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.
Breweries serve up holiday beers
Most breweries have a rotating series of seasonal beers, so fall and winter give way to a variety of flavored brews that get the drinker into the spirit of things. Here are some San Antonio-area breweries that have released new fall and winter seasonals. These are limited in supply, so grab some while you can.
- Idle Beer Hall and Brewery’s Snowball Fight! is a potent German Chocolate imperial stout boasting chocolate, toasted coconut, and pecan.
- Cibolo Creek Brewing Co. in Boerne released its Klien’s Bock lager, a mix of Vienna malt, Bavarian pilsner, and Columbus hops from Billy Goat Farms. The brewery also produced Count Doppel Bockula, a doppelbock brewed with Count Chocula cereal, British pale, Munich 10 malts, and the same Columbus hops.
- Freetail Brewing Co.’s Autumnator is a German doppelbock that brewery representatives describe as deep, dark, and malty sweet.
- Longtab Brewing’s Panzer Kaserne is a dunkelweizen featuring notes of clove, banana, and bready maltiness. It is named after the base location of the United States' 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group after they relocated from nearby Flint Kaserne in Germany.
- Dos Sirenos Brewing’s Phaunos Pale Ale was a collaboration involving noted local brewer Jason Davis. Named after the Greek god of the forest, this ale offers a bitter finish and earthy pine notes.
- Thirsty Pups Brewery released Sookie’s Holiday Spice, a stout made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices, and cold brewed with ground coffee.
- Black Laboratory Brewing introduced Scrappy, a session IPA made with Bindi grain bill, and Chinook and Mosaic hops.
- Roadmap Brewing Co. is offering two holiday beers. A Holiday Staple is a cranberry kettle sour. Lil’ P’s Pumpkin Patch is an amber ale featuring a blend of spices and pumpkin puree.
- Man Overboard Brewing Co. has a coffee blonde with notes of coffee, chocolate, whiskey, and coconut.
- Back Unturned Brewing released Nightmare on Brooklyn, a pumpkin amber ale.
- Vista Brewing offers Lorenzo, a Mexican hot chocolate imperial stout full of notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate.
- Breakaway Brewing Co. crafted Ghost Bike, an imperial pumpkin ale.
- Wild Barley Kitchen and Brewery offers Cowboy Breakfast, a barrel-aged imperial oatmeal stout based on the brewery’s Overnight Oats stout. In this case it was aged three months in Ranger Creek rye whiskey barrels.
- Five Stones Artisan Brewery released an American lager as part of its Uncle Mick’s Tavern Series of beers. The series is named after a family member of Five Stones’ owner.
- BS Brewing near Seguin released Punkmin Latte Milk Stout, a pumpkin spiced coffee stout.
More awards for local breweries
Two more craft beer advocacy organizations wrapped up 2024 by honoring breweries nationwide with their awards.
Denver International Beer Competition recognized Boerne’s 28 Songs Brewhouse and Kitchen with four medals. The Bonfire Blonde received a silver medal, while bronze medals were given to the beers Golden Archer, Bavarian Bliss, and De La Calle.
The Brewskis competition, which includes International beers, honored Boerne-based Free Roam Brewing Co. with four medals. The Hopstrasse Festbier, a dortmunder/European-style export, received a platinum medal.
The Lupulin Almanac, a fresh hop beer, received a platinum medal. Low Fence, an American-style lager, received a gold medal. The Duke of Boerne, a Bohemian-style pilsner, received a silver medal.
Count Doppel Bockula, made with Count Chocula cereal, is one of many fall and winter holiday beers that Cibolo Creek Brewing Co. and other San Antonio-area breweries are offering as limited releases.
