Experience before you go . . .
The year 2021 is definitely the year of the road trip! After our 6,100 mile unending adventure we took in June, we rested up for 3 weeks and hit the road again.....as if we hadn't had enough! But this time we went east through New Mexico and straight to the never ending western part of Texas starting in El Paso, where you can see Ciudad Juárez, Mexico from the highway, all the way through the oil basin and finally we arrived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area staying a week or so and seeing family & friends!
Now the family and friends thing was moving right along so we had to sprinkle in some Hoppin Brewery Tours to make it a memorable trip. Cowtown Brewing appeared on the radar and with a call to some long time friends Les and Trish, the lunchtime tour was on. Cowtown was right off the main highway heading into downtown Fort Worth, a quick right and then another quick right and into the parking lot I went. I sat in the car for a second getting my bearings and in pulls Les and Trish! Man hug for Les and women hug for Trish. Now the only difference in the hug is the open handed 2-3 back pats for the man hug, which is very important for the manly man if the back pats aren't included the hug can be a little awkward....not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just saying, it's just not the way I hug! Alright, now that we've cleared that up and enough already bout da hug because this is a craft beer blog!!! Okay!! Since it's been awhile since we've seen each other, Led & Trish that is, we gabbed all the way to the front door and after the patented front sign selfie that was beautifully executed, in we went.
Fabulous, big stand-alone building with lots of room and tall ceilings. Tables and chairs ahead, and to the right a bar is straight ahead, and to the left, open air production located spread out right behind the bar. Great vibe with people laughing and carrying on throughout the space. Of course I gravitate towards the bar with L & T in tow and right there on the corner of the bar were 3 empty bar stools and low and behold they got our names on'em.....not literally but figuratively! We sit, get comfy and here it comes, I know you've been waiting for it......alright here you go.....Bing, Bang, Boom, the HBT strikes again for the 116th time!!! Lord have mercy, that's a lot of beer under the bridge, malt in the hopper or wort divided into batches!! Anyway you slice it, 116 tours is epic!!
Whitlee behind the bar greets us with a big smile and we order up some beers. I order a Cowtown Flight featuring Agree to Disagree - New England Hazy IPA (7.2%), Lost is Translation - American IPA (6.3%), Horse with No Name - Indian Pale Lager (7%, 45 IBU) and the Rhinestone Cowboy - Kolsch (6.2%, 28 IBU). Trish goes with a Fort Worth Cold Beer - American Light Lager (4.5%, 15 IBU) and Les decides on an Everybody's Doing It - New England Hazy IPA (7.2%, 51 IBU). Of course we also needed to order some BBQ which we did with a variety of sides....Mac and cheese, brisket beans, slaw and tater tots! Good eating people, good eating!!
Got to tell ya, the beers were great, BBQ was tasty and the three of us were laughing and carrying on talking about old times and planning some new ones. You know you're with good friends when you haven't seen each other for quite some time and you don't miss a beat when you finally do get together. Now to my left I come to find out we have Tom, who's reading the book, "Hell's Half Acre", which is the story of the history of Fort Worth, Texas....the good, the bad and the ugly. Now you know laughing is contagious and it didn't take Tom long to join in on the fun! We had a ball, we laughed, we cried, we told bad jokes! I met one of the co-owners and the brew crew which I just had to take a selfie of the group in action......smiling with all things beer as the back drop.
Cowtown Brewing is a fun place with good people and good beer....what more can you ask for! Since my tour stop I've heard Cowtown is opening up a second location in Southlake right smack dab in the middle of Town Square. Good for you guys!! Stop by and drink some beer and eat some BBQ. It will put a smile on your face and you'll feel better!!
Until next time and remember.....
Go get'cha one!!!
