Brews Cruise

It’s hard to say why, but both Beth and I have been ready for some down time.  That led us to drive from Dallas through some of the Texas wine country and then to Austin.  We’ve been stopping at wineries, breweries, cheese makers and other fun places.  We’ll probably share more stories in days to come.

After 2 days of wine, it was time for a change of pace.  Which is to say beer and barbeque. For the barbeque part, I went to Franklin BBQ in Austin.  I wrote that up in another post. And then it was time for beer.  So,  right now, we’re sitting in the Draught House, an Austin tradition.  It was here when I first went to school here many years ago, but for some reason I just never made it there.

Near the UT campus and Seton hospital on Medical Boulevard this faux-Tudor building has large exposed beams outside and looks like it dates from the Tudor era.  Inside, it looks like the furniture was the same vintage as the building’s appearance.  We found a dark booth and now the glasses, and the tab are piling up.

They have an amazing assortment of beers on tap.  It’s a dark and funky dive, the tables have been carved on by generations of patrons.  Awesome dart boards.  More beers on tap than you’d believe.  It dark and well air conditioned. Did I mention they have LOTS of beers on tap?

They also make their own beers.  Its odd that a brewpub carries so many beers.  Back in the 1990’s, a brewing friend went there and met the brewmaster.  He noticed the brewmaster was drinking everything but his own beers.  My buddy decided if the brewmaster wouldn’t drink his own beer, he saw no reason to drink it either.  I tried their Red Wheat beer.  It was a pity I hadn’t remembered my friend’s story.  It was murky.  Both in terms of lack of clarity and the taste which was not very crisp either.

After that, I stuck to other people’s beer.  Still, if I still lived here, I think I’d be a semi-regular.  It was a nice place to have a few beers.  People at the bars were having some interesting discussions and welcomed comments from strangers.  It really seems like a nice place to hang out.

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