ATX Beer Bus Showcase

There are a number of awesome brewery tours in and around Austin, and if you’re looking for a fun day out with the crew it can be hard to decide which one to choose.  The Craft Beer Austin team had the chance to experience one of these tours, the ATX Beer Bus, offered by owner and certified cicerone James Lipari.  A few years ago, James was looking for a way to utilize his beer knowledge in the community, and after considering opening a brewery himself he decided that he preferred being face to face with fellow beer fans.  The beer bus came about as a way to share his love of the brewery scene with both locals and visitors in a safe, enjoyable, and educational environment.  

James offers flexible tours for the beer bus, should you be interested in booking a tour:

  • You can either choose a package with beer all included, or your team can purchase beer at each stop as you like.
  • In addition to James’ knowledge, you can choose to meet and learn from the brewers themselves, with a brewhouse tour and/or a guided flight tasting.
  • You can choose the location – the Hill Country is a popular bus ride, but you can stay in Austin if you want to do that as well.  And if you really want to go out there, there is even an option for a drive to San Antonio.
  • Want to throw in a distillery, winery, or cidery?  Just ask James and he’ll swap it in.
  • Tours can either have 3 or 4 stops, pick up and drop off locations are flexible, and there is support for large groups as needed.

Up next, we will walk you through the tour that the Craft Beer Austin team partook, along with our friends: Austin Ale Trail (@austinaletrail), Bill Jones (@jonesn4beer), Brian James (@beer_with_b), Leah Utado (@princessleahu), and Alvin Joslyn (@thejudgementalhop).  We started at –

The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company (ABGB)

For our 4 brewery tour, The ABGB was a perfect meeting point.  We all said hi, got our nametags, and went through the day’s agenda.  The party really kicked off when owner and brewer Amos Lowe came out to walk us through a guided tasting of their award winning Industry Pils and Rocket 100.  After giving us the history of ABGB and how they’ve grown to be one of the most well known breweries in Austin, we gathered up our things and headed out for the bus (after purchasing a few road beers, of course).

Meeting with Amos.  Photo Credit: Ramon Mejia (@resolute_media_)

The Bus

James has a few vehicles available depending on tour size.  For our tour we road in the sprinter van, which comfortably seated our group with no issues.  Water and snacks were provided as we sipped our Hell Yes! lagers.  James then gave us a run-through of the next brewery, which was our scheduled brewhouse tour of the day.  We got a nice history lesson on Hill Country breweries in general, some facts about beer styles, and then we sat back and listened to some music on the drive out West.

Fitzhugh Brewing

We arrived at Fitzhugh Brewing, which is inarguably the best brewery on Fitzhugh Road.  (I’m just kidding of course, I love Jester King and 12 Fox and Treaty Oak and One Shot and Beerburg (RIP), as well as nearby Family Business and Suds Monkey and Bell Springs.)  The point is – there are a lot of breweries in Dripping Springs and while you certainly can’t get to all of them in one day, you can work with James to choose the ones that you’re most interested in.  And Fitzhugh is absolutely a top tier choice; after grabbing our beers (most of us chose the authentic London Porter), we had a tour and learning session from one of the smartest and most passionate brewers in the region, Nathan Rice.  Nate does something that most brewers don’t, which I highly respect – he digs deep into the weird and obscure beer styles from around the world, and brews them up for Texas audiences.  He keeps a world map in the brewhouse, and every time he makes a beer from a region he will mark that spot.  The brewhouse itself is huge, spotless, and nicely chilled for the Texas heat.  

Inside the brewhouse with Nate.  Photo Credit: Ramon Mejia (@resolute_media_)

Acopon Brewing

Next, we hopped back in the bus for the quick drive over to Acopon Brewing, in downtown Dripping Springs.  Acopon is an English style brewery, featuring bitters, browns, and real ales served right from the cask.  This was our stop for the guided flight, which was brought to us one beer at a time by owners Dave Niemeyer and John McIntosh.  We started with the Märzen-esque Karnstein amber lager, followed by the Witsun brown ale, Aunt Kan best better, and finally the Mina pale ale.  Each one was unique and flavorful, and the facts provided by Dave and John were fun and complementary.  

Guided tasting with Dave and John.  Photo Credit: Ramon Mejia (@resolute_media_)

Ghost Note Brewing

Our final stop was Ghost Note Brewing, which was a nice chance to wind down.  No scheduled tour or tasting, we were each able to select a beer and just take time to chat and reflect on the day.  Even so – we were still greeted by owners Kenny and Thelma Coleman, and brewer Tyrell Elliot, who gave us their story on the land, the name, and the beer.  Ghost Note makes all styles of beer, and they do it well – and they’re one of the few in Central Texas with on site Foeders, which allow them to produce beers such as their Neighborwood farmhouse ale series.  After a final beer, and then a second final beer, we were ready to board the bus for the ride back into town.

Group photo including the team at Ghost Note.  Photo Credit: Ramon Mejia (@resolute_media_)

Conclusion

We arrived back and headed our separate ways.  It was a great time, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to do it again. 

It goes without saying that we, the writers of Craft Beer Austin, are beer snobs.  If you are too, the ATX Beer Bus is a chance to see some of the best breweries in town and learn from some of the most knowledgeable individuals in the region.  And if you’re not a beer snob, then yes, you will get buzzed after 4 breweries.  Either way it’s a fun time!

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