Breweries

Texas Lawmakers Vote to Lift Restrictions on Craft Breweries

On Friday afternoon, at 4:07 p.m., a round of applause and cheers wafted down from the balcony seats in House of Representatives as a five-pack of craft beer bills were passed with five thick slams of the gavel. It was technically the second vote of three, and the third, as a matter of formality, sh ... More >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Could Craft Cider Join The Craft Beer Movement In Dallas?

It's already started. Joel Malone is well on his way to open up a cidery right in the heart of the Bishop Arts District. His brewing operations and storefront, which he expects to open in May, will be right next to Cretia's on Bishop Street behind Lockhart Smokehouse. Malone tells me he's working t ... 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 >>

Senator John Carona's Bill Could Raise Cost of Beer Across State

On Tuesday morning the Business and Commerce Committee convened at the capitol in Austin to discuss, among other things, the future of beer in the state of Texas. In the front of the room, some of Texas' most powerful state senators sat behind their nameplates at a long curved table. Facing them in ... More >>

LUCK to Bring Craft Beer and Southern Comfort Food to Trinity Groves

With the recent boom in North Texas craft brewing, a handful of Dallas restaurants have tackled the movement by offering things like beer dinners, tap takeovers and launch parties. Well, now Dallas is about to get its first restaurant that has put craft beer first. LUCK is a craft beer inspired ki ... More >>

A North Texas Man Has Joined the Important Crusade Against Watered-Down Budweiser

On Tuesday, beer drinkers in three states filed federal lawsuits against Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer and the purveyor of Budweiser, Bud Light Lime, Michelob Ultra and other innovative beer and beer-like products. A Dallas-area drinker has now joined their ranks. Michael Seidens ... More >>

State Senator John Carona is Walking Back His Support for Craft Brewers

Dallas Republican state Senator John Carona wormed his way into beer lovers' good graces two weeks ago when he cosponsored a quartet of bills aimed at making things easier on craft brewers in Texas. The legislation, which has the support of both an impressive roster of lawmakers from both sides of ... More >>

Sen. John Carona Responds to Backlash; Didn't Bring Up Craft Beer Issue to Craft Beer Group

On Friday, when we wrote about a bill introduced by Dallas state Senator John Carona that would prohibit breweries from earning money by selling distribution rights to wholesalers -- undercutting an important source of revenue for the state's fledgling craft breweries -- his office jumped into our c ... 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 >>

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 Rise of the DFW Brew

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

Here's the Updated, Official Beer List for BrewFest

See also: Buy Tickets to BrewFest It's happening tomorrow, rain or shine. Over 250 beers will be flowing for our BrewFest beer party in the Arts District. ICYMI, doors open at 6:00 p.m. for VIP and and 7:00 for General Admission (it's 21 and up obviously), and there'll be food and music from Cody ... More >>

Music and Beer at Untapped Bring Trinity Groves Alive

Saturday's Untapped fest combined the best of my two favorite worlds, beer and music, by putting equal importance on both. Each was strong enough to stand on its own. The beer selection is usually an afterthought at music fests, its only purpose to boost the revenue, while the music selection at b ... More >>

Untapped Festival

Saturday, September 8, at Trinity Groves

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 >>

It's American Craft Beer Week. Here's Where You Should Go.

I'm pretty sure there is a holiday honoring some sort of food product every single day, with overlapping weeks and months to celebrate others. They reach a saturation point at which I tune them all out. But American Craft Beer Week, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday, is an exception, nat ... More >>

Ballast Point Comes To Dallas, Plus News on Three Upcoming Beer Celebrations

​Lots of big beer news happening since I last wrote a post. Sorry for the time away. It's not you, it's me. So rather than inundate you with a bunch of short posts, here are a few quick sips of local beer news and upcoming events. First off, San Diego's Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits has fi ... 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 >>

Reunion Brewing Company, Dallas' Next Brewery, is Coming to the Design District

​Lakewood Brewing Company is nipping at the heels of Peticolas Brewing Company and Deep Ellum Brewing Co. to be the third Dallas-area beer maker, but it's not the only start-up on the way. According to its Facebook page, Reunion Brewing Company last week signed a lease for a space in the Design Di ... More >>

Try All Five Local Breweries and Support Texas Brewers at March Beer Dinner

​Just days after Texans celebrate the state's Independence Day on March 2, drinkers can support its independent brewers and try offerings from all five of the DFW area's functional breweries. (That number won't be five forever, but more on that later.)Corey Pond at The Common Table says Rahr & ... More >>

Dallas Beer Week Vs. Meddlesome Moth: Drama in the Craft Beer World

​After the first Houston Beer Week last year, Houstonians Cathy Clark and Jay Rascoe (aka Guns and Tacos) decided Dallas needed its own week to celebrate craft beer as well, as we first told you back in February. Since then, the events planned for Dallas Beer Week, November 12 through19, have draw ... More >>

Oktoberbest 2011 Round One: Samuel Adams Speared By Harpoon, Paulaner Pounds Ayinger And More

We can only hope Hoppy The Clown brings as much drunken hilarity and pathos to The Common Table tomorrow as Shakes The Clown did to our VCR years ago.​The first round of Oktoberbest 2011 is halfway over, with a couple of surprising upsets and a couple of shocking, bit-spitting failures by favored ... More >>

Brewtopia, Beer Dinners, Oktoberfest and More Ways to Build Up Your Winter Beer Gut

Spaten will be among the beers available at Addison's Oktoberfest.​What with Central Market's Brewtopia beginning today, Addison's Oktoberfest starting tomorrow and several beer dinners planned for the rest of the month, there are enough brew events in the next couple weeks that your liver should ... More >>

The Full List Of Beers You Can Pour Out In Memory of Timbo

Here's to you, Timbo. RIP.​Timbo, the Dallas Zoo's oldest gorilla, died yesterday in surgery at the age of 49, and we're still bummed by the news. Even though we didn't know her personally, we still plan to mourn her the same way we've marked the deaths of friends, family members and celebrities a ... More >>

Brew At The Zoo: Where Else Can You Taste Craft Beers in the Presence of Giant Predators?

​By now you've probably noticed the banners across the top of our blogs or seen the Mixmaster post touting Brew at the Zoo September 10, but perhaps were hesitant to commit to a $30 ticket without knowing just which beers would be available. How about I just tell you that the ticket includes zoo ... More >>

Texas Beer Bill Dies With a Whimper, But Saint Arnold Founder Vows to Keep Up the Fight

Daniel KramerLooks like Texas legislators still don't want you bringing souvenirs home from Saint Arnold brewery tours.​Sadly and all too predictably, House Bill 602 was never put to a vote as yesterday's deadline for House bills expired. Texas lawmakers found time to legalize catfish noodling and ... More >>

World Beer Company Bottle Shop Pub and Store Soft-Opens Saturday, and More Local Beer News

No word on whether Obama beer is among the 500 available at World Beer Company Bottle Shop.​A hat tip, along with a couple of corrections, to UrbanDaddy, which scooped us on this beer bar and package store, but must have spent a little too much time coming up with a trademark story-ending zinger t ... More >>

Why Texas' Craft Beer Bills Are Doomed, And Why They Would've Been Baby Steps Anyway

Daniel KramerMaybe it's a good thing HB 602 is doomed. Think how much longer the line for this Saint Arnold tour would be if guests could take beer home.​If you're a passionate beer drinker or state-legislation fetishist, you've probably read by now  that two of the House bills favoring Texas ... More >>

For Cinco de Mayo, Skip the Tequila; Head for the Sierra Madre

​Not everything is Tecate and tequila with a smattering of high-pitched mariachi howling on Cinco de Mayo -- not anymore at least, thanks to the rise of Mexican craft breweries. The individuals behind these operations aren't going the usual lager route, as the Los Angeles Times reported earli ... More >>

What Would Happen if the Proposed Beer Legislation Becomes Law?

​Three bills bouncing around the Texas Legislature are being trumpeted as game-changers for the state's beer industry. In quick review: HB 660 would permit brewpubs to sell directly to wholesalers and distributors; HB 2436 would allow small breweries to sell their product for on- or off-site c ... More >>

Details On Two Beer Fests, Tactical Tasting, Stone Brewing Co. Events And More Beer Quick Hits

​Lots of Brews News and Brews Clues to drink in after the jump.For starters, Flying Saucer on the Lake has announced the lineup for its spring beer festival as well as an opportunity to taste Brewdog Tactical Nuclear Penguin. There's a beer festival a-brewin' in Plano. The Common Table is tapping ... More >>

Houston Beer Lovers Plan Dallas Extravaganza

​The organizers of Dallas' first-ever Beer Week say the city's lack of microbreweries has proven to be a selling point in luring leading craft brewers here for the November event. "Because there aren't a lot of local breweries here, other breweries stand a chance," Cathy Clark explains. "Brew ... More >>

Peticolas Brewing Company Sets Sights On Dallas Location

​Deep Ellum Brewing Company looks to be on pace to be the city's first non-brewpub microbrewery, but it may not be the only one for long. Attorney and homebrewer Michael Peticolas was looking into investing in a new brewery in another city. Yet the more he investigated, the more he wondered why Da ... More >>

Get Epically Stoned Tonight At The Common Table, Meet Jim Koch Friday At Ginger Man

​Paul Hightower at Dallas Craft Beer Examiner has a good round-up of the month's beer events on his January Craft Beer Calendar, and Brian Brown of Plano Craft Beer Examiner has a more thorough run-down of the week's area beer events. Both of them mention something I've had penciled on my calendar ... More >>

Where In Dallas To Taste Some of The World's Strongest Beers

Sink the Bismarck! from BrewDog on Vimeo.Scotland's Brewdog brewery made headlines early this year with Sink The Bismarck!, a 41-percent ABV quadruple IPA that surpassed German brewery Schorschbrau's 40-percent ABV Schorsbock 40% as the world's strongest beer. Schorsbock 40% had earlier one-upped Br ... More >>

Faux Belgian Brews: Ranking Celis Grand Cru And Flying Dog Raging Bitch

​This week's special Avery events at the Libertine Bar, The Common Table and the Meddlesome Moth are putting a special emphasis on the Colorado brewery's Salvation Belgian-style golden ale. The Libertine and Common Table have already offered up food pairings especially made to go with the beer, an ... More >>

Did You Know It's American Craft Beer Week? These Bars Do.

​As mentioned in Hophead a couple of weeks back, this week (May 17 to 23) is American Craft Beer Week. That item already mentioned the Texas Craft Brewers Festival Saturday night at the Dancing Bear Pub in Waco, but there are a few other ways to celebrate closer to home. This effort by the Brewer ... More >>

Taking Flight At The Meddlesome Moth, Plus Upcoming Beer Events

Jesse Hughey​One recent trend in the culinary world, the concept of the "gastro-pub," is a boon for beer lovers. Pubs that focus their efforts on good food tend to serve higher quality beers and wines than your average bar. The late, great Zymology on Lower Greenville was one short-lived example, ... More >>

Hophead: Beer Across Texas Guides Brew Lovers To The Lone Star State

​Fort Worth's Paul Hightower may make his living as a technical writer, copywriter and indexer, but one of the great passions in his life is beer. On his Dallas Craft Beer Examiner blog, he is a relentless and well-informed cheerleader for the best beers available in North Texas, whether they're b ... More >>

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