Turning Point unveils expansive taproom upgrade

All images © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D.

Turning Point Beer has taken what was once a barrier to its inception and turned it into a jumping-off point for a new era at the three year-old brewery.

A gymnastics business originally occupied the spot adjacent to Turning Point's debut location at 1307 Brown Trail in Bedford. The gym's owners voiced opposition to the brewery during the development phase, but the Bedford City Council allowed the project to move forward despite the objection. Turning Point then went on to open its doors in March 2018.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the gymnastics company eventually chose to relocate. This presented Turning Point with the opportunity to enhance operations without having to move itself, so owners Jon Paul Goytia, Alex Knight and James Peery took over the lease on the neighboring property. After renovations were completed over the summer, Turning Point pulled the curtain back on the revamped space in early September.

Turning Point's new taproom offers patrons more beer options, along with more room to move around.

Comprising roughly 12,000 square feet, Turning Point's new playground has twice the usable area compared to where the brewery got its start next door. A substantial portion of the space is furnished with the comfort of the taproom crowd in mind, as seating options abound throughout, while a smaller expanse is home to additional production equipment. The hardware was acquired from The Collective Brewing Project, and the intent is to put it to work in honor of the former Fort Worth brewery.

Appropriately enough, Collective co-founder Mike Goldfuss is the man behind the taproom build-out. His firm, Goldfuss Construction Services, has worked behind the scenes at a number of recently-opened brewing locales, including On Rotation at the Braniff Centre in Dallas, and Cedar Creek Brewhouse & Eatery at Mustang Station in Farmers Branch.

As for other amenities within the walls of the new taproom, note the brewery has also upped the ante on its list of available liquids. From now on, visitors will be able to pick from upwards of 30 beers on tap daily. And, if opening weekend was any indication, there will be more options among styles you've come to expect from Turning Point - like IPAs, sour beers and stouts - with other ales and few lagers mixed in for good measure.

Lakewood releases Big D IPA #003

Image courtesy of Lakewood Brewing Co.

Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland has begun shipping the latest in its limited "Big D" line of double dry-hopped IPAs. 

According to a press release, Big D IPA #003 (8.5% ABV) is a fresh take on the series "that delicately merges bold citrus and stone fruit flavors with a semi-sweet body to provide a crisp, succulent sip."

“As we’ve been making IPAs over the years, I’ve looked for new ways to utilize hops to really amplify their unmistakable character,” says Justin Hatley, innovation brewer at Lakewood. “Today we benefit from some of the best and most thorough hop research in generations, courtesy of the very growers themselves. So, when Hopsteiner, one of the best suppliers around, tells me they have a new, bold blend of hops called Trident designed to impart some of the fruitiest flavors possible, I had to try them!”

Using copious amounts of this blend, Lakewood imparted its unique floral bitterness into Big D IPA #003, along with notes of orange, mango, and kiwi.

"Using old homebrew hopping techniques and a healthy dry hop dose of the Trident hop blend, I think Big D #3 is my favorite in the series thus far," adds Hatley. "Big, juicy, fruity flavors with just enough bitterness for my old-school IPA palate. Give it a go, trust me, I’m sure this’ll put hop heads over the top!”

Big D IPA #003 is currently available statewide on draft and in four-packs of 12-ounce cans.

Locals land 16 medals at 2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship

Image credit: U.S. Open Beer Championship.

The hits just keep on coming for North Texas at the U.S. Open Beer Championship, as area breweries have landed 16 medals (6 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze) at the 2021 competition. In fact, including this year's tally, North Texas brewing companies have brought home more than 100 medals from the U.S. Open during the course of the last 10 years.

At this year's event, breweries from around the world sent in over 8000 beers for evaluation, with those entries representing over 140 different styles. Among the winners were 11 local brewers, with first time honorees including Pathfinder Brewery of Hudson Oaks, along with Cowtown Brewing Co. and Maple Branch Craft Brewery of Fort Worth.

A list of winning beers from North Texas is provided below. You can also click here for a full competition summary.

903 Brewers, Sherman

• Silver for Fragile Like a Bomb in the Imperial Stout Extreme category.

Bankhead Brewing Co., Rowlett

• Gold for Mile Marker 12 in the Triple IPA category.
• Bronze for Low Hood in the Belgian Tripel category.

Cowtown Brewing Co., Fort Worth

• Silver for Cold Fort Worth Beer in the American Premium Lager category.

HopFusion Ale Works, Fort Worth

• Silver for Coco Añejo in the Coconut Beer category.

Maple Branch Craft Brewery, Fort Worth

• Silver for Coalition Coffee Stout in the Coffee Beer category.

Oak Highlands Brewery, Dallas

• Gold for Tipsy Goat in the Heller Bock/Maibock category.
• Gold for Freaky Deaky in the Aged Beer category.
• Bronze for Tejano Pecano in the Nut Beer category.

Pathfinder Brewery, Hudson Oaks

• Gold for 3 Dragons in the Belgian Quadrupel category.

Peticolas Brewing Co., Dallas

• Silver for Great Scot! in the Scottish Ale category.

Tupps Brewery, McKinney

• Bronze for Full Grown Man in the American Imperial Stout category.

Vector Brewing, Dallas

• Bronze for Monospace: Nelson in the New Zealand IPA category.
• Bronze for Squoze in the Vegetable Beer category.

White Rock Alehouse & Brewery, Dallas

• Gold for Dreamsicle Capsized Kayak in the Specialty/Anything Goes category.
• Gold for Dave's Perfect Pils in the Kellerbier or Zwickelbier category.

Cheers and congratulations to all!

Deep Ellum delivers new IPA Variety 12-Pack

Image credit: Deep Ellum Brewing Co.

Deep Ellum Brewing Co. of Dallas has announced the release of a new IPA Variety 12-Pack featuring four of the brewery's hoppiest offerings.

With a product mix including cans of Deep Ellum IPA, Easy Peasy Session IPA, Manic Confidence Hazy Enough IPA and the current rotator from the all-new Hop Seeker series, the pack is described as "an eclectic, hop-forward compilation of India Pale Ales crafted in the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas."

The Deep Ellum IPA Variety 12-Pack is available now all across Texas.