Bastrop Beer Company, 1008 Main Street, Bastrop, Texas
The Roadhouse, 2804 Texas Route 21, Bastrop, Texas
Saxon Pub, Gate 19, Austin Bergstrom International Airport, 3600 Presidential Boulevard, Austin, Texas
In May of this year, when I flew over to visit friends and family in America, I spent the first week with a cousin who lives near Austin, Texas. This was my very first visit to the state of Texas, aside from briefly passing through the Panhandle when I was 18 years old, and also having made quick flight connections at both Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth Airports.
Besides being the state capital of Texas, Austin is also the home of the University of Texas flagship campus, and it's been famous for years for its live music scene. More recently it's become known for the Circuit of the Americas raceway which has hosted the American Formula 1 Grand Prix among other motor racing events. Not surprisingly it also hosts a number of breweries. Sadly I didn't have the chance to visit the actual city of Austin, because I was in nearby Bastrop.
Located 30 miles southeast of Austin along the lower Colorado River and with a population of a little over 11,000, Bastrop is known as the "most historic small town in Texas" because of its many registered buildings. In 1804 a Spanish fort was established on the future site of the town which was eventually named after the Baron of Bastrop, aka Philip Nering Bogel, who fled from his native Netherlands because he was wanted for embezzlement. The town was eventually incorporated in 1837. Two years later Bastrop began supplying its neighbouring Austin with lumber from its pine forest. Sadly in 1862 a fire destroyed a lot of downtown Bastrop, so most of its buildings postdate the American Civil War.
These days, aside from being the main location of the Elon Musk-owned Boring Company, the town of Bastrop is also the birthplace of film director Richard Linklater. But it's also home to two brewing companies, which is pretty impressive for such a small place. We took a seat at a table near the front open window, where I tried to clear my head from the excesses of the previous night by studying the kaleidoscopic lantern on our table. Suddenly inspired to indulge in some bizarreal artiology, I fished out Doug, the little plastic cat that I carry around in my handbag, and perched him on the lantern so I could take a photo. He didn't seemed particularly impressed by the setting, but then he never really is. Or perhaps it was the residual effect of the Mescal margarita I'd had the night before, which was still lingering in my head.
My cousin David and his wife Judy actually live in Bastrop, which is about thirty miles from Austin. While I was there another cousin, Laurie, happened to be driving across the country between homes with her husband Ron, so they stopped in for a few days as well. On one of those evenings we headed into downtown Bastrop to have a meal at Paw Paws Catfish House, and then we moved next door to the Bastrop Beer Company for a pint.
As there were five of us, and David was recovering from back surgery, we seated ourselves at a large round table near the front. After perusing the beer menu featuring 28 draft beers, I went for a pint of Electric Jellyfish IPA (6.5% ABV, Pinthouse Brewing, Austin, Texas.) With a nice full bitterness rating of 73, this New England IPA is actually a really nice hoppy, hazy brew. The hops used are Simcoe, Chinook, Ekuanot, Azacca, and Galaxy, so it's not surprising it's so satisfying.
Laurie went for a pint of Pecan Porter (6.2% ABV, 512 Brewing Company. Austin, Texas). With 30 IBU, and with a nutty bent, this was just a fine, classic porter, the type of porter I really appreciate. Brewed with both US and English malts and American yeast, it also uses organic Texas pecans in the mix. Ron went for a stronger pint of Breakfast Stout (8.3% ABV, Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan). Ron was already familiar with the beers of this brewery, and this Imperial Stout was, once again, a perfect and thankfully dry coffee stout, perfect for perhaps a midnight breakfast. Considering it's brewed with oats, bitter and imported chocolate, and Sumatra and Kona coffee, it would probably go great with fried eggs, hash browns, and toast. And Judy had a pint of Guinness. Unfortunately David was the designated driver, so he just had a soft drink. I know he would have really enjoyed a pint if that hadn't been the case.
The Bastrop Beer Company also features lots of bottles and cans, and they offer growlers of all of their draft beers to take home. There is a beer garden outside, and for those who don't want to sit still there are pinball machines and pool tables available. Wine, sake, champagne, and sake jello shots are also available, as well as various snacks including pretzels, pickles, and free popcorn. And if one wants to sip a pint while strolling down Main Street, they can have their pint poured into a plastic cup to go. (As opposed to a lot of the other states, Texas does not prohibit drinking in public.)
The next day we were visited by David and Judy's daughter Caitlin and grandkids Violet and Calvin, so we all decided to go out for lunch. The obvious choice was the Roadhouse, famous for its award-winning burgers. Fortunately for people like me they also have lots of vegetarian options and salads. And also for people like me, they have a couple of decent beers among the usual standard options.
While the others went for soft drinks and milkshakes, Caitlin and I both had pints of Stash IPA ((7.5% ABV, Independence Brewing Company, Austin, Texas). Brewed with a sextuple hops mixture consisting of Citra, Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Amarillo, and Simcoe, along with American Two-Row, English Pale, Munich, Crystal, and Flaked Barley malts, this dank brew was really grapefruity and wildly zingrrppy with all those Pacific Northwest hops. It was a great pint, and it made me think of the loud roar of cicadas back at David and Judy's house. The backs of the t-shirts the staff were wearing said "Staff Haulin' Buns", which suggests the basic feel of the place. I have to admit my black bean tacos were really good, and for anyone concerned that they might not get enough to eat, well, hell, this is Texas, remember?
After leaving my cousin's amazing house in the Bastrop countryside to continue with this year's trip, I passed very quickly through Austin Bergstrom Airport's speedy Security queue, thanks to their new Analogic 3D scanners. As it turned out, I had well over an hour to kill before my flight to Portland--where I was meeting my brew-tour buddy Mistah Rick--even started to board. It was 11am in the morning; but when I passed Gate 19 and spotted the long L-shaped bar of the Saxon Pub, and the several taps of local beers, I figured I should really try a half pint. Sadly they only serve full Imperial pints, as do all the other places I'd seen in Austin and Bastrop. But hey, what the hell, I was in Texas, where I've always heard they don't understand the concept of "small". Besides, I write about beer and I was on holiday, right?
So I went for a pint of Tahitian Dreaming Hazy IPA (6.7% ABV, Southern Heights Brewing Company, Austin, Texas). Brewed with Citra, Simcoe, and Centennial hops, it was satisfyingly hoppy, a proper pale ale in a hazy sort of way. It was quite citrussy triggering a sharp memory of my years living in the Pacific Northwest, and here I was in Austin, Texas. The world is getting smaller and smaller...
After the bartender learned that I live in the UK and write about beers, he gave me a taster of (512) IPA (7.0% ABV, (512) Brewing Company, Austin, Texas), which was very good, with a slightly very dry malt background to a perfectly hopped brew. He also gave me a taster of Axis IPA (7.1% ABV, Real Ale Brewing Company, Blanco, Texas) which he pointed out was indeed a cask-conditioned ale. With 60 IBUs, this one was quite gorgeous in a Sabro-induced way. What a heavenly pleasure this was.
The original Saxon Pub opened in Austin in 1990 and has hosted thousands and thousands of musical performances, and it's also been the location for films, videos, and live recordings. So it's great that they opened this tap in the airport back in 2011. As I was leaving, I noticed the stage just beyond the end of the bar has a big sign that says "Asleep At The Wheel", which happens to be a Western Swing band that Mistah Rick and I both share a liking for. What a coincidence this was. Apparently they host live performances several afternoons a week.
I wish I could have finished all my tasters, but I really had to get down to my gate for boarding, and I didn't want to have to pour myself onto the flight, either. Besides, I had plenty of other breweries, taps, and pints waiting for me to explore in the remaining weeks of my US visit.
Related Links
- The original Saxon Pub in Austin
- All about Austin, Texas
- ...and all about Bastrop, Texas
- In case you're visiting the US and want to know just what the alcohol laws are, here's a list of alcohol laws by state (Wikipedia)
- How to make your own jello shots (or in the UK, jelly shots)