Traveling to Galveston, Texas - Beer to Try?

I'm taking a cruise out of Galveston next month and can bring two 6 packs of beer on board with me. (One for me and one for the wife, but she doesn't drink beer so really two for me.)

Does anyone have recommendations for local beer to try that I can't get at home in Indiana? Any recommendations for good stores for craft beer in Galveston?

Spec's on Smith Street in Houston is the best for any kind of alcohol. What kind of bears do you like?

Depends on what kind of beer you like but St. Arnolds is probably my favorite TX brewery, but I have limited experience with TX beers.

I believe Real Ale Brewing Co beers are only available in Texas. Also Karbach (being acquired by Anheiser Busch, though). Other local breweries with good reps, besides St. Arnolds listed above are Jester King, Hops and Grains, Austin Beerworks, Live Oak Brewery.

My local HEB grocery store has as good a selection of craft beer as the closest Specs. The one (HEB) in League City reportedly has a good selection.

I don't know where to go for it in Galveston, but several great breweries in Houston. St. Arnold's, as mentioned puts out a great beer (Lawnmower) that is pretty easy to find in convenience stores and such. Karbach makes my favorite Houston beers...they just sold out to BMC, but day to day operations/management are still the same from what I've heard. Also pretty easy to find and a lot of styles available. 8th Wonder is a pretty new brewery but doing big things. I don't know how easy it is to find their beer, but I've had it on tap at a few places and it is all great stuff.

audiophool said:

I believe Real Ale Brewing Co beers are only available in Texas. Also Karbach (being acquired by Anheiser Busch, though). Other local breweries with good reps, besides St. Arnolds listed above are Jester King, Hops and Grains, Austin Beerworks, Live Oak Brewery.

My local HEB grocery store has as good a selection of craft beer as the closest Specs. The one (HEB) in League City reportedly has a good selection.

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Austin Beerworks is probably my favorite brewery right now, Fire Eagle IPA & The Peacmaker Ale...so good. +1 on HEB being a good choice and I'm sure there is one in Galveston. I have found that HEB keeps their local beers pretty local, so you may not find the Austin beers in Houston or vice versa, so if something outside of Houston catches your eye, you may want to make a stop before you get to Galveston.

There are several new breweries in Houston, I can hardly keep track. Saint Arnold is the local standard, been around the longest and do some great stuff. Lately I've been in love with 8th wonder, specifically their Vietnamese coffee porter, "Rocket Fuel" Great stuff imo, and should be available at any HEB I'd think. Jester King does some great farmhouse-style stuff if you can find it, though I've only ever seen it in the big bottles, so not sure if that jives with the packing requirements.

Thanks everyone! This is very helpful!

I'm normally into IPAs and stouts but can go for saisons too.

They limit the bottle size to 12 oz unfortunately so I won't be able to bring on bombers.

Thanks again!

Rahr & Sons from Ft. Worth has some great beer that should be available down Galveston way.
My favorite is the "Ugly Pug" black lager. Sadly not available in the great white north.

I'm in Dallas so not sure if some of these are available in the Houston/Galveston area.

Any IPA from Deep Ellum, DE IPA, Dream Crusher, Hop Seeker

Lone Pint, Yellow Rose IPA - this is in 16.9 oz bottles so not sure if you can sneak that in.


How are you getting to Galveston? Maybe someone from Galveston will post but from my experience, there will probably not be the best selection in Galveston, you will have better selection in Houston.

There is a Spec's in Galveston though. I'm not exactly sure where the cruise ship terminal is though.

There is a Spec's in Galveston and the cruise ships dock near an area called "The Strand". Its a 10 minute drive from The strand to the Specs Liquor store.

If you are on the island long enough and want to try a local brewery, go to Galveston Island Brewing! They have a tasting room and its pretty tasty...

http://www.galvestonislandbrewing.com/

Thumbs up on Galveston Island Brewing

We are renting a car at Bush in Houston and driving to Galveston. Parking it at the cruise terminal for the week. It was about the same price as a taxi or shuttle and gives us more flexibility.

I see the Specs on the island and will probably try there. Thanks for the recommendation on the brewery! Lots of great recommendations for Texas beer to try too. I really appreciate it!

I ended up with a mixed pack of Saint Arnold at Kroger in Galveston. (The wife wanted to buy snacks for the kids so Kroger it was. No HEB in Galveston.). I've tried the Lawnmower and Art Car. Both tasty so far.

Ship has Saint Arnold Elissa and Galveston island Brewing Tiki Wheat on draft so I'll be trying those too.

Looking forward to a great cruise! Not missing the single digit weather in the Midwest from when we left.

Good choice. I probably said it above, but lawnmower is my favorite beer that I can reliably find at convenience stores. I love their pilsner too but have to go to a big store to find it. Hope you got one in the pack. Enjoy the cruise!

If you like Belgians and can find it, try Adelbert's. Any variety is good.

- Deep Ellum recently started to sell in the Houston area, so you should find some of those.

- Austin Beerworks is Austin only.

- Live Oak just started distributing outside of Austin this year into the larger Texas markets. Their hefeweizen if the best this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

- Karbach, Lone Pint, and St Arnolds are all solid Houston breweries.

- Galveston itself does not really have a brew scene, so you'll most likely find more of the widely distributed Texas beers with a heavy Houston influence.

DaWhip - the pack had lawnmower, 5 o'clock pilsner, santo, and art car IPA. I really liked the pilsner and lawnmower, but all of them were very good.

Cruise was delayed coming back into Galveston because of fog this morning so we missed our flight. Luckily we were able to rebook a flight for Christmas Eve. One more night in Houston with the family.

I'm ready to get home to a keg of dunkelweizen that should be carbed up by now! Unfortunately we'll have less than 24 hours at home before leaving for the in laws for a couple more nights away from home.

You made the best choice, other than some of their special releases, those are my four favorite St Arnold's brews. Santo and Lawnmower are two of my favorites, art car IPA and 5 o'clock pils are newer beers. 5 o'clock pils is actually my new fave. Hope you had a great cruise!

I'll echo the 8th wonder recommendation - the coffee porter is fantastic, and they also do a really good stout (dream shake) and Belgian dubbel (premium goods).