A Beer With a View
Beloved Hill Country beer garden brews up new San Antonio taproom
One of the Austin area’s most treasured destination breweries has tapped San Antonio for its newest beer garden.
Vista Brewing, headquartered in Driftwood, southwest of Austin at the gateway to the Hill Country, has opened a new taproom and beer garden west of downtown San Antonio, at 1333 Buena Vista St. in Warehouse 5, a former uniform factory that has been revamped into a space for creatives.
The new taproom, opened over Memorial Day weekend, features eight beers on tap, as well as a rotating tap that will highlight selections from Vista’s award-winning wine-barrel-aging program. (Opening weekend visitors enjoyed Grato, a lightly tart lambic-style ale aged for over 14 months with Italian plums in William Chris Vineyards mourvèdre barrels.)
Vista San Antonio’s wine list will focus on natural wines from small labels like Soto Vino, Elliott Family Wines, and The Austin Winery. Texas Keeper Cider and Athletic Brewing Co.’s nonalcoholic beer are also available.
Noting that the San Antonio location offers the same “fresh air, fresh beer” feel of its Driftwood spot, Vista provides plenty of space to spread out in the taproom or the outdoor beer garden area. Vista is also offering drinks to go, and in addition to serving up some snacks sourced from local artisan food purveyors, Vista will host a rotating lineup of food trucks at the San Antonio taproom.
Vista’s co-founder, Karen Killough, says she noticed many San Antonians visiting her brewery’s flagship location on a 21-acre ranch in Driftwood, as well as Vista’s taproom in the Austin suburb of Bee Cave, which contributed to the idea of launching a location in the Alamo City.
Ultimately, a collaboration with San Antonio-based Wildflower Caramels convinced Killough that setting up shop in San Antonio was the right move.
“We thought, ‘Why don’t we bring our little bit of Driftwood to San Antonio?’” Killough says, noting that the long opening-day lines at the San Antonio taproom were “a nice and warm welcome.”
The community overall has welcomed Vista, which makes sense, considering the brewery has received countless impressive accolades, including being named Brewery of the Year as part of CultureMap Austin’s Tastemaker Awards in 2019.
“We really feel it’s a good fit,” Killough says of Vista’s new location and new neighbors, which include Shotgun House Coffee Roasters, leather-goods brand Bexar Goods, and tattoo parlor Dermastain Tattoo.
For San Antonio beer buffs, the new taproom and beer garden is sure to provide barrels of fun — without having to make the trip north to Vista’s other properties.
In addition to a rotating selection of onsite food trucks, Killough says other local artisan culinary producers are welcome to offer food during Vista’s business hours.
Being located along the Alazan Creek Gateway, which is currently undergoing upgrades to become a pedestrian-friendly creek path, potentially offers Vista access to more pedestrians and cyclists on the city’s West Side, an exciting development, Killough says.
Through the summer, Vista’s San Antonio location will be open Thursday from 11 am-7 pm, and Friday through Sunday from 11 am-8 pm.
“We hope to collaborate with local breweries,” Killough adds. “We also look forward to being part of the local beer community.”
