microbreweries. As it stands now, these small independent brewers are relegated to "heavy industrial" zones and in ... More >>

Dublin Bottling Works Is Taking Over Velvet Taco's Soda Fountain

Jeff Kloster has struck again. Back in January we told you about Dublin Bottling Work's move to bolster the Dublin soda industry. Maple and Motor still serves their sodas, and they're becoming more available by the day. Now Velvet Taco plans to add more of Kloster's offerings. They've been carrying ... More >>

Before a Caravan to New Orleans' Tales Of The Cocktail, Some Thoughts on Dallas Bartending

Tales of the Cocktail might be four months away, but Dallas-area mixologists are already well into planning for the event. Each year New Orleans hosts the event, which draws from an international base of cocktail enthusiasts who gather to talk booze, cross-pollinate creative ideas and get bombed. I ... More >>

Drinking at Oddfellows. And We Don't Mean Coffee. We Mean Alcohol. Was That Not Clear?

The smell of brewing coffee filled the air, rich and fragrant with undertones of cocoa and nuts. The dark brown, slightly viscous liquid dripped ever so slowly through a paper filter into an oversized glass flask -- a Chemex coffee maker, the likes of which I'd never seen before. It was an unseason ... More >>

Another Texas Icon's Caught Between Dublin Bottling Works, Plano-Based Dr Pepper: Big Red

The set-up at Maple & Motor. For now.​Ever since Jack Perkins got his Dublin Bottling Works soda fountain at Maple & Motor, well, let's say I've had way too many cane-sugar soft drinks in recent weeks. (May I recommend mixing the Tart-N-Sweet Lemonade, Cherry Limeade and Dublin Lemon-Lime ... More >>

The End May Be Near for "Mixology," So Maybe We Could Cool It with the Vests?

Catherine Downes​A few nights ago I ducked my head into the Dram (2918 N. Henderson Ave.), Dallas' newest drinking hot spot, tricked out in a sort of dark Victorian feel that is pretty stunning. It's an impressive space, and that night it was filled with all the cool kids who love to be the fi ... More >>

Dr Pepper Be Damned, Dublin Bottling Works is Striking Back Against Big Soda

Leslie Minora​Jeff Kloster, owner of Dublin Bottling Works, didn't sit on his ass and sulk after his company's settlement with Dr Pepper Snapple stripped him of his top-selling product, Dubin Dr Pepper. The day after the news hit, he says, he picked up the phone and did the same thing he's don ... More >>

Dublin Dr Pepper -- Yes, The Actual Stuff from Dublin -- Returns to Maple & Motor's Tap

As Scott mentioned earlier, Jack Perkins, founding partner of the Maple & Motor burger mecca -- and once a proud provider of Dublin Dr Pepper on tap -- is joining forces with Dublin Bottling Company to serve up the other sodas by the still-standing indie soda company. But that doesn't mean you'll ... More >>

The Big Texas Beer Fest is Coming to Fair Park, and Sounds Like it Just Might Work

​Remember when a husband-and-wife team planned a beer festival in Fair Park and everyone was all excited about it but then it got canceled and everyone, aside from a few told-ya-so-sayers, was bummed? Well, once again, a husband-and-wife team is organizing a beer festival in Fair Park. And, wi ... More >>