Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Texas Brewpub Report

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 (Fort Worth)
Firehouse Grill & Brewery (Mansfield) new!
Humperdink's (Arlington)*
Humperdink's (Dallas, Greenville Ave)*
Humperdink's (Dallas, NW Hwy)*
Uncle Buck's Brewery & Steakhouse (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

Dodging Duck Brewhaus (Boerne)
Faust Brewing Company (New Braunfels)
Freetail Brewing Company (San Antonio) new!
Lovejoy's Tap Room & Brewery (Austin)
Uncle Billy's Brew & Que (Austin)
Wimberley Brewing Company & Brew Pub (Wimberley) new!

West Texas

Edelweiss Brewery & Restaurant (Alpine) closed
Eola School, Restaurant & Brewery (Eola)
Jaxon's Restaurant & Brewing Company (El Paso, 4 locations)
Triple J Chophouse & Brew Company (Lubbock)

East Texas


South Texas

Port Aransas Brewing Company (Port Aransas)

Out-of-State Franchises:

BJ's Restaurant & Brewery (multiple locations statewide)
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (Plano)

8 comments:

mwedge said...

I think that Two Rows in Addison has closed as well. Their website does not list Addison as a locationn any more.

http://www.tworows.com/locations/index.php

Beer Of The Day said...

Doesn't Saint Arnold contract brew for BJ's, at least in Houston?

pqjulie said...

PubQuest is kept up to date and you can see where they all are on a map - www.pubquest.com.

Cheers!

The American Don said...

They have about 3-4 BJ's in the Houston area. Other than that why is the fourth largest city in the country sitting pretty with ONE brewpub and some chain restaurants?

assurbanipaul said...

Saint Arnold contract-brews for all the BJs in Texas, but they are using BJ's recipes.

TwoRows has abandoned all brewing ops in North Texas, just running ordinary bar & grills now.

Beer Of The Day said...

Other than that why is the fourth largest city in the country sitting pretty with ONE brewpub and some chain restaurants?

There are so many bars in Houston that offer so many different beers, I don't think brew pubs are profitable here, with all of the costs. Rock Bottom tried, and failed, because they just didn't offer enough variety. In Addison they tried to add a few BMC beers for the lightweights/ladies, but they were already circling the bowl by that time.

I think brew pubs do better in places like Fredericksburg, where their aren't as many good beer bars, or in the North, where the culture can support both business models.

But hey, if you build one, I will come (at least once).

shyfox said...

Just ate at Firehouse (the new Mansfield location) for lunch today, and I'm sorry to report that they currently are not brewing until one of the businesses on either side of their location goes under so they can expand their operation. So for now, they are only a bar & grill. Just FYI in case anyone was making a trip.

Debbie Snax said...

It's been reported that Wimberly Brewing is no more, via the Austin Zealots Yahoo! group. Place is still open but has been sold, and looks like it's becoming a restaurant of sorts. - Debbie Austin Craft Beer Examiner