Something for the Weekend

Yes, the internet is brimming with suggestions for craft beer destination cities and the beer bars that accommodate such missions. Some of these pieces can even be useful in a cursory kind of way. However, the minority of them are not scribed by the men and women who scour their respective environments for any kind of beer sediment in the same way nature devours earth beneath a thirsty wave, but by provocateurs of inoffensive. This is to say that when it comes to the craft beer industry, a certain fragment of risk is its appeal, and any place that is denying dedicated taps to Big Beer is worth investigating...

Something For The Weekend is a beer enthusiast's interpretation of "what a rock musician listens to in his den", or "where a chef eats on her night off", only much more focused on the sexy fog of fermented potables. Beer. The artisanal kind.

In this edition, we tackle Austin, Texas, The Live Music Capitol of the World, America's 11th largest city, and home to one of the most rapidly developing craft brewing scenes in the country.

I think its fair to say that Austin is not the type of city to put feelers out to its citizens to gauge a reaction. Typically, when something lights fire in Austin, the thing burns trendy-hot until its ultimate demise. This is certainly the concern for the immediacy of its craft beer bar scene in that it appears several popped up around the city overnight. This said, there is really no risk involved if the premise is sharp and focused. The city loves to drink beer, particularly outdoors, and even moreso when the weather dictates imbibing outdoors. It's a city whose weekend begins on Wednesday nights and end as the final ticks of Monday Night Football's broadcast count to quadruple zeros. Then there is the single day of rest for in-home consumption, be it homemade or store sourced.

Austinites enjoy their hot summers because its good beer drinking weather, they enjoy their mild winters because its good beer drinking weather, and somewhere in between those two seasons, there are large-scale events, like SXSW, Austin City Limits, F1 Racing, and college football, that, of course, promote good beer drinking.

But where do craft-thirsty Austinites go to enjoy its local and national potables between the madness of festivals and sports?

Here are the 11 best craft beer destinations of Austin which cater to the instincts of the craft beer enthusiast and the craft-curious as well.

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Bangers Sausage House & Beer Garden
[79 & 81 Rainey St | (512) 386-1656 | M-W,Su 11a-11p/ Th-Sa 11a-2a]

With 101 taps on the beer wall and two casks serving mostly American microbrews, plus a handful of international hits thrown about for good measure, one could go figuratively insane with choices at Banger's. This mostly-outdoor biergarten-style tavern serves a variety of artisinal sausages to match their considerably vast liquid inventory, then ties it all together with frequent live music and a lengthy dog run for the cat haters in Austin.

Craft Pride
[61 Rainey St. | (512) 826-1238 | M-F 4p-2a/ Sa-Su 12p-2a]

One would expect 103 beer choices in the immediate vicinity to ward off any further craft beer infiltrators in the Rainey Street district, but Craft Pride has proven to own balls the size of watermelons. Not only does Craft Pride help hoist the banner of small beer with their neighbors to the north in Bangers, but carries the flag of an exclusively Texas-only brew wall. Yes, every tap in the place was made in the Lone Star state, which is a great way to feature the rarer beers of smaller Texas breweries who may not yet have the cache to get on a more nationally-expansive beer wall.

Craft Pride also allocated space on the property to a commercial-grade bottle shop, where one can grab a sixer or large format beer to-go.

Hopfields
[3110 Guadalupe St | (512) 537-0467 | T-F, Su 11a-Mid/ Sa 11a - 1a]

Hopfields maintains one of the most impressively curated beer wall in the city, often scoring rarities and one-offs from local and national brewers. A gorgeous interior, space for private dining, and a nifty patio ensures Hopfield's as an all-season, all-occasions pub serving French-American fare.

A major appeal of Hopfield's is their bottle exchange program, where a registered member can trade rare or out-of-market beers on a peer-to-peer basis for onsite consumption.

The first thing to be aware of is the extremely delicate nature of the process of culturing yeast. This is microbiology. You can do it at home, but it is best if you have a safe location in which to store your tools, pots, pans, measures and lab glass where it will not be used for regular kitchen use. Keep the tools you are using cleaned and sanitized at all times to minimize the risk of microbial infection from unwanted sources. The environment you choose to work in can have a big influence on your results. Avoid drafty areas in your home and places with heavy foot traffic.

Draught House Pub
[4112 Medical Parkway | (512) 452-6258 | M-Th 5p-2a/ F-Su 1p-2a]

North-Central Austin has always been prime stomping grounds for beer nerds, and that has much to do with the legendary Draught House, a frequent dweller of any Best Beer Bar list in publications that matter. The Draught House is where one sends an enthusiastic buddy visiting from some other impressive beer locale, like Colorado or Michigan, to get his craft on. Draught House is notorious for being THE first stop of rarities and one-offs, particularly during their legendary anniversary parties held each October.

Pinthouse Pizza
[4729 Burnet Rd. | (512) 436-9605 | Su-W 11a-11p/ Th-Sa 11a-Mid]

Look, you can choose something off the the thoughtfully culled tap wall, or you can do yourself a solid by choosing one of Joe Mohrfield's (formerly of Odell Brewing) expertly crafted in-house beers. Because Odell does not distribute at this time to Texas, visiting Pinthouse Pizza is a great way to experience the philosophies of mountain west brewing. Together with hand-made pizzas and communal tables, there is perhaps no better 1-2-3 combo in the city for gathering a family together for Sunday dinner.

Billy's on Burnet
[2105 Hancock Dr. | (512) 407-9305 | M-F 11a-Mid/ Sa 11a-1a/ Su 12p-Mid]

Billy's is defined by being unrefined. A dive by any other definition, their focus on craft beer is unmatched, masterfully composed by Billy himself. Billy's is a popular hangout for a vast selection of Austin's brewing talent away on short, but important beer-making sabbaticals. One could do a lot worse than a happy hour pint and a Cobra Burger. A LOT worse.

Black Star Co-Op Pub & Brewery
[7020 Easy Wind Dr | (512) 452-2337 | M-Th 4p-Mid/ F-Sa 11a-1a / Su 11a-Mid]

While the focus of Black Star is their own liquid imagination headed by the talented Jeff Young, this gastro-pub has a fine selection of local and national beers to appease a heavily-concentrated happy hour crowd. As the country's first Co-Op brewery, the company itself prides itself on livable wages for its staff and community sourcing of their beers.

drink.well.
[207 E 53rd St | (512) 614-6683 | T-Th 4p-11p/ F 4-Mid/ Sa 11a-Mid/ Su 11a-11p]

The smallest and most intimate of all the venues listed, drink.well. offers cozy and warm service designed to approximate a neighborhood pub in a major New York borough. Though the selection of taps is only eight deep, it is perhaps the most carefully considered wall in the city because of that fact. Drink.well. also appears to have just the right connections to entertain one-offs and rarities from the city's most popular brewers. It should also be noted that drink.well. offers the most inventive and tasty food menu on this list. True story.

Hi Hat Public House
[2121 E 6th St | (512) 478-8700 | T-Th 4p-11p/ F 4-Mid/ Sa 11-Mid/ Su 11a-10p]

Hi Hat is the newest craft beer bar on this list, but quite obviously wise beyond its years. The staff is comprised of expert beerists, and what they lack in inventory versus the venue with humongous beer walls, they make up for in clarity of choices. If you ask for a style, they will almost always be able to accommodate. That makes them alright in our book. Look for it soon.

Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza
[13187 Fitzhugh Road | (512) 900-9079 | Sat 11:30a-4:00p/ Su 11:30a-3:00p]
Stanley's is a genius creation. It sits on the property of Jester King Brewery, but acts as its own entity. Because so, it may offer its own hand-selected beers for sale, because of its proximity to the brewery, gets a prime selection of Jester King's latest offering. But here is where Stanley's takes it a step further: because of Texas' archaic distribution laws, Jester King is not legally allowed to sell their own to-go bottles of beer. But guess who happily plays the role of 3rd-party distributor. That's right, Stanley's. Moreover, one can enjoy the grounds of Jester King while munching away on wood-fired pizza and full pints of craft beer.

Whip In
[1950 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd | (512) 442-5337 | Everyday 10a-Mid]

While Whip In is not quite the Grandaddy of all Austin beer bars (that would be the aforementioned Draught House), Whip In is the cool stoner uncle of the Austin craft scene. Part beer room, part brewery, part bottle shop, and part Indian restaurant, makes Whip In wholly unique. This place wields a lot of influence on the beer community and have helped to harbor in craft-beer-as-a-culture in Austin. Long may it live.

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Eric Puga is a beer writer, ok, fine beer blogger Austin, TX. Eric began dabbling in the culture surrounding the craft beer scene taking root in the United States since before you were born. Like indie music, his favorite beers are ones that haven't even been invented yet. Sure, his first brewery tour was to the Coors facility in the mid-80s, but eventually worked up to being a semi-regular at the Celis taproom in the late-90s. He is still waiting patiently for its return. Eric maintains the quality control division of Avenue Brewing, his wife's 10-gallon home brewing operation. Eric authors the beer blog [An Avenue], contributes beer columns to the Austinist, and talks indie music/craft beer on a semi-frequent podcast called Draught Punk. Follow Eric on

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