One of the most exciting parts about being a craft beer lover is hunting down new breweries to visit. And that’s exactly what I did on my recent visit to Fort Worth and surrounding North Texas towns.
Fort Worth is just a short drive north from Austin, and with all the great craft beer and BBQ, it makes a perfect destination for your next weekend trip in Texas.
Even though Fort Worth is often lumped together with Dallas, it rightly deserves its own recognition.
Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing cities in the country! Just as the number of people are growing, so are the number of craft breweries in the area. There’s nearly a dozen breweries in Fort Worth and surrounding towns (with that number only continuing to grow).
Downtown Fort Worth has an incredible park with art installations and playsets for kids of every age!
New friends are everywhere in Fort Worth, as long as you know where to look!
During a recent trip I got to visit six North Texas breweries, plus I was recommended to the best BBQ in the DFW metroplex, Heim Barbeque!
Consider this Part One. I’ve got a trip planned to go back and visit the other half of breweries I missed during this trip to Fort Worth.
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Hopfusion Ale Works
One of the newest additions to the craft beer scene in Fort Worth, HopFusion in Southside Fort Worth is already making waves with their unique suds. Macy and Matt, the two behind the brewery, believe that craft beer isn’t about a product or brand, but craft beer is instead about community and friends.
Their brewery near downtown Fort Worth is all about that; friends, local food, dogs, and community come to life through their beers. Open Tuesday through Sunday, expect brewery tours, live music, and a place to bring the whole crew when visiting HopFusion.
Their most notable beer is the Feisty Blonde. This beer is a wild spin on the traditional blonde ale, combining deeply aromatic orange blossom honey with a touch of pure Mexican vanilla and raw brown sugar for a rounded, smooth finish.
Chimera Brewing Company
In the histroic Fairmont district, Chimera Brewing Company is serving up craft brews to Fort Worth and its Chelsea in America football fans. Besides the delicious brews, Chimera also serves up some mean pizzas to soak up all that beer.
Chimera Brewing in Fort Worth has taken an old downtown business and turned it into a beautiful and cozy brewery. There is a sizeable outdoor patio that would be great in warm weather, unfortunately we visited Fort Worth on an unseasonably cold day.
Hops growing straight up the bricks at Chimera Brewing
The most popular brew at Chimera in Fort Worth is by far their 1011 amber. A blend of American amber ale and a German altbier, 1011 is balanced and approachable, pairing well with all meals and occasions!
Collective Brewing Project
Just a jump, hop, and skip away from HopFusion in southside Fort Worth, Collective Brewing Project is the go-to place for sour beers in the DFW metroplex. Snacks, cornhole, and great funky beer wait you at this downtown brewery.
We didn’t have much time when we stopped here, they were right about to close. But we did get some samples and crowlers to take home and send out in beer mail.
I absolutely loved this placed and it was highly recommended by everyone we met in Fort Worth. As a massive fan of sours, I can’t wait to go back and get a proper, longer visit!
Heim BBQ
I feel so incredibly blessed to have met new friends in Fort Worth that were happy to share the ultimate BBQ joint in Fort Worth, Heim BBQ. We went late in the evening but we were once again lucky enough to go when they still had some of their most popular items available.
What started as a small food truck run by husband and wife team Travis and Emma Heim, Heim BBQ quickly grew big enough for a brick-and-mortar spot in downtown Fort Worth.
The new location lets this duo offer a bigger menu and smoke more meats for the long lines that ‘plagued’ their food truck.
Since it was recommended to me, I feel I must pass on this wisdom. Don’t leave Heim BBQ without trying a taste of their burnt bacon ends. Holy Moly, was my life changed after trying these juicy, stickey, burnt ends from the best part of a pig. It was meat in candy sized pieces, so good. Seriously, don’t skip ’em!
The meats alone don’t make a great BBQ place. The sides are a crucial factor for me in deciding if a place is a BBQ legend. And of course, Heim didn’t disappoint when it came time for their sides. There were plenty of options but all I’ll say is one serving of their mac-n-cheese isn’t nearly enough!
Outside of Fort Worth there are quite a few more stellar breweries. The great thing about these breweries located outside of the big city is the fresh air and beautiful views of the Texas landscape.
Grapevine Craft Brewery
Downtown Grapevine, is a town smack-dab north between Fort Worth and Dallas. This small town is also home to a brewery serving up your favorite classic styles. Grapevine Brewery is brewing beers that are only available on-site, but their beer is for you, your neighbors, and your friends.
I would love for Grapevine Craft Brewery to be my local brewery. Everything about this place is perfect and makes you feel right at home while you drink on one of their craft beers. There’s usually live music and food trucks, plus board games and an outdoor patio to keep everyone entertained.
Grapevine’s beers are easy-to-drink and approachable with their most popular styles being their English brown ale as well as their Monarch pils, a tried-and-true mainstay.
Shannon Brewing Company
The founder of this brewery in Keller, Shannon Carter, started his craft beer legacy when he began homebrewing 27 years ago. Shannon uses an old-school brewing process, which means fire is used throughout the process. Whether it’s caramelizing sugar to bring just the right flavor to a beer or using pure spring water from the springs the brewery sits on, Shannon Brewing is keeping it natural.
Shannon Brewing, just a bit north of Fort Worth, sits on one of the most beautiful pieces of Texas. The brewery is totally aware of this as you’ll find most of their seat outside in their gorgeous patio area. I absolutely love how they built ‘walls’ around the outdoor area using various pieces of metal and vintage metal signs.
It’s a great place to bring the whole family and spend an afternoon in the Texas shade. Just make sure to keep an eye out for Arlo! The big, friendly shepherd mix is always wondering around the place!
Now onto Shannon’s beer! This brewery is known for some of my most favorite styles like their Irish Red, Bohemian Lager, or the Irish Cream Ale so picking out a flight wasn’t the easiest task. But no big worry, cause these guys are still working on the token system.
You can choose one of two options: choose a few different pints or start with flight and then finish with pints of your favorites, we did the latter. Either way, it was a good deal and I’m always a fan of that kind of set-up!
Rabbit Hole Brewing
Rabbit Hole Brewing is just a short drive north from Fort Worth and Grapevine, Texas but this is one unique brewing you don’t want to skip. Immediately upon walking into this DFW metroplex brewery, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into the rabbit hole and fallen into Alice’s Wonderland.
The guys behind this brewery are passionate about bringing under-represented styles to their home region. All of Rabbit Hole beers are a play on words from Lewis Carroll’s much beloved story and the little purple rabbit logo with crooked ears can be spotted everywhere.
I’m such a big fan of Rabbit Hole Brewing, I cannot recommend it enough. They run tours often and they do so to spread the knowledge of the beer-making process. (cause it ain’t as easy as it looks!)
Lucky for us in Austin though, we can finally get that Rapture Brown Ale in cans!
Pin this to save for your trip to Fort Worth!
So what’s your favorite Fort Worth Brewery or BBQ?? Let me know in the comments what I missed! I’ll be coming back for another visit soon enough!
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