Elliott Munoz
Dallas resident and pediatrician Chris Dreiling wasn’t impressed by the first couple of craft beers he tried. He’d often opt for his usual Shiner Bock over wildly bitter India pale ales. But about a year ago, Dreiling tried Temptress milk stout by Garland’s Lakewood Brewing Co., which he says changed his perspective.
Before, “it just seemed that everyone was trying to out-hop each other,” Dreiling says. “When you get into the local people that aren’t necessarily bottling, there’s a lot more versatility and a lot more creativity.”
Dreiling is one of many experiencing the effects of North Texas’ craft beer revolution. In just four years, the number of microbreweries in the region jumped from two to 20, and at least nine others are in the works. The movement is also breeding a new craft culture centered on specialty beer bars, brewpubs, festivals and events populated by drinkers in search of great taste rather than a cheap buzz.
Ask anyone involved in the scene, and they’ll tell you: There’s never been a better time to drink beer, especially local brews, in North Texas.
High hopes but low demand
Beer brewing isn’t exactly a new phenomenon around Dallas-Fort Worth. As far back as the 19th century, European settlers were bringing that piece of their heritage to the area, with the first commercial brewery founded around 1860, according to North Texas Beer: A Full-Bodied History of Beer in Dallas, Fort Worth and Beyond (The History Press, $16.25), published this month.
Rahr and Sons Brewery has produced local IPAs, lager, and light beers in Fort Worth since 2004. (Alexandra Olivia/ Special Contributor)
The craft scene’s development here, however, has been slow. In the beer world, the Lone Star State’s unofficial motto is “a decade behind.”
While microbreweries were taking root in the now exemplary beer hubs such as California, Oregon and the Northeast during the latter part of the 20th century, D-FW served as a wasteland for hopeful brewers whose ambitions of serving local beer were quashed by a lack of demand.
After Texas legalized brewpubs in 1993, many craft beer venture capitalists expanded to the region, seeking to take advantage of a virgin market, says Brian Brown, co-author of North Texas Beer.
These business owners “just assumed everyone wanted to drink this kind of beer, and they didn’t,” he says. North Texans “didn’t know what it was or how to react to it.”
Perhaps the only post-Prohibition success story was Miller Brewing, which expanded to Fort Worth in 1966. The facility was the birthplace of Miller Lite and is still operating today as MillerCoors.
Rising tide of interest
North Texas’ game of catch-up began in 2004, when Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. opened in Fort Worth. The brewery, founded by couple Fritz and Erin Rahr, first released traditional German styles before eventually experimenting with modern American twists.
In 2008, a second brewery joined the local landscape. Franconia Brewing Co. began production in McKinney, under the direction of Germany native Dennis Wehrmann, who brewed his first batch of beer at age 12.
Despite the arrival of local craft beer, drinkers were still a hard sell, according to Gavin Secchi, head brewer at the forthcoming 3 Nations Brewing Co., whose résumé includes stints at both Rahr and Franconia. The popular European-inspired bars and pubs, he says, were focused on import beer.
“In 2008 and 2009, that was all you saw inside those bars,” Secchi says. “People were saying, ‘Well, why would I buy Rahr’s red lager when I can buy a red ale from Ireland?’”
A glass of Mother's Little Fracker by Revolver Brewing is poured at LUCK (Local Urban Craft Kitchen) in Trinity Groves on Singleton Blvd in Dallas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)
Rahr and Franconia were the main players for several years, gaining enough ground to afford the former an expansion. Then, in 2011, North Texas’ beer scene exploded, seemingly overnight.
Deep Ellum Brewing Co. in Dallas opened in October of that year, followed by Peticolas Brewing Co. in December. By the end of 2012, five additional microbreweries had popped up in the city and its surrounding suburbs — Lakewood Brewing Co. in Garland, Revolver Brewing in Granbury, Four Corners Brewing Co. in Dallas, FireWheel Brewing Co. in Rowlett and Cedar Creek Brewery in Seven Points — all of which jumped straight into distribution.
Michael Peticolas, founder and brewer at Peticolas Brewing Co. and contributor to The Dallas Morning News’ craft beer blog, says the boom was a long time coming.
“There was such a void here. … Dallas [was] the largest city in the U.S. without a brewery when I’m writing my business plan,” he recalls.
The change happening in Dallas was mirrored throughout the state. The number of craft breweries statewide climbed to 84 in 2012 from 59 in 2011, according to data from the Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade organization. That number rose to 96 active breweries in 2013, making the Lone Star State the seventh-largest producer of craft beer that year at 848,259 barrels.
The increase in breweries spawned a wealth of new festivals to showcase the homegrown suds, such as Untapped (now owned by The News), Big Texas Beer Fest, Brew at the Zoo (now Dallas Observer Brewfest), and Best Little Brew Fest in Texas, to name a few.
Where there had been just a handful of beer bars like Flying Saucer, Meddlesome Moth and The Common Table in 2010, the boom inspired every new bar and restaurant to load their menus with craft offerings.
The more exposure craft beer gained, the more Texans tried it, says Kevin Carr, contributor to the News’ beer blog and founder of Community Beer Co., which opened in 2013. This newfound taste for craft beer aligned with a change in attitude and philosophy, he says, as Dallasites leaned more toward supporting quality products.
“Now that there’s a choice and a cultural shift happening, people are seeking [craft beer] out on their own,” Carr says. “They’re not willing to be told what good beer is.”
Ted Duchesne, co-founder of consumer lobbying organization Open the Taps, saw the same change in preferences. In just a few years, “gateway beers” that enticed drinkers to try craft were relegated to the fringe, he says.
“Ten years ago, people were saying, ‘I only drink Bud Light. Can you recommend a craft beer for me?’ Now people are walking in and saying, ‘I usually drink blonde, what’s the next level up?’” Duchesne says. “That, to me, is a huge change in consumer palate.”
Mark and Amy Gootee, and their friends Paul and Lisa Knutson, enjoy their beer with a pretzel necklace at the Big Texas Beer Fest at Fair Park in Dallas, TX on April 5, 2014. (Alexandra Olivia/ Special Contributor)
Is the market oversaturated?
Once the floodgates opened, local beer quite literally flooded the market.
North Texas’ 20 independent breweries have released hundreds of beers in an array of styles, from wits and wheats to porters and stouts and, of course, an abundance of IPAs. Each new seasonal or specialty batch warrants a release party or pint night at one of the establishments that prides itself on a consistently rotating tap list.
Landmark state legislation surrounding the beer industry passed in the 2013 session, further accelerating the craft beer market. One bill allowed breweries to sell directly to drinkers on-site, which enabled the construction of brewery taprooms. Another doubled the annual production capacity for brewpubs to 10,000 barrels, encouraging new operations, such as Shannon Brewing Co. in Keller, to open small and immediately net cash flow from selling their products to-go.
Today, the industry’s growth is spread across all corners of North Texas, with thriving operations in towns such as Sherman (903 Brewers), Justin (Rabbit Hole Brewing) and Lewisville (Cobra Brewing Co.). New breweries and brewpubs have broken ground in Richardson, Allen, Denton, Dallas and Addison.
Amid the positive response to craft beer, some worry that the area is growing too much too fast. Nationwide, publications have debated the existence of a craft beer bubble.
Brown isn’t quick to dismiss that theory; however, in his research for North Texas Beer, he spotted promising signs that this latest generation of brewers will succeed. Their brewing skill, for instance, is well beyond those who opened brewpubs here during the ’90s, Brown says. Plus, brewers focus heavily on educating and engaging consumers through Saturday tours, beer dinners and tastings.
The local brewers are also obsessed with quality, according to Carr. And they’re gaining recognition for it.
D-FW brewers walked away with six medals — four gold and two bronze — from the 2014 Great American Beer Festival, known as one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world.
“In the last two to three years, not only has North Texas matched and possibly exceeded Austin in number of breweries, but the quality is on par … arguably better,” he says.
Wednesday night regulars Philip Hake, Earl Gaspard, Tyler Milner, and Josh Smith cheers to a successful night of beer tasting at the beer-hoisting competition at Flying Saucer in Addison, TX on September 10, 2014. (Alexandra Olivia/ Special Contributor)
That’s not to say market saturation won’t be an issue. But there’s another trend at work that suggests any potential bubble may be staved off.
Breweries opening across D-FW are focusing on building a hyperlocal following, depicting themselves more as a neighborhood bar than a regional brewery. For example, Cobra Brewing Co. distributes to a handful of places in North Texas but is known for its one-off batches that are only available at its facility. Along with Saturday tours, breweries such as 903 Brewers are hosting trivia and movie nights.
And despite local enthusiasm for craft beer, data shows there’s plenty of room to grow. According to the Brewers Association, craft beer accounted for less than 8 percent of beer sold nationwide in 2013.
“There are a lot of consumers that still need to be converted,” says Doug Smith, co-owner and brewmaster of Denton’s newly opened Audacity Brew House. He moved to Texas from Fort Collins, Colo., where he spent almost seven years as the operations manager at Fort Collins Brewery. Smith contends the movement toward smaller, community-based breweries will sustain North Texas as a vibrant hub for years to come.
“If you think about where craft beer does really well — California, Oregon, Colorado — it’s really that local pride that keeps it going,” he says. “And I think that’s where Texas can really excel.”