Microbreweries

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 >>

Grapevine Craft Brewery Taps Friends and Fans (i.e. You?) for Final Funding Push

Previously we told you about the Grapevine Craft Brewery. Gary Humble fell in love with Grapevine about the same time he fell in love with craft beer, so he decided to open up a (rather swank) craft brewery, which they've recently broken ground on. It'll be the craft beer stop on the wine circuit. ... More >>

Lakewood Brewery Tours: Not a Bar, But Not Bad At All

With other, more aesthetically pleasing options (sunny patios, shady backyards, quiet bars) a dusty industrial park is probably not the first idea that pops into your head when dreaming up Saturday afternoon drinking plans. But as craft breweries have continued to crop up all over Dallas, they've p ... 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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Public Hearing Set for Craft Beer Legislation, Plus a Brief Recap on Legislative Processes

Five bills have recently been introduced in the Legislature that would affect the business of craft beer in the state of Texas. Four are good for the business of craft brewing. One is not-so-good. This coming Tuesday, March 5, the Business and Commerce Committee will meet at 8 a.m. to discuss all ... 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 >>

Spoon Bar & Kitchen Opens, Il Cane Rosso Announces a Second Location and More From November

While a handful of restaurants popped up in the DFW area last month, November wasn't nearly as busy as October for restaurant openings and closings. Read on for the full list and be sure to share tips about new and/or dead restaurants in the comments section below or at dish@dallasobserver.com. Spo ... More >>

Grapevine Craft Brewery to Break Ground on New Brewery This Spring

Grapevine now has another craft brewery in the works (in addition to Noble Rey). Gary Humble, who lives in Grapevine, has been a pastor for the past 15 years and more recently has fallen in love with home brewing. It's a natural progression, after all. The process of purifying water into beer was 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 >>

Roll Out the Barrel

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Near Beer

The fad fades, but brewpubs survive