texas beer

Austin, TX

Austin has become one of the trendiest cities in the US and for good reason! Tacos, nature, & plenty of breweries--what more do you need? 

ATX Tips: 

  • Be sure to plan your day(s) out ahead of time so you don't spend too much time hopping from one part of town to another, it's a relatively large city

  • If you’re flying into Austin and taking a rideshare keep in mind you’ll need to walk out to the parking garage to get to the pickup area. It’s only a few minutes, but don’t call your ride until you’re walking or you might be late!

  • This may be obvious for some of you, but just in case: breakfast tacos. Duh. When you think about all of the tacos in Austin you might automatically think lunch/dinner, but don't sleep on breakfast tacos (see what I did there?)

Adventures & Ales Top Austin Recommendations: ​

  • Live Oak Brewing: A traditional German brewery with your standard Hefeweizen, Kolsch, and so on. The vibes are casual with disc golf and lots of picnic tables and live oaks (if the name didn’t give that away for you). The German food truck onsite, The Black Forest, is amazing. This is right near the airport, so go on your way in or out of town!

  • St Elmo Brewing: Industrial vibes with a large outdoor space, and tasty beers. Spicy Boys Fried Chicken food truck lives onsite for eats.

    • This is located inside The Yard, a fun development space with a winery, distillery, cocktail bar, sake, seltzery, restaurants. and a coffee shop.

  • Banger's Sausage House and Beer Garden: Highly recommend particularly for brunch. Get there early or expect to wait, but the 'manmosa' with a  full bottle of champagne in it is well worth the wait! They also have live music and a great outdoor space. Touristy but fun!

  • Traveling with a group? AvantStay has some amazing larger homes for rent! Use my link here to save $250 off your booking!

  • Wine country: If you have access to a car the wineries west of the city are awesome! Fredericksburg is the most popular of the Texas Wine Trail. Vinovium is a more casual wine stop that has cute outdoor seating and super friendly staff!

  • Better Half Coffee and Cocktails: A fun spot any time of day—their menu rotates for the morning and evening with great options. They have a nice patio space and the interior is very cute.

    • Holdout Brewing: Located directly next door to Better Half! They have a nice patio space and good beers.

  • Vacancy Brewing: A great brewery right across from The Yard. They are small but putting out tasty beers. They’ve also got a food truck onsite with a contemporary Tao menu.

  • Southern Heights Brewing Company: A solid brewery in East Austin with chill warehouse vibes. The team here is super nice and they have a large tap list with a wide variety of beers.

  • Torchy's Tacos: They’ve got several locations across town—their queso is SO good!

  • Zilker Brewing Co: Beers are good, atmosphere is fun, and they have a food truck that lives out front.

  • Walton's Fancy and Staple: Great spot for breakfast, lunch and flowers.

  • Meanwhile Brewing: A nice brewery with a massive outdoor space. There are tons of picnic tables, Adirondack chairs, a field, a playground and a stage. They also have 5 food trucks onsite with something for every palate. In addition to their beers they have cocktails, wine and coffee.

Torchy’s

Austin Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

  • Rainey Street: The street has changed a lot in the last few years but it is definitely still worth spending time on. The street is full of cute old houses converted into bars and restaurants.

  • Voodoo Donuts: SO good. This Portland donut shop has extreme donuts that are truly fantastic.

  • Dirty 6th: The tourist part of 6th Street is basically a less cool version of Beale Street in Memphis or Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I definitely recommend getting on the jackalope (you’ll see) if you find yourself here.

  • Lady Bird Lake: The "lake" is really just the section of the Colorado River that runs through downtown, but there are great trails around it, as well as kayaking, paddle boarding, and more!

  • The Broken Spoke: Get your Texas Two Step on at this classic dance bar.

  • UT Austin: The University of Texas, Austin is a pretty campus to wander through on your adventures downtown!

St. Elmo

Other Austin Things To Do:​​

  • Jester King Brewery: It's a solid drive outside of the city, but their sours are stellar so it may be worth adding to your itinerary, as it is definitely the most famous Austin brewery.

  • Vista Brewing: 30 minutes from Austin in the countryside, Vista has gorgeous grounds, delicious food, and a great beer selection. They specialize in barrel aged farmhouse ales, but everything was good here. Snag a cheese plate and some beer fried donuts if you know what’s good for you!

  • Lazarus Brewing: A little pricey, but the beers were good, the food was tasty, and the atmosphere was fun. Live music and a mixed indoor/outdoor style

  • Oskar Blues Brewing: The Austin location of the popular Colorado brewery. Live music stage, outdoor seating, and all the yummy beers this brewery is known for.

  • Irene's: cute little restaurant with delicious frosé.

  • 4th Tap Brewing: A co-op brewery where the employees are part owner. It's pretty far north, but if you're in the area it's a cool spot with good beers!

    • Also in North Austin is North by Northwest Brewing that has great food, it’s definitely more restaurant-focused than brewery-focused though as a forewarning

  • Mount Bonnell: A fun "hike" with great views of the city and the river. Very easy and quite short.

  • Pinthouse Pizza and Brewery: Great IPAs, great pizza. Two locations in Austin for your convenience.

  • Texas State History Museum: Learn about the The Lone Star State at this thorough museum right near UT Austin.

  • Oddwood Brewing: A solid brewery in East Austin with their own food menu and a BBQ food truck onsite. They have a nice patio space.

  • Batch Craft Beer and Kolaches: A mediocre brewery with a great patio, a large selection of kolaches, and frequent food trucks.

Skip: ​

  • Graffiti Park/Hope Outdoor Gallery: overrun with tourists with their own spray paint, this used to be an awesome outdoor exhibit but sadly it's no longer worth your time

Dallas, TX

Dallas is a booming metropolis ​that is very... Texas. Ya know? Those Texas vibes? That's Dallas.

Dallas Tips: 

  • The city is huge, be sure to have a plan for transportation

  • Because the Dallas-Fort Worth metro is so large you could spend a solid chunk of time here—I’d say up to a week if you explore both cities!

Pssst: Check out all my Fort Worth tips here!

Adventures & Ales Top Dallas Recommendations: 

  • Peticolas Brewing: A very fun taproom with repurposed materials, games, outdoor space, and yummy beers. Try the velvet hammer!

  • The Rustic: Live music, a wide variety of beers on tap, and delicious food. I'd recommend the family style brunch (& then eat it all yourself)

  • Braindead Brewing: Delicious beers, delicious brunch, and a fantastic outdoor patio

  • The Foundry: Another very cool live music venue with cool seating options, lots of beers and cocktails, and a restaurant

The Rustic

Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth is looked at as Dallas’s little sister, but it is full of its own adventures & personality.

Pssst: Check out all my Dallas recs here!

Fort Worth Tips: 

  • As is true of most places in Texas, Fort Worth is quite spread out so be sure to either rent a car or plan ahead for your adventures

  • Some breweries in Fort Worth have funky hours/rules. If you’re trying to brewery hop I would definitely try to be here on a Saturday to ensure you can visit the best spots.

Adventures & Ales Top Fort Worth Recommendations: ​

  • Martin House Brewing: A great brewery with a huge list of brews. Check out the sours especially!

  • Snooze AM Eatery: This ever popular brunch spot is phenomenal. Pancake flights, huevos rancheros, and more!

  • Torchy’s! If you’ve read my Austin post you know how I feel about Torchy’s. The best queso ever. The best tacos ever. GO!

  • Magnolia Avenue: Wander around the numerous coffee shops, bars, and shops on this cute little street.

Rahr & Sons

Fort Worth Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

  • The Stockyards: So touristy. So over the top. Check out the cattle drive daily at 11:30 and 4 and then roll out

  • Fort Worth Water Gardens: A cool spot with several water fountains, each a little different

  • Sundance Square: The main square of Fort Worth. Many shops and restaurants are centered around it. Grab a coffee and just soak it all in.

Other Fort Worth Things To Do:​​

  • Rahr & Sons Brewing: A brewery with limited hours, get here right when they open because it’s 3 beers and a pint glass for $10, but your time is limited!

  • Trinity Trails: Walking trails long the Trinity River. A great way to get outdoors and venture between neighborhoods!

  • HopFusion Ale Works: A popular brewery in Near Southside that usually has a food truck. Lots of beers to choose from so I would recommend a flight!

  • Cowtown Brewing: Solid beers and a huge meat menu

  • FabLab LTO: In the heart of Near Southside, this cute little collection has local goods and shops that give back to charity

  • Locust Cider: A good cidery with several different options!

Skip:

San Antonio, TX

San Antonio was a little disappointing to me, but there’s a lot of potential in this Texan city, so check it out!

SA Tips: 

  • Like most of Texas, San Antonio is pretty spread out so be sure to have a game plan before you start your adventure

  • San Antonio is also pretty close to Austin so it makes for a good quick side trip!

    Check out my Austin recommendations here!

Adventures and Ales Top San Antonio Recommendations:

  • Weathered Soul Brewing: Located in Northern San Antonio, this brewery is cranking out some good stuff so be sure to check it out! They have a nice patio for sunny days and their staff is incredibly nice. They’ve also got a small food menu if you’re hungry.

  • Wander the downtown area: There are a lot of similarities between downtown SA and the French Quarter in New Orleans with beautiful architecture, so take some time to just wander the area and soak it all in.

  • The Growler Exchange: Beer bar with 30 taps with a mix of local and beyond. They have pizza and bar snacks as well (skip the pizza). They are close to the airport so I would recommend it for a beer on your way in or out of town!

San Antonio Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting: ​

  • The Riverwalk: See it. Get out. The Riverwalk sucks in my opinion. It’s SO touristy. I would say snag your classic picture then scoot out of there.

    • If you decide to stick around I would recommend Speisekarte Biergarten, a German-esque biergarten on the river.

  • The Alamo: If I were to do it again, I would not waste my time going into The Alamo. Look at the outside, it’s pretty, then move on. There is frequently a long line and there is really not much to see.

  • The Pearl: They’ve converted the old brewery space into a mixed use development with a food hall, restaurants, and plenty of outdoor space. Skip the brewery here.

The Alamo

Other San Antonio Things To Do:

  • Alamo Beer Co.: Another brewery option, they were closed to the public when I was in town but it seems cool!

Skip

  • Southerleigh Brewery: Horrible service. This is the brewery located inside the old Pearl Brewery compound.

  • Freetail Brewing: I was incredibly unimpressed with Freetail for it being one of the biggest breweries in SA. I went to their brewpub location where the food was tasty but the beer was just average.

  • Viva Taco Land: They don’t have tacos!? Pardon me, but if tacos are in your name, I would expect to be able to eat tacos. They don’t have any food during the day until food trucks occasionally roll up in the evenings. Very misleading and disappointing.