Ivanhoe Ale Works closing brewing in Denison

Image credit: Ivanhoe Ale Works.

Ivanhoe Ale Works has announced the pending closure of its brewery in Denison.

Founded in 2015 by Gabe and Barbara Parker, Ivanhoe Ale Works got its name from the location of the couple's 100-year-old family farm in Ivanhoe, Texas. There in 1989, the Parker's debuted their original venture, Homestead Winery, with a tasting room in Denison opening in 1998. The brewery was then built adjacent to Homestead in Denison's downtown district, effectively creating the first brew-winery in the State of Texas.

From a social media post:

"Hey y'all ~ we have some sad news…we are officially preparing to close our doors at Ivanhoe Ale Works. Our final closing date is still TBD, but we are preparing to wind down operations.

Gabe started Ivanhoe Ale Works with a dream and a burning passion to be the first Brew-Winery in Texas, and we remain proud of all his gumption and work, but it's time to refocus our vision. Thank you for supporting local beer, and for the memories you have created for our family."

The winery's location in Denison will close as well, with operations being moved back home to Ivanhoe. As for Ivanhoe's head brewer, Bryan Thomas (who arrived in late 2023), he is working to open his own space to be called Thomboys Brewing Co. in Van Alstyne - news previously shared here in June.

On Cowtown's taproom takeover in Roanoke

The tapwall at CBC Taproom in Roanoke (Photo © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

Late last year, news began to circulate regarding the division of Soul Fire Brewing Co. into two separate entities. Indications at the time suggested the original Roanoke location would be moving to a new site (still pending?), with the Cleburne satellite continuing on independently. Shortly thereafter, the ownership group behind The 206, the food hall Soul Fire called home since debuting in 2019, renamed the Roanoke space at 206 N. Oak St. to The 206 Brewery & Bar.

The 206 Brewery operated under that moniker for a number of months, serving primarily guest beers, though one or two house beers made an appearance on its tapwall as well. Though, as it turns out, one of the breweries supplying guest beers was apparently preparing to take over the space.

With that, Cowtown Brewing Co. of Fort Worth has been managing the taproom at The 206 since early May. And it's a full tap takeover beer-wise, with Cowtown recipes pouring from 14 of the facility's 20 available taps. Guest ciders and wine are also offered, and a full bar remains stocked for those preferring cocktails.

As for whether Cowtown intends to make use of the brewing hardware left behind by Soul Fire, according to the beertender, brewers are currently training at Cowtown's homebase in Fort Worth, with plans to potentially resume brewing operations in Roanoke later this year.

Cowtown Brewing Co. - Roanoke, also known as the CBC Tap Room, serves patrons Tuesday-Sunday, with operating hours beginning at 11 a.m.

North Texas continues its winning ways at 2026 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Image credit: U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Following up back-to-back record-setting runs in 2024 and 2025, North Texas showed up once again at the 2026 U.S. Open Beer Championship, with area breweries winning 19 awards at this year's event.

For the 2026 edition of the competition, submissions were judged against guidelines covering more than 180 categories and subcategories. From those entries, 11 North Texas breweries emerged among the winners, bringing home 8 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals.

All but one recognized brewery represents a repeat winner at the U.S. Open, with Flix Brewhouse - Frisco/Little Elm being the lone honoree to appear for the first time.

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 Sentinel in the Kellerbier or Zwickelbier category.

Bankhead Brewpub, Rowlett

• Gold for Low Beams in the American Premium Lager category.

False Idol Brewing, North Richland Hills

• Silver for Tyrant Reign in the Barrel-Aged Strong Stout/Porter Extreme category.
• Bronze for 2 Live & Die in LA in the New Zealand IPA category.
• Bronze for Snacks of the Titans in the Barrel-Aged Strong Stout/Porter Specialty category.

Flix Brewhouse, Frisco/Little Elm

• Gold for Cumbersome Blonde in the Field Beer category.

Flix Brewhouse, Mansfield

• Gold for Over the Moon in the Fruit Wheat Beer category.

Maple Branch Craft Brewery, Fort Worth

• Gold for Raspberry Fields in the American-Style Fruit Beer category.
• Bronze for Romanov's Revenge in the Stout category.

Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas

• Gold for Charity in the German Altbier category.
• Bronze for BBA Vanilla Porter with Tart Cherries in the Wood/Barrel-Aged Fruit Beer category.

Odd Muse Brewing Co., Farmers Branch

• Silver for 500 Pesos in the Mexican-Style Light Lager category.
• Silver for La Lucha in the Mexican-Style Dark Lager category.
• Bronze for Playground Battle in the Other Kettle Sour category.

Peticolas Brewing Co., Dallas

• Silver for Royal Scandal in the English Pale Ale category.
• Bronze for Velvet Hammer in the Imperial Red Ale category.

Three Wide Brewing Co., Fort Worth

• Gold for Harlequin Dancer in the English Pale Ale category.
• Silver for High Groove in the Near Gluten Free/Gluten Reduced category.

Turning Point Beer, Bedford

• Gold for Edwin in the Foeder- and Cask-Aged Beers category. 

Cheers and congratulations to all!

Past meets present at Ancient Future Beer Dinner, July 15

Image courtesy of Priory.

Priory Beer Dinners & Collab Brews has announced plans for its next beer dinner, with the group set to team up this time around with Celestial Beerworks of Dallas.

As always, the Priory team collaborated with the brewery beforehand to create a recipe using a unique culinary ingredient not typically seen in modern-day beer. In this case, the ancient grain fonio adds to the foundation for a hazy IPA, meaning there is an old school meets new school kind of coupling at the core of this partnership. 

Fonio is a type of heritage millet grain grown in West Africa and has been cultivated for over 5,000 years, making it Africa’s oldest cultivated cereal crop. It has a small grain structure similar to quinoa or couscous, but much smaller.

What’s truly unique about this grain is that it needs very little water to grow and can be harvested multiple times per year. This makes fonio very versatile and sustainable, especially in arid climates. Fonio is more well known in culinary circles, having only been used in the beer world in the last few years, primarily thanks to the efforts head brewer Garrett Oliver, from Brooklyn Brewery of New York.

According to a press release, fonio was added directly into the mash, which was hopped with Rakau hops from New Zealand to create a fonio hazy IPA. The hops will predominantly lend a fruity character with notes of apricot, peach and mango to the beer, while fonio will add a passionfruit-like flavor once fully fermented. These flavors combined will create a fruit-forward aroma bursting with notes of tropical fruit, and a punchy bite with notes on stone fruit on the tongue.

As for the beer's name, 'Ancient Future' relays back to the ancient roots of fonio while looking forward to its sustainability in a world where natural resources are becoming increasingly more valuable.

For the Ancient Future Beer Dinner, coming up on July 15th at Celestial Beerworks - The Satellite, Chef Ben Walter of Priory has designed a four-course menu for the evening, including fonio directly into some of the dishes themselves. Tickets for the event are $85pp and may be purchased at https://www.priorybeer.com/events/ancient-future-celestial-beer-dinner.