Santa brought Lewisville an early present this year in the form of its first brewery. Co-founder Bill Shaw started brewing years ago, then roped in his son-in-law Neil MacCuish. After years of tinkering with home-brew recipes, the two decided to push it all to the middle of the table and open a brewery.
This weekend that whole crazy idea came to fruition with the grand opening of Cobra Brewing Co. just south of Main Street in Lewisville (146 Whatley Ave.). Using old dairy equipment, Cobra premiered an IPA, a winter ale, pumpkin ale, pumpkin stout, Blonde Cascade and Blonde Tattnanger (Cascade and Tattnanger are hop varieties).
The taproom is decked out with Christmas lights and a tree, pool tables and a small bar. Cobra will have tours every weekend, including noon to 4 p.m. next Saturday. Ten bucks at the door gets you a commemorative glass and three samples.
"As far as the styles of beer, we aren't really directed towards anything specific," says MacCuish. "In the future we will be experimenting with different flavors and styles of beer, for example specialty IPAs, Belgians, English brews and many more. We want to be able to cater to all of our customers' palate types, so we will continue to come up with new brews as often as possible."
Many local breweries are taking advantage a law that went into effect this summer that allows on-site consumption. Essentially, breweries can now be mini-bars now. ("Mini" because they are limited to 5,000 barrels annually, which realistically won't be an issue considering most are open only one day a week for a few hours.)
But, at heart, most breweries are looking to create a neighborhood atmosphere, where friends and the local community gather for a Saturday afternoon pint or two, a trend arguably started by Rahr & Sons in Fort Worth about 10 years ago that is now quickly spreading throughout North Texas. It's good times.
If you can't make it out to a tour at Cobra, Square One Market in Lewisville has a keg on tap if you'd like to try a pint.