Grab a pie and a pint at Parker County

Standards, seasonals and cask offerings are all part of the program
at Parker County. (Photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D.)

Turn back the clock on beer production in Parker County, and you'll find the name William F. Both attached to an entity that existed in Weatherford during the late 1800s. His firm, known as W.F. Both & Co., produced less than 50 barrels in 1878, making it the smallest licensed brewery in Texas at the time.

Both's death in 1879 brought an end to that operation, and effectively put a cap on Parker County beer production for the next 139 years. Local brews started flowing again in March, though, with the opening of Parker County Brewing Co. (PCBC) in Willow Park.

Ryan Stewart and Joshua Tarbay have partnered on the modern-day project, which they've designed with a simple and straightforward approach, letting tradition take precedence in the creation of offerings centered around the classic combination of pizza and beer.

PCBC's production setup is anchored by a 10-barrel brewhouse (left).

Hand-pulled pours, like this cask brown ale, are a popular attraction at PCBC (right).
Photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D.

With regards to the latter, the brewpub's recipes tend towards the stylistic, with an everyday lineup including a blonde, a hefeweizen, an IPA and a stout. The best of the bunch, though, might be PCBC's 1879 Prohibition-Era Ale, an agreeable amber brew that recalls the end date of Both's enterprise mentioned above.

Beyond those beers, options extend to a chocolate hazelnut porter and a just-tapped double IPA, not to mention seasonals like the current rotator, Peach Blonde. The brewpub also features a set of cask engines, a rarity for North Texas, with both hoppy and malty varieties available for hand-pulled pours.

As for the food aspect of PCBC, Neapolitan pizzas are the primary output of a house kitchen. Couple that with a growler fill from the bar, or the purchase of 16-ounce cans seamed onsite, and it would appear to make PCBC a convenient stop for locals craving a pie and a pint to-go.

Of course, that works for wanderers as well, especially those seeking out a craft beer destination west of Fort Worth.

Two new breweries on tap for Parker County

Craft beer continues to expand its reach across North Texas, as news comes of a two new breweries planned for Parker County. The opening of either would represent the first new brewery to operate in the county since before Prohibition, when W.F. Both & Co. was producing beer in Weatherford up until it closed in 1879.

Image credit: Parker County Brewing Co.

The first of these is Parker County Brewing Co., a venture in Willow Park headed up by Ryan Stewart and Joshua Tarbay. Currently under construction at 225 Shops Blvd., in a development called the Shops at Willow Park, the brewpub-to-be will offer beer, wine and cider on tap alongside food prepared in its full-service pizza kitchen. According to Tarbay, cask ale will also be on the menu at Parker County Brewing once it opens in the fall of this year.

Image credit: Pathfinder Brewery, LLC.

Also in the works, though a little further out on the development calendar, is Pathfinder Brewery. Eric Addison is leading that project after moving to Texas from California, where he spent time running his own homebrew shop. Currently, Addison is working to develop plans for Pathfinder's building, which will be built from the ground up on a site off Cinema Dr. in Hudson Oaks. Branding is still in the early stages as well, says Addison, who hopes to be open by the summer of 2018.

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Stat up-to-date on the progress of the two breweries mentioned herein by following each company's Facebook page (Parker County Brewing Co., Pathfinder Brewery).