North Texas has best ever showing at 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Image credit: U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Winners were announced today at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Based in Oxford, Ohio, the U.S. Open is now in its sixteenth year. The event, billed as the second largest annual beer judging competition in America, has been a popular testing ground for local brewers for more than a decade. 

Looking back, the first win for a North Texas brewer occurred in 2012, but the region has celebrated wins for multiple breweries in each of the last 12 years - 2024 included. And now with this year's results, 29 area breweries have been awarded 175 medals combined at the U.S. Open since its inception.

For 2024, over 9000 beers were submitted for judging across 152 categories. From the pool, 11 breweries from North Texas were awarded 21 medals total (4 gold, 11 silver, 6 bronze).

This represents the best showing ever for the region, besting the 19 medals won by North Texas breweries in 2022. First time U.S. Open honorees for 2024 include Flix Brewhouse - Mansfield and Three Wide Brewing Co. of Fort Worth (though, the brewer in question here does have a bit of U.S. Open hardware from the Rabbit Hole days).

A complete list of winning beers from North Texas is provided below. Click here for a full competition summary.

Armor Brewing Co., Allen

• Gold for Enigma in the Historical Beer category.
• Silver for Blood Orange Gose in the Fruit Gose category.

Bankhead Brewing Co., Rowlett

• Silver for Sherpa's Secret in the American-Style Lager category.

Celestial Beerworks, Dallas

• Gold for Kashmir (a collaboration with Mox Nix Brewery) in the Mixed-Culture Brett Beer category.
• Silver for Satellite in the American Light Lager category.
• Bronze for It's All Happening in the English Barley Wine category

False Idol Brewing, North Richland Hills

• Silver for Eight One Seven in the Munchner Dunkel category.
• Bronze for To Live & Die in L.A. in the New Zealand-Style IPA category.
• Bronze for Overgrown Frenzy in the Field Beer category.

Flix Brewhouse, Mansfield

• Bronze for Tmave Pivo 13 in the European Dark Lager category.

Lakewood Brewing Co., Garland

• Silver for Lion's Share XI in the American Barley Wine category.
• Silver for Hydro in the Non-Alcoholic Hop Water category.

Maple Branch Craft Brewery, Fort Worth

• Silver for Sun, Moon & Stars in the Belgian Quadrupel category.
• Bronze for Battle of Britain in the English Barley Wine category.

Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas

• Silver for Barrel-Aged Vanilla Porter with Tart Cherries in the Wood/Barrel-Aged Fruit Beer category.
• Silver for Tejano Pecano in the Nut Beer category.
• Bronze for Festbier in the German-Style Oktoberfest category.

Odd Muse Brewing Co., Farmers Branch

• Gold for Shoot the Moon in the New Zealand-Style IPA category.

Three Wide Brewing Co., Fort Worth

• Gold for Harlequin Dancer in the English Pale Ale category.
• Silver for Berry Optimistic in the Fruit Wheat Beer - Mixed category.

Union Bear Brewing Co., Denton/Plano

• Silver for Union Bear Stout in the American Stout category.

Cheers and congratulations to all!

Three Wide now wide open in Fort Worth

All images © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D.

Three Wide Brewing Co. has opened in Fort Worth, as the business is celebrating its highly-anticipated debut with Grand Opening festivities this weekend. Located at 16230 Three Wide Dr., the brewery lies just west and within earshot of Texas Motor Speedway (TMS).

For team members Matt Morriss and Tom Anderson, Three Wide represents a return from down the 'Rabbit  Hole,' if you'll recall the Alice in Wonderland-themed brewery the two helped establish just four miles down the road in Justin. With this new venture, they've joined forces with Hau Lau, Roger Ma and Helen Ma, along with yet another former Rabbit Hole crew member in Joshua Mercer, who takes on the role of head brewer at Three Wide.

Of course, motorsports fans will know "three wide" is a racing term referring to when cars run side-by-side-by-side across the width of the track. Three Wide's moniker was surely influenced by its proximity to TMS, and it's almost a given the brewery will become a default destination for pre- or post-race day shenanigans.

One reason is because Three Wide has the makings of a beer drinking, sports-watching mecca. With a bank of eight large widescreens above the main bar, another four encircling an arena-like scoreboard dropping down from the ceiling, and additional TVs along the walls, Three Wide isn't just some bar where you go to watch THE game, it's a brewery you go to when you want to watch ALL the games.

Plus, patrons can enjoy the ambiance both inside and out on two levels. Downstairs, a covered patio extends the dining area outside, while the upstairs adds a second bar, seating overlooking the brewhouse, and an open-air balcony.

Options to eat - Footlong Bratwurst (sauerkraut, caramelized onions, Dijon mustard,
grilled baguette), and drink - Wake Up Call (Belgian-style pale ale with coffee).

Another reason is the eats and drinks. Liquid-wise, Three Wide will pour upwards of 20 house beers into proper glassware on a daily basis. And, fermentation has clearly been underway for a while, since 19 taps were flowing on opening day. Initial style options included six IPAs (English, hazy, double hazy, rye, West Coast, double West Coast) and two stouts, along with a variety of Belgian, English and German offerings.

Oh, and if anyone was wondering about new takes on former Rabbit Hole recipes making an appearance at Three Wide, one candidate may be a brown ale called Heart of Glass. It's said to be "truly rapturous."

On the culinary side, Three Wide's kitchen is led by Roger Evaristo, who appropriately enough has done some cooking for NASCAR. The Brazilian-born chef owns Azores Craft Sausages & Charcuterie in Roanoke, so Three Wide is essentially a second location. Look for his menu to feature snacks, burgers, sandwiches, Neapolitan-style pizzas and more.

Beyond all that, there are attractions like to-go beers (coming soon), board games, giant Connect Four, live music bookings, and something to do with a speakeasy or private event area lurking behind a rotating bookcase. And, let's also not overlook the barrel stacks in the production space. The latter promising barrel-aged beers to be discovered sometime down the road.

Three Wide Brewing Co. offers service daily, with hours beginning at 11 a.m.