Editor's note: The bustling San Antonio beer scene is always changing — usually with openings and closures, but there are other twists along the way. Let's discuss it over a cold one.
Culinary collaboration
The kitchen at Weathered Souls Brewing Co. is once again with a new chef at the helm. Nicola Blaque, a rising star in San Antonio’s culinary circles, is taking over the kitchen at the north side brewpub.
Blaque is the creator of The Jerk Shack, an acclaimed local restaurant that focuses on traditional Caribbean cuisine. She’s been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award, and was crowned Chef of the Year in this year’s CultureMap San Antonio TasteMaker awards, among other accolades. She also leads Freight Fried Chicken at Pearl, and Jerk Shack was recently featured in an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Weathered Souls owner and brewer Marcus Baskerville, himself a previous James Beard Award nominee, went onto social media to announce the new collaboration. He called it “Barrel and Bloom,” referencing both the brewery’s barrel-aging program and the results of Blaque’s culinary exploration.
According to Baskerville, drawing upon Weathered Souls’ brewing processes and Blaque’s cooking talent will produce new dishes such as Smash Burger Sliders with a hop aioli using in-house beer, street tacos, and a grilled watermelon salad. The latter features a watermelon champagne vinaigrette and pairs with the Raze Some Helles beer and the Grand Champion Strawberry Blonde.
Under Blaque’s direction, the Weathered Souls kitchen will serve food Thursdays from 3-9 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 am to 9 pm, and Sundays from noon to 8 pm. A soft launch of the new kitchen is set for April 25, and will include a limited menu that will grow through the rest of the year.
Anniversary collaboration
April and May mark special occasions for two fledgling San Antonio-area breweries. Breakaway Brewing Co., on San Antonio’s near East Side, recently introduced Echelon, an IPA resulting in a collaboration with 28 Songs Brewhouse and Kitchen from Boerne.
Echelon is available at both taprooms. The folks at Breakaway said the collaboration beer was developed to celebrate the first anniversary for 28 Songs, which threw itself a party April 13.
The party at 28 Songs included music, a patio cookout, a car show, a vendor market, wine tastings, a trivia contest, and brewery tours. They also launched a limited bottle release for their 2023 barrel-aged Phainopepla Porter.
Breakaway will have their own first anniversary party May 4, including new merchandise, new limited release beers, live music, a special menu, and drawings for a chance at free beer.
Brewery book club
Another young San Antonio-area brewery, Thirsty Pups, is continuing a monthly book club that was launched this winter. Patron Colette Garcia suggested the creation of a book club at Thirsty Pups, the dog-friendly brewery that opened up in 2023.
Garcia moderated the most recent book club discussion April 11, and is scheduled to lead another club chat May 9. The last book was A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers, about a food writer who sometimes snacks on people. Next up will be The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, about code breakers during World War II.
Thirsty Pups is promoting book club meetings with alerts for new beers, such as Webster’s Irish Red Ale and Mike Hats’ Nitro Irish Stout.
Photo courtesy of the Jerk Shack
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives star and host Guy Fieri visits with actor Bruce McGill and Chef Nicola Blaque at The Jerk Shack in San Antonio.
