Beer in Big D

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Locals land 19 medals at 2024 Texas Craft Brewers Cup

Image credit: Texas Craft Brewers Guild.

Results from the 2024 edition of the Texas Craft Brewers Cup were announced this evening in Austin, with 14 North Texas breweries recognized for a combined total of 19 beers. And, for the second year in a row, a local got the nod for Brewery of the Year in the Under 600 bbl Group - congrats to Maple Branch Craft Brewery of Fort Worth!

Organized by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, the Texas Craft Brewers Cup is a competition open to all licensed and operating Texas breweries meeting the criteria of the Guild's "craft brewer" membership definition. Guild membership is not an entry requirement, but out-of-state breweries are not eligible to participate.

This year, the event drew 956 entries from 170 Texas breweries. Submissions were then evaluated across 31 categories and associated sub-styles based on guidelines published by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

Notable statistics:

Just over 35% of active Texas breweries competed (170 up from 147 in 2023).
Hazy IPA repeated as the most-entered style category with 61 entries.
North Texas swept the Smoke & Chili Beer category.
North Texas medal count: 6 gold, 6 silver, and 7 bronze.

Area winners are featured below. For more on the Texas Brewers Cup, click here for a full competition summary.

Armor Brewing Co., Allen

Smoked Porter, Gold in the Smoke & Chili Beer category.

Deep Ellum Brewing Co., Dallas

Neato Bandito, Gold in the Golden, Blonde & Light Ales category.

Denton County Brewing Co., Denton

Devil's Tears, Bronze in the American & International Light Lager category.

Edgewise Eight Brewing, Weatherford

Social Betty Ann, Silver in the Wheat or Rye category.

False Idol Brewing, North Richland Hills

Let it Rip, Gold in the Belgian & Farmhouse Ales category.
Sinister Shadows, Silver in the Decadent Beer category.
Squirtle Squad, Bronze in the Belgian & Farmhouse Ales category.

Funky Picnic Brewery & Café, Fort Worth

Why Can't I Be Turboman?, Silver in the Fruit & Field Beer category.

Lakewood Brewing Co., Garland

Velvet Veil, Bronze in the Strong Hoppy Beer category.

Maple Branch Craft Brewery, Fort Worth

Raspberry Fields, Gold in the Fruit & Field Beer category.
Romanov's Revenge, Gold in the Barleywine & Strong Ale category.
Gigi's Juice, Bronze in the Smoke & Chili Beer category.

Odd Muse Brewing, Farmers Branch

Rose Colored Glasses, Silver in the Strong Hoppy Beer category.

On Rotation, Dallas

Jalapeño Saison, Silver in the Smoke & Chili Beer category.

Tupps Brewery, McKinney

FAYM - Forever Always Your McKinney, Silver in the Legislative Pro-Am category.
Juice Pack, Bronze in the Hazy IPA category.

Union Bear Brewing Co., Denton

Mexican Lager, Gold in the American & International Lager category.

Vector Brewing, Dallas

Rubus Rex, Bronze in the Brett & Mixed Culture category.

White Rock Alehouse & Brewery, Dallas

Big Thicket Blonde, Bronze in the Golden, Blonde & Light Ales category.

Cheers and congratulations to all!

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Royal Goat targeting Arlington for new brewing venture

Image credit: Royal Goat Brewing Co.

If all goes as planned, come spring of 2025 an area in the heart of Downtown Arlington will become home to a new brewery with a rather noble-sounding name.

Royal Goat Brewing Co. will be the culmination of a dream many years in the making for Anthony Byington, a U.S. Army veteran and longtime homebrewer who was formerly a crew member at New Main Brewing Co. of Pantego. For his own venture, Byington hopes to secure a spot within walking distance to nearby Arlington venues, with only a short drive needed to reach major sporting events in the city.

"We are looking into properties between UTA and the sports district," says Byington. "With a revitalized downtown area, the Levitt Pavilion, and other craft beer locations, we feel that this will position Royal Goat in a great location for those seeking a quaint weekday spot for an after-work beer, or a place to celebrate during an excitement-filled weekend before and after the big game."

On the brand, the inspiration for Royal Goat's imagery comes from Byington's family crest, which features a goat presiding over the regalia. As can be seen on the company's website, beer recipes will have a unique "Royal" representative, with each to be displayed in the brewery hall along with a story telling drinkers about its lineage and history.

Members of the "Royal Court" will include Grand Duke Stout, Dutchess Blonde Ale, Baron Duke IPA, Wise Earl Wit and more, with these style selections to be among an entourage of well-crafted and reliable everyday beers at Royal Goat.

"Royal Goat will focus on core beer recipes, with two revolving taps for seasonals and special brews," says Byington. "With the ever-changing and rolling craft beer environment, I see an opportunity to fill a void, so we are working hard to create seven solid and popular styles that will always be on tap."

Of course, Byington recognizes the need to branch out beyond beer to reach other potential customers. With that in mind, Royal Goat will also stock a selection of meads, wines, and a house-made non-alcoholic root beer in order appeal to a variety of tastes.

For more on Royal Goat, including information on tasting events set to take place in the D-FW area during the development cycle, follow the project on Facebook and Instagram.

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Glen Echo Brewing a welcome addition to Wylie

All images © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D.

One year after initially announcing plans to establish a new brewery in Wylie, Glen Echo Brewing is now open and operating near the city's downtown district at 106 N. Birmingham St.

Reading through the company's website, you get the impression owners Steve and Debbie Schoenekase are all about craft beer, conversation and camaraderie. So, it's not surprising to find upon visiting that the couple has created a space exactly in line with those ideals.

An open and unified floorplan fills the interior of a 4,000 square foot structure occupied by Glen Echo, with the brewery's taproom flanked by the production area off to one side. The atmosphere exudes a chill vibe, with low lights and distractions at a minimum. Families can gather around a board game, but the brewery's projection TV will only emerge for special events.

Even the seating options (community tables, couches, booths) seem chosen to encourage patrons to come together over a beer. And indeed, they did just that during a soft opening this weekend. Among the steady stream of customers, a fair number of folks clearly knew each other beforehand, meaning Wylie residents made up a majority of the crowd. Naturally, this bodes well for a business looking to make a name as the local, neighborhood brewery.

As for beer offerings, Glen Echo is still dialing things in as it works to convert recipes originally brewed on a one-barrel setup to an advanced 10-barrel system. Once production is in full swing, look for upwards of a dozen house beers to be pouring on the regular.

Full pours and flights of up to six beers are available to enjoy in the taproom at Glen Echo.

To start, four beers (kölsch, amber ale, IPA, chocolate milk stout) and an orange seltzer are currently on tap. Of those, future batches of the IPA are expected to be hoppier, and while the chocolate milk stout will likely be a year-round staple, a "stoutier stout" is also in the works.

Add to those a bock, a hefeweizen, a non-alcoholic root beer and more to see how Glen Echo is working to build a portfolio favoring classic, everyday drinkers. That said, trendier brews will certainly surface from time-to-time as well.

Foodwise, Glen Echo stocks daily snacks in the form of a chips and salsa basket, which features a family-size bag of chips, along with either Smoky Red or Spicy Green Salsa from ZPalm Kitchen of Garland. Food trucks will provide plates on the weekends too, but patrons are free to bring in outside eats anytime.

It all makes for a welcome addition to Wylie, not to mention the North Texas beer scene as a whole, considering only a few breweries dot the map on the far eastern edge of the coverage region. One imagines craft beer drinkers local to the area will echo that sentiment as well.

An official grand opening is still to come, so follow Glen Echo's social media channels (Facebook, Instagram) for the latest information. Once regular service begins, the brewery will have hours Wednesday-Sunday. An important note, with parking not available on site (the concrete pad out front is for patio seating), drivers should seek out the free lot one block over and directly behind the brewery on N. Jackson Ave.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Lakewood and Oak Highlands notch nine wins at 2024 USBTC Winter Competition

Image credits: United States Beer Tasting Championship, Oak Highlands Brewery, Lakewood Brewing Co.

This past weekend, the United States Beer Tasting Championship (USBTC) completed judging for its 30th Anniversary Winter Competition. And, based on the two winning breweries from North Texas, it seems there may be something in the water around a particular area of Northeast Dallas County.

Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland and Oak Highlands Brewery of Dallas, breweries located just two miles apart, received recognition for their beers in 9 of the 18 available style categories while competing in the Rockies/Southwest Division of the competition.

These results are just the latest accolades for the neighboring breweries at the USBTC, whose organizers host both a summer and winter event annually. In fact, counting this year's tallies, Oak Highlands has now placed 40 times at the USBTC - dating back to 2016, while Lakewood has landed 24 awards over the same time period.

A rundown of winning beers from North Texas is provided below. For more on the 2024 USBTC Winter Competition, visit the official website at www.usbtc.com.