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I Tasted 250 Different Texas Craft Beers in the Last 9 Days– Here are my Favorites

by Caitlin
best texas beers 2019
Best Texas Craft Beers Recap of my 2019 Texas Brewery Roadtrip where I visited 51 breweries in 9 days. More information about the trip HERE.

1. DDH Dinglebop by Turning Point Beer, Bedford

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The fourth beer in their Plumbus series, this is a big, bold double New England IPA with Citra, Mosaic, and Vic Secret hops. Then it was double dry hopped for even bigger, juicier citrus flavors than the regular Dinglebop.

2. Houston’s Daisy Chain Collaboration Beers

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We had six different types of Daisy Chain beers during our time in the Houston area (somehow I didn’t get a good photo of anything of them!) . What are Daisy Chain beers? Well, after Hurricane Harvey, Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe wanted to do something to bring the beer community together.

So they decided to share their yeast with neighboring Copperhead Brewing so they could make a beer. Then Copperhead would pass on the yeast to the next brewery and so on. This year’s collaboration featured 25 breweries creating beers of all sorts featuring Southern Star’s original yeast strain. Such a cool idea, I’d love to see in other cities! Below are the Daisy Chains we had:

  • Houston Daisy Chain NEIPA by Southern Star Brewing Company
  • S’Daisy’s Mom Pale Ale by Baileson Brewing Company
  • Daisy Chain Coconut Porter by Great Heights Brewing Company
  • Daisy Dukes Rye IPA by Eureka Heights Brew Co
  • Daisy Chain American IPA by 11 Below Brewing
  • Off Da Daisy Chain Session IPA by BAKFISH

3. Ginned Up Charges by Legal Draft Beer Co. , Arlington

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American IPA aged in wet gin barrels from Treaty Oak Bright notes of peach, citrus, and tropical fruit combine with aromas of juniper and rosemary lead to a rich, complex presence on the palate.

4. Tropic of Capricorn by Celestial Beerworks, Dallas

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Sour Berliner Weisse with white peach, mango, and passion fruit. Love, love, LOVE this one. It’s bright, colorful, and spunky just like the brewery.

5. Lava Lamp by Division Brewing, Arlington

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Division Brewing’s Elder Bramble blackberry sour meets their New England IPA in a groovy mashup.

6. Pomona: Dove by B-52 Brewing, Conroe

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Golden Sour fermented in 2nd use whiskey barrels then aged on local Dove Cantaloupes w/ a touch of salt.

7. Cucumber Habanero Cider by Trinity Cider, Dallas

best texas craft beers

Smooth and refreshing spicy cider from a brand new cidery in Dallas’s colorful Deep Ellum neighborhood.

8. Buckle Bunny by Eureka Heights Brew Co, Houston

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This classic cream ale features flaked maize used alongside malted barley to give in a slight corny sweetness in this everyday beer. If I lived in Houston, I’d be drinking on this one often.

9. Tapestry by Cowtown Brewing Co,  Fort Worth

There’s no photo evidence, but believe me. We got to try a little preview of the yet-to-be-released Belgium Quad which had been aged in bottles for nine months. It was divine

10. Ophelia by Martin House Brewing Company, Fort Worth

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This Earl Grey and Lavender IPA was a taproom exclusive. I feel blessed to have been able to sample it on the roadtrip.

11. Figaro, Figaro Figaro Fiiigaaaro by Buffalo Bayou Brewing, Houston

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A strong 11% ABV Belgian quad brewed with Turkish figs. Those figs give it a rich earthiness to compliment the malt’s fruit and raisin flavors. Plus, that Belgian yeast was just awesome.

12. Idol Time – Agave Lime by Unlawful Assembly Brewing Company, Plano

Agave nectar is added in the kettle to create a distinctive sweetness that is accentuated by lime in this crisp refreshing golden ale. We had a lot of good beers that day, this one is one of the few I remember very well

13 Hefeweizen by Oakcliff Brewing, Dallas

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Watch out Live Oak, there’s a new Hefe in town… That’s all I got to say about that.

14. Tron Gun by Sigma Brewing, Houston

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When I think of hazy IPAs, I think of beers that look like this, juicy AF. Not a huge fanatic over the style, that is until I tasted Tron Gun from Sigma Brewing. Luckily there was a four-pack left for me to take some haze home to Austin!

15. Marzipan Imperial Golden Stout by 3 Nations Brewing, Farmers Branch

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A golden stout brewed with an abundance of oats, honey malt, and lactose milk sugar. This beer weighs in at 8.5% ABV and is finished with almond extract and whole coffee beans creating a “cold brew”. Intense coffee and almond aromas, with nearly peanut butter like taste and coffee finish. One of my top three beers of the trip.

16. Cherrimono Cherry Tripel from New Republic Brewing Company, College Station

We started out our roadtrip on a high note with this incredible Cherry Tripel in College Station at our second brewery. It stuck with us for the rest of the trip. I think there were a few times Steve and I agreed that we wish we had had more.

17. Mermaid and Unicorns by True Vine Brewing Company, Tyler

best texas craft beers

This one makes me angry, only because I’m not able to get out here in Austin. The aroma of Mermaids & Unicorns is malty and bready and hints of peach and orange from the late addition of Cascade and Jarrylo hops. Just delicious.

18. Ranch Hand by Lakewood Brewing, Garland

best texas craft beers

Oak-aged Brett Pilsner w/ fresh cucumber, lime, and sea salt, another one of the top three beers of the trip. This would be the beer to enjoy on a hot summer day. If you’re a fan of pickles, you’d love this limited release from Lakewood.

So yep, out of the 250+ beers we had on our Texas Brewery Road Trip, these were the top 18 that I remember best. It was a blur, and we had so much great craft beer, so nothing to take personally if I missed anyone!

With that being said, how many of these Texas craft beers have you tried?

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