Austin is home to bright sunlight, long hot summers, lively music, and cool crisp beer. It’s a brilliant place to vacation or live, espeically as there is a vibrant and exciting craft beer scene. Award-winning IPAs at Pinthouse Brewing, wild ales at Jester King, and a retro family-friendly environment at Oddwood Brewing are just some of the many features you’ll find in Austin.
As in many places, including Asheville and Denver, Austin’s craft breweries run the gambit. Some focus on their beers using food trucks to feed visitors (including the must-try Spicy Boys food truck). Others offer extensive in-house kitchens, with options including wood-fired pizza, tacos, full Mexican meals, and delicious burgers.
While all Austin breweries have their charm, some are much better than others. The best breweries in Austin receive accolades time and time again, including Meanwhile, Jester King, Pinthouse, Zilker, and Oddwood. Each has its own passionate fanbase and distinct characteristics.
So, let’s raise a glass and consider these breweries, including their beer selections, their food, and their atmosphere. This way you can find the best brewery (or breweries!) for your needs.
Best Breweries in Austin, Texas
Meanwhile Brewing
It’s easy to see why Meanwhile Brewing is so popular, as the brewery has an expansive space, with a taproom that seats more than 200 people. There are typically between 12 and 16 beers on tap, and these rotate regularly, so there’s always something new to try.
This is a fantastic place to bring a family, as they their own playground and even a soccer field. There’s an outdoor stage too, which often features live entertainment and elevates the mood. Seriously. What’s better than live music and cold beer?
The diversity makes Meanwhile a place for everyone. Regardless of your generation or beer preferences, you’re certain to find some things you love at Meanwhile. Even non-drinkers will be pleased by the variety of alcohol free options.
The only slight letdown is the food, as there isn’t a notable in-house kitchen. Still, Meanwhile makes up for this by hosting multiple food trucks. The selection can include tacos, barbecue, pizza, and delicious ice cream. The food trucks aren’t there every minute of every day, so it’s best to check first if you’re looking for food.
Meanwhile also has longer hours than most other breweries. They open at 8am during the week and 9am on weekends, closing at somewhere between 10pm and 11:30pm, depending on the day.
Jester King
Jester King is another great choice – and shines for very different reasons than Meanwhile Brewing. Here, there’s a strong rustic focus, as the brewery is part of a 41-acre property that’s also a pizzeria and goat ranch.
The brewery opens from 2pm during the week and 11am on weekends, then closes at either 8pm or 9pm. This allows you to check their offerings out any afternoon and stay well into the evening.
Jester King is a fascinating place for beers, as they regularly offer spontaneously fermented beers and wild ales. These offer a truly unique experience that’s perfect for anyone who loves to experiment. They now offer some more familiar beers as well, so there’s a little something for everyone.
This is also a brilliant place for pizza, as Jester King offers delicious homemade woodfired pizza. You can choose from their standard offerings or even design your own. Food trailers on the weekend provide a few extra options.
Despite its popularity, Jester King is quite out of the way. It’s a decent drive out of Austin (18 miles west of downtown), to the extent that it sometimes feels like you’ve left the city entirely.
This remoteness is appealing if you’re looking to get away or want to enjoy the beautiful drive. It’s much less attractive if you want something nearby or hope to hit multiple breweries in a single afternoon.
Live Oak
Live Oak has 25 years of history in Austin, with a strong focus on traditional German beer styles. They have four regular beers on tap: Pilz, HefeWeizen, Big Bark, and Grodziskie, plus a rotating selection of other beers.
There are plenty of seating options, including a large taproom and an outdoor Biergarten, complete with benches and picnic tables. This is fantastic, as breweries can get pretty packed some days.
Kids and dogs are welcome, as long as they’re fairly well behaved. There’s plenty of outdoor space, so kids can run around to their hearts’ content, while adults enjoy a nice cold mug of beer. Adults can get active too, as there’s an on-site disc golf court.
Food trucks help keep guests full, with The Black Forest food truck operating from Thursday to Sunday and Buddy’s BBQ & Crepes from Wednesday to Sunday. Unfortunately, bar snacks are the only option for food if you visit on a Monday or Tuesday.
There’s no live music and Live Oak doesn’t currently run tours (although they may start them again in the future). Still, this is a good safe bet for beers and a pleasant environment, especially if you’re a lager fan.
Zilker Brewing Company
Located on 6th Street in East Austin, Zilker is a popular local hangout spot for locals and visitors. The taproom itself is fairly small, but there’s plenty of outdoor seating to make up for the size.
This is a great place if you’re a fan of IPAs, sours, and similar beers, as there are some excellent versions on tap. Their Marco IPA is a great place to begin. This is a popular IPA with plenty of juicy citrus notes.
Then there’s the food…
This deserves a special mention, as Zilker hosts the Spicy Boys food truck, which famously focuses on fried chicken and a variety of delicious related meals, like a fried tempeh sandwich, breaded boneless chicken nuggets, and fried cauliflower nuggets.
Spicy Boys is so famous and popular that you might even visit Zilker for their food, then stay for the beer.
Pinthouse Brewing
Pinthouse focuses on both food and beer, with exceptional offerings in each category. The menu at their Pinthouse Brewing location plenty of options, including shareables (like chicken wings and smoked fish dip), salads, sandwiches, and pizza, while their Pinthouse Burnet location focuses on pizza instead.
Food trucks are all well and good, but having an in-house kitchen like this is so much better. This means there’ll always be decent food, no matter what day or time you turn up.
There are exciting beers here as well, including their Electric Jellyfish IPA. This is a highly rated hazy IPA that’s considered one of Austin’s best beers. Indeed, Pinthouse is well-known for offering exceptional IPAs. But, don’t worry. There are also other styles of beer on tap to keep you satisfied.
Because of their popularity, Pinthouse now has four locations, three in Austin and one in Round Rock. Pinthouse Brewing is where it all began and opens from 11am every day, closing at either 10pm or 11pm. The other locations keep similar hours, giving you plenty of chances to visit.
Oddwood Brewing
Oddwood Brewing has plenty going for it. They’re a family friendly location with a dog friendly patio, which allows you to bring everyone along and have a great time. There’s even an arcade room with free play machines, like Ms. Pac-Man and NBA Jam.
This is also another excellent choice for foodies, as there’s an in-house kitchen offering a variety of food. Pizza features here, too, with a decent selection of 10-inch bar pies.
Not a pizza fan? No worries. The menu also includes appetizers, salads, strombolis, and a few kids’ meals. There’s also the KG BBQ food truck that turns up regularly, offering an even greater selection of meals.
If all of that weren’t enough, Oddwood offers some exciting and unusual events, including a retro market and a retro video game tournament. These are another reason to check Oddwood out for yourself.
We can’t forget about the beers either, can we? Oddwood offers a selection of styles here, including traditional lagers, ales, sours, and some guest options. Draft beer can be ordered in mugs or pitchers, and you can even order a flight of four (before 8pm).
Hold Out Brewing
Hold Out Brewing is located behind Better Half Coffee and Cocktails (its sister café), making it a delightful spot to spend an afternoon. Indeed, the brewery is often seen as a neighborhood hub, one where it’s easy to sit for hours and enjoy their brews.
Then there’s the food. Hold Out’s in-house kitchen focuses on classic pub staples, including burgers and wings. These are deliciously made and pair perfectly with the beers.
Hold Out features a variety of beer styles, including IPAs, lagers, porters, and more, offering a little something for everyone. IPAs are heavily featured, including delicious hazy IPAs like their Liquid Television.
Hold Out even offers tasters, allowing you to try multiple beers before making a decision. And, if beer isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other options including cider, sangria, wine, and cocktails.
Finally, there’s a ton of free parking. That’s a seriously underrated feature, parking can be a nightmare, especially near a brewery.
Southern Heights Brewing Co.
Southern Heights is another East Austin must-try. The brewery focuses on freshness, so they regularly rotate their taps to serve new and exciting options.
They even offer a beer club, which provides you with a free beer each visit, a collector’s glass, member only releases, and member only happy hours in fall and spring. This club is a great way to show loyalty and offers a ton of benefits to boot.
As for beers, there are plenty of exciting flavors and styles – like their Hoodie Weather, which is a Russian Imperial Stout with vanilla, cocoa, and coffee flavors, plus a 10.31% ABV. They also currently offer Jam Session, a raspberry kettle sour that relies heavily on fresh raspberries.
The Southern Heights taproom opens from 3pm during the week and 12pm on the weekend (although they’re closed on Mondays). They stay open till 10pm on Friday and Saturday. Other days, they close at 8pm instead. These times make Southern Heights a poor choice for late night sessions, but the taproom is perfect during the evening.
Finally, while Southern Heights offers exceptional and creative beers, their food options are limited. The La Taquicardia food truck is the main option for food and is there every day except Tuesday, with brunch available from 12pm to 3pm on the weekend.
St. Elmo Brewing Company
St. Elmo has won multiple awards for their beer, yet the brewery is laidback and surprisingly straightforward. There’s a decent indoor space, plus a patio with picnic tables in case you want to drink outside.
Variety is a big selling point here, as St. Elmo offers more different styles than normal. You’ll often find pilsners, stouts, IPAs, porters, and sours here. There should be something for everyone – perfect if you’re visiting as part of a large group. St. Elmo offers some interesting alcohol free options as well, including hop water and cold brew coffee.
Like Zilker, St. Elmo features a Spicy Boys food truck. This is one of the most popular food trucks in Austin and serves up delicious fried chicken to hungry crowds.
The taproom is open from 11am to 10pm from Sunday to Wednesday, then 11am to 11pm from Thursday to Saturday. However, it’s best to call first if you want food, as Spicy Boys may not be there the entire time.
Lazarus Brewing
Lazarus now has two locations, one on East 6th Street and the other on Airport Boulevard. Both open from 7:30am to 11pm during the week, 9am to 11pm on Saturday, and 9am to 10pm on Sunday. The long opening hours are partly because the company offers a decent coffee menu during the day. They even roast their own coffee beans.
The focus on coffee then beer makes this one of the few breweries that you could hang out at all day, if you wanted. Indeed, it’s a casual, friendly, and familiar place, one that many people visit regularly.
There’s also plenty of delicious in-house food. The East 6th Street venue (their original) focuses heavily on tacos, including street tacos, bag tacos, and more. The Airport Boulevard venue offers some tacos, along with a selection of Mexican big plates, including Pollo en Mole Amarillo and Salmon Tostada.
As for beer, there are plenty of expressions to choose from. Lazarus brews more than 70 unique beers each year and has 16 taps at their East 6th Street location. Styles include pilsner, hazy IPA, stout, and more.
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