hunter_le five
Sheriff Underscore
Saturday morning I hopped on my Harley and headed towards Burnet, TX to visit my parents and help them out with some heavy lifting. I was passing by a couple brew-pubs on the way, so I figured I'd stop and check them out. Why waste a good opportunity to try some new brews?
I hit each one twice; once each on the way there, and again on the way back. I wanted to make sure I got to try as many of their beers as possible without being too tipsy to ride.
First up was Pecan Street Brewing in Johnson City, TX. Tucked off of Main Street in the downtown square, this brewpub looks like a typical old-world downtown diner or cafe, but sitting at the bar you are treated to a nice view of their in-house brewery. The brewer wan't present so I didn't get to pester him with questions, but it looks to my untrained eye to be about a 5-7bbl system, and they had 7 different house beers on tap to try, as well as a couple other Texas-brewery guest taps.
I started off with a pint of Ten Penny Nail, a smooth malty Scotch Ale, and washed it down with the hickory burger and fries (both excellent). On the way back, I had the Johnson City Lager, a light amber of some sort (Vienna lager, perhaps?). It was a little sweet for my tastes, but still good. I would gladly go back just for the Ten Penny Nail, if not to try the other selections.
Photos courtesy of Way Out West Austin
About 25 miles up the road or so, I stopped in Marble Falls at Double Horn Brewing. I was still full from the burger and fries at the last brewpub, so when I walked in this time it was straight to business. Just beer, no futzing about with time-wasters like "food". I sat at the bar, and was a bit disappointed that there was no view of the works this time. From all appearances, it was just your typical craft beer bar, with a row of taps, a couple televisions, and two large chalkboards declaring the IBUs and ABVs and pedigree of everything they served. The pretty, heavily-tattooed blonde behind the bar assured me there was in fact a brewery on premise, but you had to sit in the main dining room to see it. I resolved to take a quick peek on my way out.
I ordered the Over/Under Amber ale. It came out of the tap murky, and I was expecting to taste yeast or sediment by the appearance of it. It was actually very crisp and clean tasting, with slight citrus notes, so I'll chalk it up to an especially bad case of chill-haze. Visually, it reminded me more of a beginner's early attempt at homebrew, having not yet learned how to clarify their beer, but at least taste-wise it was perfectly good. On the way back, I had the Güero, a light-golden wheat ale of an unspecified style. I'm not normally a fan of blonde ales or wheat ales, but this one was very pleasant, and quite refreshing after an afternoon of lugging around large chunks of granite and riding motorcycles in the hot sun. Again, the beer was quite cloudy, but not surprising (this time) being a wheat ale. Unfortunately, the hot blonde bartender was no longer in attendance this time around.
Photos courtesy of Way Out West Austin
I was also passing through Blanco and wanted to stop at Real Ale Brewing Company, of which I am a huge fan, but apparently their tap room is only open on Fridays, so I'll have to save that one for another day (a Friday, to be specific).
As for Pecan Street and Double Horn, I plan on stopping by both next time I'm in the area. They are worth the return visit.
I hit each one twice; once each on the way there, and again on the way back. I wanted to make sure I got to try as many of their beers as possible without being too tipsy to ride.
First up was Pecan Street Brewing in Johnson City, TX. Tucked off of Main Street in the downtown square, this brewpub looks like a typical old-world downtown diner or cafe, but sitting at the bar you are treated to a nice view of their in-house brewery. The brewer wan't present so I didn't get to pester him with questions, but it looks to my untrained eye to be about a 5-7bbl system, and they had 7 different house beers on tap to try, as well as a couple other Texas-brewery guest taps.
I started off with a pint of Ten Penny Nail, a smooth malty Scotch Ale, and washed it down with the hickory burger and fries (both excellent). On the way back, I had the Johnson City Lager, a light amber of some sort (Vienna lager, perhaps?). It was a little sweet for my tastes, but still good. I would gladly go back just for the Ten Penny Nail, if not to try the other selections.
Photos courtesy of Way Out West Austin
About 25 miles up the road or so, I stopped in Marble Falls at Double Horn Brewing. I was still full from the burger and fries at the last brewpub, so when I walked in this time it was straight to business. Just beer, no futzing about with time-wasters like "food". I sat at the bar, and was a bit disappointed that there was no view of the works this time. From all appearances, it was just your typical craft beer bar, with a row of taps, a couple televisions, and two large chalkboards declaring the IBUs and ABVs and pedigree of everything they served. The pretty, heavily-tattooed blonde behind the bar assured me there was in fact a brewery on premise, but you had to sit in the main dining room to see it. I resolved to take a quick peek on my way out.
I ordered the Over/Under Amber ale. It came out of the tap murky, and I was expecting to taste yeast or sediment by the appearance of it. It was actually very crisp and clean tasting, with slight citrus notes, so I'll chalk it up to an especially bad case of chill-haze. Visually, it reminded me more of a beginner's early attempt at homebrew, having not yet learned how to clarify their beer, but at least taste-wise it was perfectly good. On the way back, I had the Güero, a light-golden wheat ale of an unspecified style. I'm not normally a fan of blonde ales or wheat ales, but this one was very pleasant, and quite refreshing after an afternoon of lugging around large chunks of granite and riding motorcycles in the hot sun. Again, the beer was quite cloudy, but not surprising (this time) being a wheat ale. Unfortunately, the hot blonde bartender was no longer in attendance this time around.
Photos courtesy of Way Out West Austin
I was also passing through Blanco and wanted to stop at Real Ale Brewing Company, of which I am a huge fan, but apparently their tap room is only open on Fridays, so I'll have to save that one for another day (a Friday, to be specific).
As for Pecan Street and Double Horn, I plan on stopping by both next time I'm in the area. They are worth the return visit.
