Vegan News

Very hot Impossible burger finally arrives at Burger King in San Antonio

Coming to a BK near you this month.

Courtesy of Impossible Foods

The date on one of the biggest burger roll-outs has finally been revealed.

The buzzy Impossible Burger, the plant-based burger hailed as the most convincing fake yet, is coming to Burger King locations in San Antonio and across the country, with an official debut date of August 8.

That means that, in just one week, you'll be lining up at the drive-through for your Impossible Whopper, which is how Burger King will be serving it, for $5.59.

The Impossible Burger was first launched in 2016 and has enjoyed a meteoric rise, with restaurants and stores clamoring to get it. The burger is currently on the menu in more than 9,000 restaurants across the country, and in many around San Antonio, including Hopdoddy, which was among the first to get it in 2017.

Burger King signed on in April 2019, making it the first fast-food chain to sell it. It was initially available only at Burger King locations around St. Louis, Missouri, where it was tested for the month of April.

Impossible has had so much interest that it's had trouble meeting demand. The company just signed a deal with OSI Group, a meat company in Chicago, which will serve as a contract manufacturer.

Part of its allure is that it "bleeds" like real beef, thanks to the presence of "heme," a hemoglobin found in soy that is identical to the heme molecule found in meat that gives a juicy red appearance and basically makes meat taste like meat.

In a recent survey, Impossible Foods found that more than half of those age 25 and less consume plant-based meats at least once a month; among baby boomers, it's 20 percent.

Restaurants serving the Impossible Burger are frequently topping it with cheese and other animal products, pitching it not to vegans or vegetarians but to meat eaters who simply want to eat less beef.

Impossible Foods also plans to start selling its products in grocery stores in fall 2019 — following the lead of Beyond Meat, the plant-based burger pioneer that introduced its burger in 2013 and rolled out its products in supermarkets in 2016.

burgers vegan

Shining New Cocktails

Home of Shiner Bock breaks ground on cocktail lounge and restaurant

Spoetzl Brewery cocktail lounge restaurant

Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

The new cocktail lounge and restaurant will add lots of space for trying the new distillery's products.

Although Spoetzl Brewery is best known for its regionally iconic beer Shiner Bock, its new distillery has opened up a whole new world of drinking possibilities. One of those is a new cocktail lounge and restaurant on the Spoetzl Brewery property, which will soon be drawing folks from both sides of the beer and spirits aisle. Construction started September 6 with a groundbreaking ceremony.

Shiner Bock is named for the town of Shiner, located roughly between San Antonio and Houston, and with a population of only 2,173 as of 2022. The brew is locally known for its accessibility and nostalgia factor, although plenty of people simply enjoy it for its earthy, lightly hoppy flavor.

Now on the independent Spoetzl spirits roster are a vodka, a gin, and a grain mash blend. As of September 2024, visitors can tour the distillery and speakeasy for 45 minutes which includes a flight of Shiner craft spirits — but the new build stands out proudly from the current offerings and expands the property's capacity for cocktail lovers.

Spoetzl Brewery cocktail lounge restaurant Renderings also calls this building a tasting room.Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

This new space will be on the brewery's premises, and despite a different approach (call it a different spirit), it still looks like what most Texans would expect from a brewery or distillery. The 8,500-square-foot project includes a large, black barn in a very contemporary style, which flips the script from the brewery's white, Mission Revival style and industrial architecture.

Spanning the cocktail lounge, a restaurant with a full kitchen, a private event space, and a covered patio, it'll provide seating for more than 200 visitors, and standing room for more than 300. Like the rest of the property, it'll be available to tours and tastings, but it also has some cozy elements to inspire longer stays, like an indoor fireplace and outdoor fire pits.

A retail shop sets guests up with bottles to bring home, and an exclusive VIP area shows off barrel picks. (Those are bottles that come from a specific barrel, which may have flavor variations compared to other barrels or the regular product).

Spoetzl Brewery cocktail lounge restaurant Hey, look! Parking!Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

Although somewhat more tangential to this announcement than news of the distillery's opening, that project in 2023 also included the addition of a new barbecue spot that's only open around lunchtime. Details about the forthcoming full-scale restaurant don't include what kind of food the restaurant would serve; but the existing dining already has brisket, pulled pork, sausage, chicken, pork ribs, and sides covered.

Rendering courtesy of Spoetzl Brewery

The new cocktail lounge and restaurant will add lots of space for trying the new distillery's products.

The team has not shared information yet on when the project is expected to be completed, but the groundbreaking did happen as scheduled — so things seem to be on track so far.

More information about Spoetzl Brewery and Distillery is available at shiner.com.

shiner beer openings cocktails