The wife and I decided to check out a couple of small breweries that recently opened up that weren’t too far of a drive from us. We first went to Ruggedman Brewery, which is located in New Braunfels, TX, just a bit North of San Antonio. We then went to my wife’s hometown of San Marcos, TX to visit Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Company. We had heard of both of these breweries previous to our visit there, but we honestly did not know what to expect as far as what these places looked like, and what they had to offer when we visited the brewery, which by the way, was on 04/08/17.
Just off of Interstate 35 in between San Antonio and Austin on a lonely country road lies a small industrial warehouse building, that according to an old photo I found online, used to distribute bread or something, judging from the Mrs. Baird’s trucks and trailers parked there. Well this location now houses a small Brewery known as Ruggedman Brewing. When we visited this brewery, they had only been open for 4 months. One thing this brewery prides itself on is that it is Veteran owned and operated. Their slogan is “Drink the Damn Beer.” That’s what we did.
They offered flights, so the wife and I were able to get four different beers each, as they had at least these eight beers to offer the day we went. I can not remember if they had others but did not try. But hey, shit, eight different beers to taste is pretty damn good if you ask me. I know there’s a lot of debate over what size of beer pour constitutes a proper tasting, but to be honest, I am one who can pick out flavors from a small pour of beer. I mean, I don’t chug them, and I also wait a bit to let them warm up slightly to get the best experience with each beer. I really think the breweries that say that a person can not get the full flavors of a beer unless it’s a proper full pour are just saying that to get you to pay for their beer at the higher price. Just my two cents on that matter. Anyway, Check out the beers that I was able to try.
- Gold Pan Blonde (Dry-Hopped w/ Gargoyle), 5.2%, Blonde Ale dry hopped with Gargoyle Hops, Rating: 4/5
- Big Rig Apricot Blonde, 7.2%, Big Rig Blonde base that was aged on apricots after it’s initial fermentation, Rating: 4.5/5
- Sledgehammer IPA, 6.25%, their flagship IPA, Rating: 4/5
- Gold Pan Blonde, 4.7%, refreshing well balanced Blonde Ale, Rating: 4/5
- Big Rig Blonde, 7.2%, Belgian Blonde Ale, Rating: 4.5/5
- Anchor Line Amber, 6.5%, Belgian style Amber Ale, Rating: 3.75/5
- Machinegun Stout, 6.5%, American Stout with dark roasted malts and English hops, Rating: 4.25/5
- Jackhammer Double IPA, 9.4%, Imperial/Double IPA, Rating: 4/5
As you can see from my check-ins above, I did not have a problem with this brewery. I enjoyed every single beer, as my lowest rating was a 3.75, which by my views is still a very high score, well over that hump in the scale, you know. I know they self distribute their beers to local bars in the New Braunfels/San Marcos area, but mostly you have to visit the brewery to try all of their offerings. I highly recommend that you do. I am looking forward to watching them grow their business. January 27th is their one year anniversary party. Not sure if I can make it out, but will definitely try.
Ruggedman Brewery
7600 S Old Bastrop Rd.
New Braunfels, TX 78130
drinkthedamnbeer.com
We took a quick 7 mile drive to our next stop, Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Company in San Marcos, TX. Just a few turns away from our last stop, we found ourselves on TX-123, a Texas State Highway road. Altmeyer & Lewis is located in what looks like an old body shop with two large garage doors. A simple banner hanging on a self made wooden stand is all that shows you that this is a brewery. Crazy how this industry has brought out the home brewers to open up a brewery in the unlikeliest buildings or locations.
Now this brewery did not offer flights, so full pours had to be had, but because of our previous stop, we were not about to dive into many full pints here. In fact, I only had two beers while there. And, fucking Hell, I should have checked my Untappd, cause one of the beers that I ordered, I had previously had at a local San Antonio Craft Beer bar. Altmeyer & Lewis were self distributing their beers already, and I have had a couple of their offerings at different places. Here is what I had at the brewery.
- Red, 6.0%, American Red/Amber Ale, Rating: 3.75/5
- SM&SH v.1, 5.5%, AMerican Pale Ale, single malt & single hop with American Pilsner Malt and Cascade Hops, Rating: 4/5
At the time of the visit, they had only been open months, so again, another young brewery that I would love to see the local community support, so we could watch them grow into a bigger business. By the way, there isn’t much info on their actual website, and their Facebook About section was no help either, so I couldn’t get any info behind the name or who they are or anything. Hopefully that will all be updated at one point.
Altmeyer & Lewis Brewing Company
15898 TX-123
San Marcos, TX 78666
altmeyerlewisbrewing.com
Beer Metal Media 