Just as the weekend provides sweet relief after a long week in meetings or on the convention floor, nothing beats a thirst-quenching drink on a hot day. It can get mighty warm in Texas, too, as Lone Star delegates know well. Texan brewers, vintners, distillers, soft drink makers and restaurateurs are up to the task, though, serving up their own brand of “climate control.”
In San Antonio, for example, nationally acclaimed chef Johnny Hernandez’s La Gloria at the Pearl Brewery (with a newly opened outpost at San Antonio International Airport) is a heavenly choice for margaritas. Opened in December 2012, his latest San Antonio venture, The Fruteria–Botanero, pays homage to Mexican green grocers and fruit stands.
“Fruteria by day and Botanero by night, we go from fresh fruit and smoothies to tapas, tequila and mescal,” Hernandez explains.
At the other end of the beverage spectrum is Dr Pepper, created in 1885 in Waco and celebrated there at the popular museum of the same name.
“Located in the heart of Texas just 100 miles from Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, the Dr Pepper Museum offers fantastic meeting space for groups of 10 to 300 people,” says Jennie Sheppard, director of visitor services and communications at the venue. “With two buildings, a huge courtyard, a working old-fashioned soda fountain and three dedicated rental areas, [groups can] meet in Waco and learn about the nation’s oldest major soft drink on the market today—Dr Pepper!”
From McAllen, where greeters welcome conventioneers with their very own drink, the tequila-enhanced pink lemonade slush “Border Buttermilk,” to the vineyards of Hill Country, the doctor awaits to remedy your Texas-sized thirst. PageBreak
Beer Nuts
How much do Texans love their beer? Documented in the entertaining 2003 film short Something’s Brewin’ in Shiner, when the F. Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas—established in 1909 and maker of the state’s official beer, Shiner Bock—had a new product in mind, it involved the entire town in the approval process. Along with tours of the brewery, groups visiting tiny Shiner, located about halfway between San Antonio and Houston and once an Austrian-Czech-German farming town, will find the historic Ehlers Cigar Factory.
Craft beer is all the rage in Texas. In Houston, options include Saint Arnold Brewing Co., the state’s oldest craft brewer and a popular group option offering tastings, tours and event space that includes an authentic biergarten in its century-old warehouse space.
Deep Ellum Brewing Co. is among the draws in Dallas, with other Metroplex-area choices including the Stateside Pie and Beer restaurant in Mesquite, with 44 beers on tap, and the new F.M. Smokehouse in Irving, with 28 Texas breweries represented on its 42 taps along with craft cockails made from house-infused spirits. Fort Worth, which is starting to kick up its heels on the culinary tourism front with the debut next March of the four-day Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, is home to the group-friendly Rahr & Sons Brewing Company.
Austin, meanwhile, is home to several breweries open for tours and tastings, including Jester King and the sustainability-focused Hops & Grain.
Hosted by Moody Gardens this Labor Day, the fourth-annual BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival in Galveston, featuring 400-plus beers, has emerged as one of the largest such gatherings in the state. Also in Galveston, the beachfront Beerfoot Beach Bar is the island’s only brewpub, showcasing more than 100 craft and mainstream beers, a small brewery and a beer enthusiast club aptly named “Beer Nuts.” Another popular event is the Art of Beer held each October in Beaumont, while in Abilene, Cypress Street Station has the distinction of being the city’s only brewpub.PageBreak
Heard Through the Grapevine
Scheduled to open in November 2013, the Grapevine Craft Brewery will offer a variety of handcrafted beers and ales and feature a two-level tasting area. This will only add to the appeal of this Metroplex city, known better as the headquarters of the Texas wine industry, ranked fifth in the nation for wine production.
Named Grape Vine in the mid-1800s for its location on Grape Vine Prairie near Grape Vine Springs (both taking the name from the area’s wild mustang grapes), Grapevine today is a wine lover’s dream. Seven winery tasting rooms offer unique wine, dining and event options, while both Grapevine Wine Tours and Dallas Wine Tours are immensely popular for corporate team building, convention excursions, social outings and other gatherings. Each September, Grapefest is the largest wine festival in the Southwest.
Also in the Metroplex, Cru Food & Wine Bar in Plano is the first in Texas to offer 30 wines by the glass, and it features a cellar of 300 bottles from around the globe at every price point, along with Napa-style food pairings.
In Bryan-College Station, the celebrated Messina Hof Winery and Resort offers a range of group programs, from tours and tastings to cooking and wine-pairing classes. With its owners representing seven generations of Sicilian and German winemaking lineage, Messina Hof has another event-ready location in Fredericksburg, a favorite locale in winery-dotted Texas Hill Country.
One of El Paso’s most popular attractions is the family-owned Zin Valle Vineyards. Nestled between the majestic Franklin Mountains and high plains where the Rio Grande River cuts a lush green valley through the desert, Zin Valle is a regular stage for events, including live music, outdoor movies and the annual “Grape Race” for runners and walkers.PageBreak
The Latest Buzz
Guaranteed to raise your spirits, Texas has emerged as a cradle of artisanal distilleries, producing everything from bourbon to vodka. Among the more innovative is Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling in San Antonio. Opened in late 2010, the state’s first “brewstillery” produces handcrafted beer and bourbon one batch at a time “with lots of love, attention and Texas attitude.” Welcoming large groups for tours and tastings, Ranger Creek also offers the unique hands-on opportunity to help bottle its bourbon and beer.
Back in Fort Worth, the event-ready Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. is the only artisanal bourbon distillery in North Texas, while in San Leon along the shores of Galveston Bay, Railean Distillery is recognized for producing “the original Texas rum.” Tours and tastings are free but by reservation only.
Located about an hour west of Austin in Hye, Texas, Garrison Brothers bills itself as “the first and oldest legal whiskey distillery in Texas.” Set on a scenic ranch, the facility welcomes a wide range of events, from corporate retreats and rehearsal dinners to media events and car club rallies.
And when the big meeting (or golf outing) is over in Irving, cozy up to Bar 19 at the AAA Five Diamond Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas for unique, custom-made Texas cocktails such as the Farmer’s Tan, made with home-grown jalapenos and cilantro.
