Maple Branch, Flix Frisco/Little Elm medal at 2026 Best of Craft Beer Awards

Image credit: Best of Craft Beer Awards.

Two North Texas breweries have been honored at the 2026 Best of Craft Beer Awards competition.

Held in Central Oregon since 2014, and reported on here since locals were first awarded medals in 2016, the Best of Craft Beer Awards is billed as "one of America's fastest growing competitions." For the 2026 edition, the event drew 1,498 entries from 270 breweries, with submissions judged against style guidelines covering 58 beer and beer-adjacent categories and subcategories.

Among this year's winners were Flix Brewhouse Frisco/Little Elm and Maple Branch Craft Brewery of Fort Worth. This is the first Best of Craft Beer award for the crew at Flix Frisco/Little Elm, while Maple Branch has now nabbed four medals at the competition. In fact, Maple Branch's winning beer, Raspberry Fields, has been recognized at three separate competitions, including the Great American Beer Festival (2022) and the Texas Craft Brewers Cup (2023, 2024).

For more on the 2026 Best of Craft Beer Awards, click here for a full competition summary.

Flix Brewhouse, Frisco

• Flixbrau, Bronze in the Rye Beers category.

Maple Branch Craft Brewery, Fort Worth

• Raspberry Fields, Bronze in the Fruit & Field Beers category.

Cheers and congratulations to Maple Branch and Flix Frisco/Little Elm!

Brewery proposal targets Old Town Roanoke

Image credit: Pirate Panda Brewing/Spiars Engineering & Surveying.

A new brewery may be in the works for Old Town Roanoke, based on the minutes of a Planning & Zoning Commission that took place in the city on Monday, April 6.

Tentatively called Pirate Panda Brewing, the project would be a new construction located on what is now an approximately one-acre empty lot at 200 S. Oak St., just across from Hard Eight BBQ. Plans call for the build-out to consist of a "4,328 square foot brewery, a 3,500 square-foot patio area, and a 200 square-foot kitchen."

Should the proposed venture come to fruition, Roanoke would then be home to two brewing operations, with Pirate Panda joining The 206 Brewery & Bar on Oak St., with just three blocks separating the two establishments.

Also of note, ownership appears to be based in South Florida, which may have been a proposed destination for the project at one time based on a logo design contest held on the graphic design marketplace, 99 Designs.

Odd Muse Craft & Kitchen debuts in Downtown Plano

Plano Pils and the Okie Smash Burger at Odd Muse Craft & Kitchen
(Photos © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

What better way to celebrate National Beer Day than with the debut of a new craft beer destination in North Texas. Odd Muse Craft & Kitchen is now open at 1001 14th St., Suite 500 in Historic Downtown Plano.

The spot is an offshoot of Odd Muse Brewing Co.'s original brewery in Farmers Branch, with the "Craft & Kitchen" naming chosen for a couple of key reasons. For one thing, the Plano locale features a full-service kitchen, upping the culinary game for the company's patrons. Then for another, with no on-site brewing operations, it just made sense to forego the "Brewing Co." tag in creating a clear identity for the satellite location.

Of course, the beer being served is all Odd Muse, with the pub's 23 taps (plus a side-pull) sourced from Farmer's Branch. Recipes will rotate just as they do at the brewery, though co-founder Bobby Diaz says to expect Plano to feature a few taps not currently pouring at headquarters. Right now, satellite exclusives include Plano Pils (a rye pilsner), Woodpecker Lips Scotch Ale, and 2025 Barrel-Aged The Hermit American Barleywine.

Shifting the focus to the food side of things, longtime industry vet Greyson Lane brings a wealth of culinary experience to the project, though his smash burger-based food truck venture The Drop D-FW influences things most at Odd Muse Craft & Kitchen. He's got a good bit of beer knowledge as well, for those who remember Bleshoux Brewing from area homebrew competitions of the past.

Given that, it should come as no surprise that the food menu is designed to pair well with a pint. In addition to burger options like Jam Session (bacon jam), the Okie (grilled onions) and the Mushroom Swiss (mushrooms grilled in the brewery's 500 Pesos Mexican Lager) the kitchen will serve up a selection of starters (poutine, pretzel bites, wings) and sandwiches (cheesesteak, hot chicken, Korean) as well.

On top of all that are additional amenities, which include free parking in an adjacent lot, outdoor patio seating, widescreen televisions behind the bar, and the beer-to-go fridge just off the lobby.

Then there's the convenience of the place, which exists as part of a walkable downtown district that's been in need of a stable brewery presence. Indeed, Odd Muse Craft & Kitchen literally replaces a Voodoo Brewing Co. taproom whose home base was in Pennsylvania, which means there's now a little bit more local flavor to be had in Downtown Plano.

As for when to visit, while an official grand opening celebration is slated for early May, Odd Muse Craft & Kitchen is already running a full schedule, being open seven days a week with operating hours beginning at 11 a.m.  

Black Fox closes brewery in Denton

Image credit: Black Fox Brewing Co.

Black Fox Brewing Co. has announced its closure in Denton.

Michael Velasco opened Black Fox in October 2023 after taking over a space previously occupied by Howling Mutt Brewing at 205 N. Cedar St., just steps away from the Downtown Denton Square.

The product portfolio at Black Fox leaned on a back-to-basics approach, with classic styles brought to the forefront. Black Fox Stout, a straightforward American stout, was the highlight, being a beer Velasco first introduced while taking part in the Homebrewers League at Barley & Board of Denton.

From a social media post:

"We want to take a moment to sincerely thank you for [your] continued support and patronage.  Serving this community as well as those from afar has been an incredible experience, and we are truly grateful for the relationships and interesting conversations we’ve experienced along the way.

Sadly, we have made the extremely difficult decision to shut the doors at our location on N Cedar St. effective immediately.

While this chapter is coming to an end, we want to share that this is not goodbye, rather simply, 'see you later'.

Keep following us on social media and stay tuned, you never know what’s next!"