In a location that is currently close to the city’s center, San Antonio’s brewing history dates back to the 19th century. Beginning operations in 1881, the Pearl Brewing Company amalgamated with the Lone Star Brewing Company two years later. The Pearl Brewing facility produced beer in large quantities for over 100 years, including Pabst Blue Ribbon and Lone Star Beer, dubbed “The National Beer of Texas” throughout the state. When they moved the brewing operations to Fort Worth in 2001, they stopped making beer at the original Pearl Brewing facility. However, independent craft brewers were opening up shop in San Antonio before the plant’s closure. Blue Star Brewing Co. in San Antonio and Faust Brewing Co. in nearby New Braunfels were the first to serve craft beers in the metropolitan area during the mid-1990s. Both breweries are still in business today.
Twenty years later, there are independently owned craft breweries spread all around the city. Geographically speaking, San Antonio is a pretty big city, so planning your stops carefully is necessary to see all the most incredible sights while there. Here is a list of San Antonio’s top breweries, restaurants, and attractions.
Second Pitch Beer Co
Second Pitch is a newer brewery in San Antonio, and a husband and wife own it.
With a silver medal for their Hometown Lager at the World Beer Cup, they immediately succeeded in their mission to start putting San Antonio on the beer map. In 2022, SA Magazine named them the best new brewery.
Before starting Second Pitch, owner Jim Hansen worked as a brewer in the Bay Area. He worked hard to make great beers that remember their historical beginnings. There’s a small brewery named Second Pitch in an industrial part of San Antonio. They have a small outdoor patio in the parking area in front of their building, and inside, by the tap wall, there are a few tables. It’s a lovely location to relax with a buddy and have a few beers in the shaded area with picnic tables.
They make different kinds of beer for all types of beer drinkers. Weekly activities include bingo evenings and meetings of the runners club.
Maverick Whiskey Distillery & Brewery
It would not seem unusual to enter a bar in Texas, order a shot, and then have a beer. Nevertheless, Maverick Whiskey Distillery & Brewery transformed that idea into a sophisticated, well-made experience. Customers may complement the in-house brewed beers and spirits with dishes from the menu at Maverick. The restaurant opened its doors in the summer of 2019, about a block away from the famous Alamo. The owner’s ancestor and Texas revolutionary, Samuel Maverick, is the source of the Maverick name. Therefore, each beer and alcoholic beverage served at Maverick. It is a symbolic salute to the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives at the Alamo.
Roadmap Brewing Co
Hannah and Dustin Baker got a homebrewing kit as a wedding gift. They turned it into a passion project and started Roadmap Brewing in September 2018. There are 11 significant beers on tap at Roadmap, including the standard fare like an IPA, New England IPA, and Hefeweizen. But any homebrewer will tell you that the need to produce never disappears. Therefore, a German Dark Lager, an English Pub Ale, and a Coffee Stout are other beers available at Roadmap.
Künstler Brewing
German for “artist” is “Küntsler,” and this brewery is unquestionably a work of art! It is a local artisan brewery with a welcoming atmosphere, excellent German cuisine, and a wide selection of traditional beers.
Check out some of their excellent German lagers if it’s your first time there. They received a silver medal at the 2018 GABF for their chilli beer.
This warm and friendly brewery is in a neighbourhood! For instance, you could need to park in front of a residence. The front porch and the side patio include some outside covered seating and a large inside room with a long tap wall.
Weathered Souls Brewing Co
Nearly all beer drinkers in the nation have heard of San Antonio’s Weathered Souls. This results from one of the most fruitful beer partnerships ever made by Weathered Souls’ 35-year-old black founder and head brewer, Marcus Baskerville. His Black is Beautiful campaign began with his potent beer formula on tap, and all proceeds went to regional groups that promote inclusiveness, equality, and social justice change. More than 300 breweries nationwide have brewed his formula, adopted the Black is Beautiful label, and donated the proceeds due to word-of-mouth and the desire of other brewers to assist. Even while that’s how most people are familiar with Weathered Souls, their whole beer lineup consists of much more than just one stout. They are a tiny brewery with a very modern, regional brewing method.
The sizeable industrial area inside of a strip mall. Excellent location: A little patio off to the side and high ceilings with twinkling lights give the impression that you are outside. The brewery facility is open, so the taproom has a view of it.
Longtab Brewing Company
San Antonio’s veteran-owned brewery pays tribute to their heritage and contributions. They make many beers in the style of Belgium and Germany and care about serving them in the right amounts and glasses. Small flight glasses must provide more area for the necessary head on the beer. Thus flights aren’t available. What makes this so cool? Their drinks are exquisite!
Longtab is a fully functional restaurant that offers a Sunday brunch, cuisine, veteran-owned coffee, and tea. Longtab Brewing is a must-try brewery in San Antonio, regardless of whether you want to pop in for a hefty pour of Double or Triple at the bar or have a complete dinner with your family.
Even though it’s in an industrial area and might seem like it’s far away. Once you arrive and go inside, you’ll discover a beautiful taproom. It has a bar, tall tables, and sofas, and you can see the brewing area while enjoying your beer.
Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewing
This brewery and restaurant have showcased the sophistication possible with a menu combining craft beer with chef-prepared food for four years. A famous chef named Jeff Balfour made the menu for the 10th biggest brewpub in the country. Due to the establishment’s success. Southerleigh will soon be able to expand to San Antonio with the opening of a second facility. Twenty-one distinct beers, many with humorous names like “Over My Dad Body,” a light-bodied lager brewed with cocoa nibs and red Fresno peppers, are available on draft at Southerleigh. The Texas Native Pale Ale made by Southerleigh is the first beer in Texas to use ingredients from the Lone Star State.
Dorćol Distilling Co.’s High Wheel Beerworks
Chris and Boyan started a company called Dorcol Distilling Company in 2013. They also have a brewing section named High Wheel Beerworks. The two instead started Dorol, a place where customers can enjoy award-winning spirits, cocktails, and expertly brewed beer. High Wheel makes four different types of beer: American-style Porter, Betty, a German-style Kölsch; COQ Hardi, a Belgian Farmhouse Ale; and 56, a strong IPA. They create these beers without adding fake flavours or using alcohol made in factories.
Ranger Creek
Ranger Creek is a hybrid brewery and whiskey distillery, or “brewstillery,” as they call it. They has created a variety of beers that celebrate the neighbourhood’s culture ever since it first launched in 2010. For instance, the UNESCO-designated Spanish colonial missions in San Antonio serve as the inspiration for the name of Mission Trail Extra Pale Ale.
A limited-edition pilsner called Viva! They also made a beer called 300 to celebrate the city’s 300th anniversary. But the brewery is more than name, customs and background. The brewing of many of the beers at Ranger Creek requires extraordinary skill. Small Batch 13 is a Belgian Dark Strong. They brewed ale using special wild yeast and Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Brettanomyces bacteria. They let it ferment for 24 months. If wild ales differ from your style, you’ll like many of their regular brews. Such as Skytrooper IPA, San Antonio Lager, and Love Struck Hefe. They become even more delicious when enjoyed alongside the brewery’s acclaimed small-batch Texas rye, single malt, and bourbon whiskeys. These whiskeys are made by using only ingredients from Texas.
Freetail Brewing Company
Only Freetail’s love for the community rivals its passion for beer. San Antonio is more than just our hometown, as Freetail puts it. Why do we brew? The official flying mammal of Texas is the Mexican Freetail Bat. It’s named after Scott Metzger, who lives in San Antonio and wanted to start a brewery in the city. People say that around 30 million bats are living in a cave close to San Antonio. But Metzger didn’t just create one brewery. He opened two, a brewpub and a taproom. A lot of the beers made at Freetail Brewery honour the diverse culture of San Antonio and Texas. They created a Con-Cerveza beer to raise funds for the San Antonio Zoo.
