Breweries in Texas: Explore Beer in America’s Second Largest State

Exploring breweries in Texas is one of the best decisions that any brewer can make as this large state has seen an impressive increase in craft breweries in the past years.

There’s a lot to expect when it comes to beer styles, creativity and passion, making this state a great tourist destination.

You should give breweries like Peticolas Brewing, Jester King, Thirsty Planet and many others a try when you visit Texas. Continue reading our complete guide to the top breweries in the state.

Texas Breweries	Number of Active Beers	ABV Range
Peticolas Brewing Company	16	4.6 – 13 percent
Karbach Brewing	15	4 – 9.5 percent
Austin Beerworks	22	3.5 – 9.7 percent
Jester King Brewery	12	4.6 – 10.5 percent
Rahr & Sons Brewing Company	17	4.5 – 9.8 percent
Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling	12	5.2 – 11.96 percent
Saint Arnold Brewery	11	4.3 – 9.2 percent
Guadalupe Brewery Company	12	4.8 – 11.1 percent
Vista Brewing	12	4.5 – 12 percent
Family Business Beer Co	14	4 – 8.9 percent
Alamo Beer Company	20	4 – 12 percent
Bluebonnet Beer Company	8	5.5 – 7 percent
SpindleTap Brewery	24	4.8 – 12 percent
Seguin Brewing Company	12	4.9 – 8.6 percent
Urban South Brewery	9	4 – 7 percent
Vallensons’ Brewing Company	16	3.5 – 9.5 percent
Deep Ellum Brewing	13	4.5 – 9.5 percent
Southern Star Brewing	7	4.2 – 9.0 percent
Revolver Brewing	11	4.5 – 7 percent
Real Ale Brewing	24	4 – 8.1 percent

Best Breweries in Texas

After much research and personal experiences, we have compiled this complete guide to breweries in Texas. From craft breweries to microbreweries, here are the best places for beer in the state.

1. Peticolas Brewing Company

Heading our list of the best Texas breweries is Peticolas Brewing Company, well-known for being a down-to-earth brewery in the state. Based in Dallas, the brewery has won multiple awards since 2013 at the U.S. OPEN Beer Championship, Great American Beer Festival, and more.

The taproom features a tri-level space and a unique design for enthusiasts to freely enjoy their brews. You can also play board games, ping pong, foosball, ring toss, shuffleboard and listen to great music. Some of their top beers include the Velvet Hammer and Come and Take It. You can also order their beers online.

2. Karbach Brewery

Karbach Brewery is next on our list and widely known for its focus on community and high-quality beers. They focus on making their craft beer available to everyone and combining fun with the experience. When you visit their taproom, you can participate in different events like a Running Club and Brews Cruise.

Asides from beer, Karbach features a restaurant with pizza, salads, burgers, desserts and a kids menu. If you’re not sure what to choose from the tap list, the Hopadillo IPA is a local favorite. Other recommended brews include the Clutch City Lager and Crawford Bock.

3. Austin Beerworks

Next on our list is Austin Beerworks, a popular Texas brewing company with an exciting taproom experience. Their taproom has a fun and homely design, and they offer a lot of beer merchandise for customers to check out. You can enjoy your beer and food indoors or take a seat in their outdoor space with fellow enthusiasts.

The brewery has Can-Tina’s food truck, which serves lunch and dinner. In their core beer selection, you can enjoy their delicious burgers with beers like the Amber Vision Ale or Sun Shovel wheat beer. You can also look out for creative seasonal brews.

4. Jester King Brewery

Jester King is one of the best places to get Texas craft beers, especially if you want one made with ingredients directly sourced from a farm. The farmhouse brewery mostly focuses on spontaneous fermentation and mixed culture yeasts. It was first founded in 2007 by Jeffrey Steffing and his brother Michael, who joined him in 2009.

The farmhouse brewery has a delicious selection of beers and a full barbecue menu to go with the brews. They also use whatever they grow to make beers and food. Check out their latest beers, the Snorkel and Black Metal.

5. Rahr & Sons Brewing Company

Moving further, we also recommend Rahr & Sons Brewing to anyone in Texas looking for a great beer tour experience. This is a family-owned brewery with a history going back to 1847, when the Rahr family emigrated to America from Germany. The brewery opened in 2004, with 150 years of experience behind it.

The brewery has a large space for events and organizes tours with souvenirs to take home during the week. The taproom is also a fun place to hang out, with different food trucks in Fort Worth offering food and live music on some days. It’s the perfect atmosphere to enjoy their canned beers like the Paleta de Mango and Texas Red.

6. Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling

At Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, fondly referred to as their “brewstillery,” you can expect an extensive range of beers and whiskey. It is based in San Antonio, Texas, and was first founded in 2010. All their beers are made by hand, and you can purchase them from stores, bars and restaurants around the state.

If you decide to enjoy their beers in the taproom, Ranger Creek has many offerings available to customers. The Laguna Madre, a Belgian-style white ale, is a popular choice, but you can also try the Sunday Morning Coming Down coffee ale.

7. Saint Arnold Brewing

Another fantastic place to get craft beer in Texas is Saint Arnold Brewing, widely known as the oldest craft brewery in the state. It has retained its reputation since 1994 for making delicious, full-flavored beers that appeal to enthusiasts.

When visiting the taproom, you can look out for their year-round, seasonal, special release, and single-batch beers. The beers are also available in bars, restaurants and stores. We highly recommend beer lovers try out the Lawnmower and Headliner.

8. Guadalupe Brewing Company

If you’re looking for something new, you will find it in Guadalupe Brewing Company. It was initially founded by Raul Deju in 2004, who had an interest in and passion for brewing beer. He later opened the taproom in 2019 in downtown Vista.

They have built an impressive following because of how often they participate in beer festivals and competitions. The taproom has a rustic and modern look, with Mexico being the theme in mind. Their year-round beer choices include Hook’d IPA, Choco Stout and El Vanillo. They also offer some award-winning seasonal brews like Heaven and Heathen.

9. Vista Brewing

Vista Brewing is next on our list as one of the top Texas beer companies. The brewery has two locations in Driftwood and San Antonio. In San Antonio, you can enjoy your beers in the tasting room and beer garden. But Driftwood is the original Texan location and is a destination brewery with live music, a beer garden, a restaurant and a farm.

In any branch you visit, you can enjoy beers on draft and in bottles, as well as non-alcoholic drinks, ciders, wines and snacks from the local food creators. Their beer selection includes a barrel program, bottled beers, gardeners and the collaboration series.

10. Family Business Beer Co.

Another brewery with its beers all over the state, Family Business Beer Co, is widely popular in Texas. You can get their beers in stores, restaurants, bars and more, or visit the taproom for a better experience.

Family Business is known for mixing up their beer styles, giving you a unique tap list from IPAs and pilsners to lagers and saisons. The Strong English Dark Ale with Sweet Potatoes and Marshmallows is great for adventurous beer drinkers. But if you want something simpler, they have a wide range of IPAs like the Cosmic Cowboy.

11. Alamo Beer Company

Another highly recommended brewery in Texas is Alamo Beer Company, founded in 2014 by Eugene Simor. It is known to make the only beer with the Alamo name since the 1919 Prohibition, and by 2019, they introduced new packaging and beer styles that fully represent Texas.

You can visit the Alamo Beer Hall for a wide range of brews on tap and delicious food. They also hold weekly events to keep customers engaged. A popular year-round beer is Davy Bockett, and you can also look out for seasonal beers and limited releases.

12. Bluebonnet Beer Company

Bluebonnet Beer Company was founded in 2013 and has become one of the best Texas brew houses in less than a decade. It started with David and Clare Hulama in Round Rock, who wanted to share their flavorful beers with the world. You can find their award-winning beers in establishments around Texas.

Their taproom has a simple food menu with snacks, salads and sandwiches when you visit their taproom. While their tap list is constantly changing, the core beers usually remain the same. Try out the Texas Pecan Brown Ale and American IPA.

13. SpindleTap Brewery

Beer lovers in Texas are very familiar with SpindleTap Brewery, one of Houston’s top breweries. It has one of the most impressive taprooms in the state, with an outdoor entertainment complex to play baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, kickball, lacrosse, disc golf and more.

It also has a coffee shop and spaces for events and parties. When at SpindleTap, you can enjoy their delicious brews and foods with friends and family while playing games. They pay a lot of attention to the quality of their beers, with unique options like Heavy Hands and Frost Bite, a cryo-hopped IPA.

14. Seguin Brewing Company

Seguin Brewing Company is next on our guide and one of the top Texas microbreweries offering a great experience. The brewery features a wide collection of beers and cocktails, and you can also enjoy delicious pizzas from the pizzeria.

You can check out the taproom, which is located in the historic downtown area, Seguin, with a classic, pub-like design. You can also order their beers to go or have a cold beer and wait for your pizza.

The brewery constantly tries out new recipes and experimental flavors and offers an impressive specialty mix selection. Some of the top beers on tap include the Lake Breeze Blonde and Pale Dorado.

15. Urban South Brewery

Urban South Brewery is another impressive brewery in Texas, although it has another branch in Los Angeles. The brewery stands out for its award-winning beers, as many of its brews have won awards from the U.S. OPEN Beverage Championship, Great American Beer Festival, Beer Army and more.

Their Houston taproom is a 14,000 sq. ft. facility with a 10-barrel brewhouse, barrel and blending room, and a canning line. You can enjoy your brews in the beer garden or the large patio, which is the perfect place to try their experimental beers. Try out Paradise Park, Lime Cucumber Gose or Snoball when you visit.

16. Vallensons’ Brewing Company

We also recommend Vallensons’ Brewing Company, an impressive veteran-owned brewery. It was founded by Valle Kauniste, who tasted a wide range of beers as he traveled around the world as a member of the U.S. Air Force. The brewery was finally opened in 2017 and is a pet and kid-friendly place to enjoy beers.

Today, the brewery offers an extensive collection of beers, wines and ciders, all paired with food provided by food trucks from local restaurants. You can also be on the lookout for live music and other fun events. Check out the Peanut Butter Blonde and Texas Squeeze IPA to fully enjoy the brewery.

17. Deep Ellum Brewing

Deep Ellum Brewing is well-known as one of the top breweries in Texas, located in the exciting city of Dallas. The brewery is the best place for beer-lovers to try out delicious brews. You can also bask in their quirky ambiance, fun events, and excellent food trucks as you enjoy their beers.

If you’re not sure what to get on their tap list, you should try out the local favorite, Dallas Blonde. However, the uniqueness of the brews increases in the seasonal selection, like the Cadillac Bandito Mexican-style lager with sea salt and lime. Take note that some of their beers are available at the taproom only.

18. Revolver Brewing

One of the best Texas craft breweries on our list, Revolver Brewing, offers a cozy space where customers can enjoy their unique and delicious beers. You can visit the brewery in Arlington or Granbury for a beer tour and enjoy their beers in the taprooms.

The brewers are known for attempting to capture Texas ingenuity into their beers, and they do so with their delicious year-round beers and creative seasonal brews. Blonde and Honey is their popular Texas ale, and you can also try out the Prickly Pear Blonde and Blackberry Haze IPA.

19. Southern Star Brewing

Southern Star Brewing is one of the best places to enjoy a taproom experience as it offers 13 acres of pure fun and delicious beers. You can enjoy your beers in the taproom, enjoy their live music events, relax in their beer garden and play golf at the disc golf course.

Every Saturday, they also organize their brewery tours, showing customers a behind-the-scenes look at how all their brews are made. Their beers also have a Texas vibe to them, and you should try out the Bombshell Blonde and Buried Hatchet Stout available year-round. Some top seasonal beers include the Oktoberfest and Winter Warmer.

20. Real Ale Brewing

Last on our list and one of the longest-running breweries in Texas is Real Ale Brewing. This impressive establishment has been known in the Texas scene since 1996 and continues to leave customers amazed by its delicious beers. They focus on quality over quantity, with 14 year-round beers and seasonal releases.

Some of their top year-round offers include the Devil’s Backbone, a Belgian-style tripel, and Small Victory, a hazy low-calorie IPA. If you want something new, you can look out for their experimental beers in the Mysterium Vernum series.

Beer Scene

The beer scene in Texas continues to increase more and more as time goes on, so it’s not surprising that the state is a top destination for beer lovers. There were about 50 breweries in the state in 2005, but there are now over 300, each offering something different.

With cities like Dallas and Houston bustling with craft breweries and microbreweries on every corner, there’s no doubt you can expect diversity and delicious beers. If you’ve been wondering whether you should check this state out, you should know that there’s no limit to what you can experience beer-wise.

FAQ

What hops are used in Texas breweries?

Texas breweries use a variety of hops, including Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook.

What is the oldest brewery in Texas?

The oldest brewery in Texas is the Spoetzl Brewery, which was founded in 1909 and is located in Shiner, Texas. It is known for producing Shiner Beer, which is a popular brand in Texas and beyond.

What beer type are Texas breweries known for?

Texas breweries are known for producing a range of beer types, but particularly popular are IPAs, stouts, and lagers.

Final Verdict and Summary

Follow our complete guide to visiting the 20 best breweries in Texas!

• The best brewery in Texas is Peticolas Brewing Company, so don’t miss this on your trip!
• If you’re craving for craft beers, then Jester King is the top place to get craft beers.
• For those who like their whiskey as much as their beer, Ranger Creek is the best brewery and distillery for beer and whiskey.
• Saint Arnold Brewery is often known as the oldest craft brewery in the state, which makes it a must-visit destination in Texas.
• For a cozy vibe, SpindleTap and Southern Star have the best taprooms in Texas.

Whether you’re in Texas or just passing through, check out the top 20 breweries in the state and fully enjoy the experience.