False Idol Brewing, 7924 Maplewood Ave, North Richland Hills, Tx. 76180
website: FalseIdolBrew.com
Hours: 11am-9pm Monday-Wednesday | 11am-10pm Thursday | 11am-11pm Friday-Saturday | 12pm-9pm Sunday

Experience before you go . . .

Life is crazy and then you find your dream muscle car.....1965 Pontiac GTO!! No that wasn't a typo! GTO's are kinda like unicorns, they're getting harder and harder to find, wait, I did see a unicorn trotting down Speedway in Tucson yesterday....crazier! But anyway, when I was in Dallas two weeks ago, I saw an old salvage yard friend of mine and I asked him, "Do you know anyone that had a GTO for sale” and he said, "funny you ask". Long story short, a friend of his had a 65 GTO and I bought it! Which took me back to Dallas/Fort Worth to pay the guy and arrange transport to Tucson and of course my brother Larry and I just had to go on a Hoppin Brewery Tour.....we just had to!!!

Now some of you that have followed the escapades of the HBT over the years might remember my brother Lar back in 12/8/2017 when the two of us along with his son Zac and my brother in law Guy set the record of five Tours in one day in Dallas! Now this record stood for 9 months until it was broken on 8/3/2018 in the Quad Cities, (Rock Island, Moline, Illinois, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa) with a remarkable and still standing record of 7 Tours in one day!! Not sure if this is really something that we need to brag about, but it was responsible drinking with Uber Drivers and obviously naps the next day. So here is my brother Lar and I again with a brewery that just needed to be toured.

False Idol Brewing opened their doors as far as the pandemic would let them back in June, 2020! Pretty tuff year to start a small business no matter what the product or service is. But you have to think if you can survive in that environment, you can really survive in any environment.....just like Blue Eyes himself, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere" !! So False Idol just kept plugging along through all the restrictions and from one satisfied customer to another they created a customer base that just keeps coming back for more. So Larry and I drove over to North Richland Hills, parked and jumped out of the car, gazed at the outside of the brewery......large stand alone building with huge commercial garage doors for the open air feel, clean lines, front door to the right, upper right corner False Idol logo which is a little understated but that's why it's pretty cool. It's like, you know where you are, we don't need a neon sign with a flashing arrow! You've arrived, get'cha seat, relax and enjoy. Once the front sign selfie was archived we hit the door!! The moment you step inside you feel the expanse, of what I like to call Industrial Chic! Tall ceiling, hip customs wall murals, tables and chair front and left center leading to a very long bar that runs down the back wall and ending where the production area starts. Well thought out utilizing all the space they have. It's clean, feels good and Larry & I can't wait to occupy two bar stools down at the end of the bar close to all the stainless steel! Now since I've been in over a 115 breweries I've realized I really like to see all the vessels right there for all to see....mash mixer, fermentation unit, whirlpool, boil kettle, hot/cold water tanks......stainless steel.....grrrrrr! Lar and I sit, get comfy and here comes Bailey, big smile and a warm welcome and we order up some beer. Since we're both IPA kinda guys I go with One Beer - Double New England Hazy IPA (8.2%) hop this and jump start my day, Strata, Hull Melon and Cryopop hops and Lar goes with Wolf Gang - West Coast IPA (7.6%).

As we sit and enjoy our beers up comes a very interesting looking character who sits down one stool to make right. Now I've been known to talk to really anybody, guilty as charged, but the more interesting they look the more intrigued I am to talk to them. So he didn't have a chance in hell that I wasn't going to bend his ear for a while. Come to find out his name was Mike, and Mike had been drilling finger holes in bowling balls for 37 years just down the street. Now I learn that this skill is a science and it's very precise and only a few chaps do it right and Mike is one of those chaps!! So we talked and laughed and had a good old time, and false idol is Mike's go to brewery which is a great endorsement because Mike likes his beer. To my left I see who I think is the Master Brewer moving quick between the stainless steel. I was right, Will was at a critical point with one of brews so we had a short conversation, nice guy, knows his stuff! The more folks I meet here the more I like this place. Behind the bar walks a guy who looks like he carries some weight around here and Mike whispers, "that's Dominic the owner". Of course I introduce myself, "great place you got here", I hand him card. Lar and I order the second round. I have Bailey pour me a Fenris Park - Wheat, Hefeweizen (5%) and Lar steps up his game and goes with the Nobody Meets Halfway - Imperial / Double New England / Hazy IPA (8.2%) hoppy....Columbus, Chinook, Strata, Simcoe, Amarillo & Mosaic hops...now that's a line up! Looking for more people to meet up walks Shawn, Dominic's dad. So this is getting cooler by the minute, a father/son Brewery Adventure. And there's a brewery mascot, Max the dog! So we get the picture of all the new best friends and Shawn tells us the False Idol story of how some folks after a couple beers idolize the frothy cold fermented concoction which at that point would be a False Idol.... there you have it!

So Larry and I finish up, laugh some more with Mike, cut it up with Bailey a little bit more, say our good byes and hit the door! Another successful Hoppin Brewery Tour under the belt, so to speak. You gotta check out False Idol! Beer is great, people are way friendly and the whole place has got a great vibe!! Keep it up guys!!

Until next time and remember.....

Go get'cha one!!!