Circle Brewing Co. - Austin Beer Guide
Circle Brewing Co. - Austin Beer Guide Circle Brewing Co. - Austin Beer Guide
BEER & LOATHING Off-River Drinkin’ in New Braunfels by CHRIS TROUTMAN IN LATE SPRING THE FOUR OF US PLUS OUR good friend Bryan Gutmann ditched our wives, fiances, kids, and regular Sunday afternoon inhibitions and piled into a Honda hybrid (at the time we were considering theme-ing this issue the “green issue,” yeah, it didn’t pan out) with our sails set for New Braunfels. We were sick and tired of drinking in boring old regular Braunfels and we needed something new. Being it was only mid-spring and still a little bit chilly, we were on a mission to find some of the best dry drinking spots in that very wet town. Tubing was not on the agenda. We hit I-35 right about 1pm with our bellies full from our yummy Austin Beer Guide family Sunday brunch at Contigo (dropping this sentence hoping to get some extra flap jacks in my next short stack *wink wink*). Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we made quick time of the 50 odd miles whilst forcing Siri to pull up various breweries’ and bars’ phone numbers for us as we haphazardly called and left our “credentials” via voicemail hoping for some free beer when we arrived. It worked. Our first stop was at the brand new Guadalupe Brewing Co. We met up with brewer and founder Hunter Weilbacher at the brewery after meeting him the previous week at Whip In’s anniversary party where he was serving his Honey Ale. Hunter was a very gracious host and let us try nine of his latest beers brewed on his “frankenbrew” 4 barrel brewhouse. Everything was amazing for a brand new brewery, but the Czech-style pilsner and Austrian-style pilsner were close to some of the better Texas made Europeanstyle pilsners these Austin Beer Guide palates have ever savored. After we were satisfactorily quaffed, he brought out samples of his Grand Cru and bourbon oak aged scotch ale. Both were like Venus’ Transit over our tongues. As of press they do not offer public tours, so this is not so much a stop that you could make
without prior arrangements, but when in New Braunfels, seek them out. And Godspeed them to Austin. We blew our time budget at Guadalupe, but luckily Hunter was buddies with the brewer at our next stop and offered to lead the way. It was the New Braunfels’ craft beer equivalent of a police escort. Our next “planned” stop was the Faust Hotel and Brewing Co., a historic hotel that has been restored (not renovated or updated) right off of the main drive going into town. It’s the classiest joint in New Braunfels and they brew their own beer to boot. We met up with brewer Ray Mitteldorf at Faust’s bar. We all drank the Alt. It was pretty great. Ray gave us a tour of his copper clad 7 barrel brewhouse and then at some point we all ended up in a suite on the fourth floor. It was pretty swanky. Historic swank. The best kind. We had another beer or two, left the Honda, and walked to our next destination. Still following Hunter’s lead and with Ray in tow, we trekked a few hundred paces deeper into New Braunfels’ gullet and found ourselves awkwardly walking in on some type of talent show at the Phoenix Saloon. While effectively doubling their talent show audience, we all found seats at the bar and made ourselves comfortable. This establishment fits that nouveau Hill Country aesthetic that is becoming so hip at finer places south and west of Austin. With about 30 taps, and several of the local usual suspects, this was a solid stop on our trip. We ordered a few appetizers and especially enjoyed the sweet potato wedges. They had a yummy whipped cream dipping sauce. So good. Again, we dipped too deep into our time budget here as we delved into talking about Hawaii, getting married, having babies, how much everyone loved the Spring guide, how we would probably disappoint with the Summer guide, and how much we loved the whipped cream dipping sauce for the sweet potato wedges. After a group trip to the little boys’ room, Hunter took me downstairs to the Phoenix basement and showed me where they once hosted illegal alligator fights and the trap door and shoot they used during prohibition. If that last sentence doesn’t convey it, I’ll spell it out: this place is legitimate. A must stop when in New Braunfels. FAUST HOTEL ROOM
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BEER & LOATHING<br />
Off-River Drinkin’<br />
in New Braunfels<br />
by CHRIS TROUTMAN<br />
IN LATE SPRING THE FOUR OF US PLUS OUR<br />
good friend Bryan Gutmann ditched our wives,<br />
fiances, kids, and regular Sunday afternoon<br />
inhibitions and piled into a Honda hybrid (at<br />
the time we were considering theme-ing this<br />
issue the “green issue,” yeah, it didn’t pan out)<br />
with our sails set for New Braunfels. We were<br />
sick and tired of drinking in boring old regular<br />
Braunfels and we needed something new.<br />
Being it was only mid-spring and still<br />
a little bit chilly, we were on a mission to find<br />
some of the best dry drinking spots in that very<br />
wet town. Tubing was not on the agenda.<br />
We hit I-35 right about 1pm with our<br />
bellies full from our yummy <strong>Austin</strong> <strong>Beer</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
family Sunday brunch at <strong>Co</strong>ntigo (dropping this<br />
sentence hoping to get some extra flap jacks in<br />
my next short stack *wink wink*). Bright-eyed<br />
and bushy-tailed, we made quick time of the 50<br />
odd miles whilst forcing Siri to pull up various<br />
breweries’ and bars’ phone numbers for us as<br />
we haphazardly called and left our “credentials”<br />
via voicemail hoping for some free beer when<br />
we arrived.<br />
It worked.<br />
Our first stop was at the brand new<br />
Guadalupe <strong>Brewing</strong> <strong>Co</strong>. We met up with<br />
brewer and founder Hunter Weilbacher at<br />
the brewery after meeting him the previous<br />
week at Whip In’s anniversary party where<br />
he was serving his Honey Ale. Hunter was a<br />
very gracious host and let us try nine of his<br />
latest beers brewed on his “frankenbrew” 4<br />
barrel brewhouse. Everything was amazing<br />
for a brand new brewery, but the Czech-style<br />
pilsner and Austrian-style pilsner were close<br />
to some of the better Texas made Europeanstyle<br />
pilsners these <strong>Austin</strong> <strong>Beer</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> palates<br />
have ever savored. After we were satisfactorily<br />
quaffed, he brought out samples of his Grand<br />
Cru and bourbon oak aged scotch ale. Both<br />
were like Venus’ Transit over our tongues. As<br />
of press they do not offer public tours, so this<br />
is not so much a stop that you could make
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