Dallas area beer

I'll be in Plano TX next week. What are some good local beers to try?

The local breweries that have beer out right now (Peticolas is coming):

Rahr - Best known brewery in DFW
Franconia - Absolute must since you are in Plano
Deep Ellum Brewing Co - New brewery, haven't tried much of their stuff

Thanks for the great suggestions.

I'll wholeheartedly agree with the Rahr suggestion. The one Franconia beer I tried so far was a complete disappointment. It was a Winter Wheat that was overhopped and overspiced, tasted like dirty soapwater. Deep Ellum made a Cherry Chocolate Stout that was pretty good, not as sweet as it sounds. Real Ale and Shiner are pretty popular as well in this area. Hard to find, but if you spot any of the Jester King stuff, its definitely worth a try as well

You can find Jester King at World Market usually. I like Franconia and Rahr makes a good stout called Buffalo Butt. Shiner is the pretty much go to beer for me if there's nothing else. The local beers are what Huisache said though. Deep Ellum is in Dallas, Franconia is in McKinney where I live, and Rahr is in Fort Worth. Other good Texas beers to try would be Jester King (don't know where to find that in draft), St. Arnold, and Shiner.

Oh, if you want a really good place to go...hit up Flying Saucer in Addison...they'll have almost every beer you can imagine in bottle or on tap...around 200 different kinds I believe. (Don't quote me on the number though.)

http://www.beerknurd.com/stores/addison/

Breweries have been covered - I agree with the post on Jester King - look for Black Metal. In Plano there is a nice beer store called S&K that is a craft beer lovers paradise - they have Jester King from time to time.

In addition to the actual breweries, there are several brew pubs that are "ok" - BJs Brewery (actually does not brew there beers - contacts with St. Arnolds which is fine as they are good) and Humperdinks (one in Addison).

Also - in addition to The Flying Saucer - there is another great place for several taps of craft beer called The Gingerman - it does not have quite so many taps as FS, but is a nicer atmosphere IMO.

Overall - Dallas area is a good place for a craft beer lover.

Peticolas is out and around town.

I have yet to try Peticolas or Deep Ellum. Both seem to produce a lot of hoppy beers. I'm not a hophead and I've only come across their hoppy offerings. Rahr is hit or miss. You should be able to find the scotch ale, which is decent. Franconia should be avoided at all costs.

512 puts out an excellent pecan porter and if you like hefeweizens, Live Oak is superb. Both are Austin beers but found at local beer joints. Real ale makes a good rye pale and Southern Star makes several tasty beers. They are both southern Texas breweries but again, available in our area.

In the Plano area you could hit Flying Saucer in Addison or Gingerman in Plano. I'm more of a Gingerman fan than Flying Saucer though. The Plano Gordon Biersch is right by Gingerman. I think their seasonal is an IPA. If you come down highway 75 into Dallas there is Old Monk in North-ish Dallas. They have a reasonable selection. Meddlesome Moth, owned by the Flying Saucer folks, is just south of downtown but they have a good selection too. Very interesting stuff on tap.