Having just moved to the greater Houston area in July of this year (lucky me, during one of the hottest Texas summers on record), the best way for me to explore and meet new people is by visiting breweries!
My boyfriend, Kyle, and I spend our weekends together hitting up new places, going back to our tried and true watering holes and bringing friends with us whenever we can. Below are ten of my favorite breweries so far, but this is by no means a comprehensive list as we have so many more to try!
1. 11 Below Brewing | Houston
The irony of starting an article about ten breweries and the name of this brewery is 11 Below, but I digress. 🙂
Located in north Houston, 11 Below Brewing sits in an industrial park and offers a variety of beers to choose from, including All the Time, Seasonal and Sometimes. Their mission focus is perfect for Texas –  flavorful beers that you don’t mind drinking when it’s 100°F outside. Like many breweries in the area, food trucks provide the grub to go with your beer. We met up with four friends as it was the perfect location between downtown Houston and everywhere else north of Houston. If you like a good Margarita-style beer, I highly recommend Taco Tuesday!
Beer to try: Taco Tuesday, Oktoberfest (seasonal), ‘Murica Time! (sometimes), Hipster Sauce
2. Copperhead Brewery | Conroe
Copperhead Brewery is located in a Conroe neighborhood just off N. Frazier St. The taproom is air conditioned and their outdoor seating area is covered to shield you from that sometimes blazing Texas sun. The brewery also boasts a pool table, ping pong table, giant Jenga and tournament foosball table. Kyle and I have visited when only a few folks were having a drink and we’ve also been there when a German band was playing.
The owners are the nicest (and if you like doggos, you’ll love it here), we made some new friends with other patrons and the beers are just damn good. The HOPPY Kitchen is a permanent food truck outside the seating area and I highly recommend getting the 3-piece fish and chips!
Beers to try: Copperhead Red, Mongoose Slayer, O-Fest (seasonal), King of Terrors
Food to try: 3-Piece Fish & Chips
3. Excalibur Brewing Company | Spring
Kyle’s BJJ gym is not very far from Excalibur (located next to Old Town Spring) so we meet here quite often after he gets out of class. The biggest reason why we frequent Excalibur is because the beer is legit and the beertenders are the coolest people. They have many types of beer on tap, different food trucks almost every night, a variety of activities from Bingo to beer and yoga night, a great outdoor seating area, they are dog-friendly, and the list goes on.
I recently became a mug club member and I’m looking forward to all the fun that’s in store for me with membership perks. We bring all our friends here and will continue to do so.
Beers to try: All of them but my favorites are Extoberfest (seasonal), Pendragon Pils, The Mighty Arondight, Arthurian Blood Orange Wheat
Food to try: Slanging Dough Pizza, Tostonio’s Food Truck
4. Fass Brewing | Conroe
Located in Conroe’s historic downtown, we visited Fass Brewing during the Cajun Catfish Festival. The building housing the brewery has a really cool history and is the oldest building in downtown Conroe. While we only tried the Festbier, we definitely need to go back and try more of the beer menu (and explore downtown Conroe while we are at it). Fass celebrates their first year anniversary in November 2022, and we are excited to bring our friends and keep the Untappd check-ins going!
Beers to try: Festbier (seasonal)
Food to try: We didn’t try any food, but I am told the pizza is magnificent!
5. Fire Ant Brewing | Tomball
Fire Ant Brewing is located in the quaint and very walkable downtown Tomball. The brewery has a Bavarian feel to it with a wide selection of beers, a fantastic food menu and some of the nicest staff you’ll meet. And the kid’s menu is labeled as “Future Beer Nerds,” which definitely got a loud chuckle out of me. The beer was fantastic and the food was ahhhhmazing!
Beers to try: Phantom Pumpkin (seasonal) and Double Warning
Food to try: Schnitzel Sandwich
6. Fortress BeerWorks | Spring
Some of my favorite people work at Fortress BeerWorks and the beer is excellent! With a gigantic indoor AND outdoor seating area, Fortress is a great place to take your friends and enjoy Texas weather when it’s not too hot. There is a wide variety of food options to go along with their beer selection. You can also enjoy Taco Tuesday nights, open mic on Wednesdays, bands on Thursdays, cornhole leagues and so much more.
Beers to try: Watchtower Wit, Viking Blonde, Misfit Zymotic
Food to try: Bacon cheddar burger
7. Holler Brewing Company | Houston
Located just north of downtown Houston, we visited Holler Brewing Company before and after an evening of indoor rock climbing at Momentum Indoor Climbing Silver Street. Yes, we drank a brew before we climbed and then tried more after we climbed. Holler is a hip place with a nice outdoor seating area and a constantly rotating tap list. They don’t serve food but do have a pop-up chef on site, Wichcraft Burgers and Tacos Bomberos. Tacos Bomberos served us up our dinner and now I want to go back and have more as I’m remembering how happy my taste buds were.
Beers to try: POP Toberfest (seasonal), Scary Secrets (seasonal), Mo’ Honey Mo’ Problems, Dollar Pils Y’all
Food to try: Tacos Bomberos
8. Ingenious Brewing Company | Humble
Ingenius Brewing Company is located in and industrial area of Humble and offers small batch, constantly changing brews. A lot of their beers are food-inspired and I’m not mad about it at all. They offer fruited sours, pastry stouts, hop and milkshake IPAs. Stouts and porters are my favorites and when I see new beers to try on the Ingenious menu, I get scared that I won’t make it back in time to try before the keg is empty.
In even writing this article, they currently have an Imperial Peanut Butter Cup stout and a Total-LEE Caked imperial stout double barrel aged in Jack Daniels and Irish Whiskey barrels for 15 months then conditioned on birthday cake, chocolate frosting, and vanilla beans. I mean seriously – I need to go back right now to try that! One of my favorite items at Ingenious are their brain freezes – basically a frozen beer daquiri. I am pretty sure the flavors change (I had a fruited sour frozen beer and it looks like they are currently offering one called Puddin Pop), so again, I just have to go back and visit. Luckily for me, I have two friends coming into town and we’ll be taking them!
Beers to try: The beers change constantly so you’ll just have to go and try them all.
9. Saint Arnold Brewing Company | Houston
The grand daddy of them all, Saint Arnold Brewing Company is located in just north of downtown Houston and is the oldest craft brewery in all of Texas. The beer garden and restaurant are HUGE and the interior space is what you’d picture with a name like Saint Arnold’s. They offer free tours of the brewery and even offer drive-thru beer to go. It’s definitely a must-see place if you are visiting Houston. I treated myself to their seasonal Pumpkinator (aged in rum barrels) while visiting the brewery. You can find their beer all over Texas and I don’t think I’ve had a bad one yet!
Beers to try: Pumpkinator (seasonal), Oktoberfest (seasonal), Amber Ale, Double Down IPA
Food to try: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich
10. Southern Star Brewing Company | Conroe
Southern Star Brewing Company is located in Conroe and was the first craft brewery in Texas to can craft beer. They moved their operations to a custom-built facility on 13-acres of wooded property in 2016. The property boasts a spacious tap room that overlooks the production brewhouse and an outdoor Biergarten with a stage for live music and a disc golf course. They provide brewery tours at 2 and 4 p.m. every Saturday. Ample amounts of parking are available even during their big events and the beer is delish!
Beers to try: Oktoberfest (seasonal), Cygourd (seasonal), Bombshell Blonde
