Austin Ale Trail Passport Review (2026): The Best Brewery Perks to Collect This Year
It’s that time of year again: The Austin Ale Trail has returned with their sixth annual brewery passport for the 2026 season. If you’re raring to go, you can get your passport early at the two launch parties this weekend – Nomadic Beerworks on Saturday 12/6, and Southern Heights Brewing on Sunday 12/7. General sales will begin soon at these fifteen Base Camp locations.
This will be the third year that I’m ranking the perks offered by each brewery, highlighting the best ones to go out of your way for. Read on to find out how to maximize the value of your passport!
New this Year
Welcome to the following breweries, who have joined the passport for the first time:
- Bear King Brewing Co.
- Cottonwood Creek Brewery
- Double Horn Brewing Co.
- Old Gregg Brewing
Brewery Highlights
Free Beer
There are 9 breweries offering a “buy one, get one” (this is two more than last year!) Since you are reading this article and are going to buy a passport, we assume you like beer, especially free beer, so this is the best perk. Just two of these and you’ve already come out ahead on the passport. Here are our best friends for this year:
- Double Horn Brewing Co.
- …is offering an entire flight free with purchase!
- Austin Beer Garden Brewing (ABGB)
- Buy 1 get 1
- Blue Owl Brewing
- 50% first two beers, effectively the same as buy 1 get 1
- Frontyard Brewing
- Buy 1 get 1
- Neighborhood Bottle Shoppe
- Buy 1 get 1 (draft). I didn’t even know they had drafts. Checking Untappd… they have 4 really, really good beers on tap. Heck yeah.
- The Stay Put
- Buy 1 get 1
- Oasis Texas Brewing Company
- This perk is actually “First Beer for 99¢”, which is pretty sweet
- 512 Brewing
- This one is “Buy 1 Get 1 for $1”, close enough
- Fast Friends Beer Company
- Get a Small Pour with First Tall Pour
- You could consider this buy one get one, depending on how much you value a small pour vs. a full pour
- Get a Small Pour with First Tall Pour
Free Stuff
The next most fun perk (in my opinion) is free merch. This seems to have fallen out of favor this year though, with 2 breweries offering a glass, and 2 offering koozies.
- Free Glass:
- Draught House Pub & Brewery
- Moontower Cider Company
- With bottle purchase
- Free Koozie:
- Cottonwood Creek Brewery
- Fitzhugh Brewing
Discounts
Finally, before looking at the full list, we’ll highlight the best discounts offered:
25-50% Off Beer
-
- Nomadic Beerworks
- $4 Pour of Any Beer
- Nomadic Outpost
- $5 Pour of Any Nomadic Beer
- Power Brewing Project
- $2 Off First Pint & 15% Off Merch
- Southern Heights Brewing Co.
- First Pint at Half-Pint Price
- St. Elmo Brewing Co. (Both Locations)
- 50% Off Your First Pour
- WhichCraft
- 50% Off Your First DRAFT Beer
- If this is permitted for any draft beer, this can be quite valuable as WhichCraft often has strong/barrel-aged beers that can be upwards of $12 per pour
- 50% Off Your First DRAFT Beer
- Nomadic Beerworks
Other Strong Discounts
- Central Machine Works
- 25% Off Pizza
- Lazarus Brewing Co (6th Street)
- 25% Off Food with Beer Purchase
- Lazarus Brewing Co (Airport Blvd)
- 25% Off Merch Item with Beer Purchase
- Prost Alehouse Texas
- 20% Off First Beer & First Merch Item
- Austin Beerworks (Both Locations)
- 20% Off Merch
Full List
Below is the full list with estimated values for each brewery, and overall. I used the following assumptions to generate values:
- A beer costs $7.50
- A tab will consist of 2 people having 2 beers, or $30
- When a brewery also sells food, that is increased to $45
- A merch item costs $20
- Beer to go is counted as a merch item, also set at $20
- That’s increased to $30 for bottleshops, as mixed singles will cost more
- A sticker is valued at $1
For any percentage discount, naturally, your mileage will vary based on spend. It’s also expected that you will not be buying merch at every location offering a merch discount – to that point, the table is split into three columns so you can quickly see which category each perk is in, and find total values for each set.
Here’s the data!
| Brewery | Passport Perk | Estimated Beer / Food Value | Estimated Free Item Value | Estimated Merch / To-Go Discount | Brewery Total | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double Horn Brewing Co. | Beer Flight with Food or Beer Purchase | $12.00 | $12.00 | Assumed Value | ||
| Neighborhood Bottle Shoppe | BOGO Draft Pint & Free Sticker | $7.50 | $1.00 | $8.50 | ||
| Austin Beer Garden Brewing (ABGB) | Buy 1 Pint Get 1 Pint | $7.50 | $7.50 | |||
| Blue Owl Brewing | 50% Off First Two Pints | $7.50 | $7.50 | |||
| Frontyard Brewing | BOGO Pint with Stamp | $7.50 | $7.50 | |||
| The Stay Put | Buy 1 Pint Get 1 Pint | $7.50 | $7.50 | |||
| Oasis Texas Brewing Company | First Beer for 99¢ | $6.51 | $6.51 | |||
| 512 Brewing | Buy 1 Pint Get 1 Pint for $1 | $6.50 | $6.50 | |||
| Central Machine Works | 25% Off Pizza | $6.50 | $6.50 | Actual Price: $26 | ||
| Independence Brewing Co. | $1 Off Beer & 10% Off Merch | $4.00 | $2.00 | $6.00 | Assuming 4 Beers Purchased | |
| Prost Alehouse Texas | 20% Off First Beer & First Merch Item | $1.50 | $4.00 | $5.50 | ||
| Draught House Pub & Brewery | Free Glass with Stamp | $5.00 | $5.00 | Assumed Value | ||
| Moontower Cider Company | Free Cider Glass with Bottle Purchase | $5.00 | $5.00 | Assumed Value | ||
| Lazarus Brewing Co. (6th St) | 25% Off Food with Beer Purchase | $5.00 | $5.00 | Assuming $20 Food Purchase | ||
| Power Brewing Project | $2 Off First Pint & 15% Off Merch | $2.00 | $3.00 | $5.00 | ||
| Lazarus Brewing Co (Airport Blvd) | 25% Off Merch Item with Beer Purchase | $5.00 | $5.00 | |||
| Hold Out Brewing | 10% Off Tab | $4.50 | $4.50 | Assuming $45 Tab (Includes Food) | ||
| Oddwood Brewing | 10% Off Beer, Food, Merch, & Beer-To-Go | $4.50 | $4.50 | Assuming $45 Tab (Includes Food) | ||
| Zilker Brewing Co. | Free Sticker and 10% Off Purchase Incl. Beer, Food, Merch, & Beer-To-Go | $3.00 | $1.00 | $4.00 | Assuming $30 Beer Tab | |
| Fitzhugh Brewing | Free Sticker/Koozie & 15% Off Merch | $1.00 | $3.00 | $4.00 | ||
| The Brewtorium | $1 Off Beers During Stamp Visit | $4.00 | $4.00 | Assuming 4 Beers Purchased | ||
| Save the World Brewing | $1 Off First Pint & 15% Off Merch | $1.00 | $3.00 | $4.00 | ||
| Austin Beerworks (Industrial) | 20% Off Merch | $4.00 | $4.00 | |||
| Austin Beerworks (Springdale) | 20% Off Merch | $4.00 | $4.00 | |||
| Fast Friends Beer Company | Get a Small Pour with First Tall Pour | $3.75 | $3.75 | |||
| Southern Heights Brewing Co. | First Pint at Half-Pint Price | $3.75 | $3.75 | |||
| St. Elmo Brewing Co. (The Yard) | 50% Off Your First Pour | $3.75 | $3.75 | |||
| St. Elmo Brewing Co. (Springdale) | 50% Off Your First Pour | $3.75 | $3.75 | |||
| Whichcraft | 50% Off Your First DRAFT Beer | $3.75 | $3.75 | |||
| Nomadic Beerworks | $4 Pour of Any Beer | $3.50 | $3.50 | |||
| Lago Vista Brewing Company | 10% Off Merch/Beer-To-Go & Free Sticker | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | ||
| Twisted X Brewing Company | Free Sticker and 10% Off Merch | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | ||
| Vista Brewing | Free Sticker & 10% Off Merch | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | ||
| Bluebonnet Beer Company | 10% Off Entire Tab | $3.00 | $3.00 | Assuming $30 Beer Tab | ||
| Lone Man Mountain Brewing Co. | 10% Off Entire Tab | $3.00 | $3.00 | Assuming $30 Beer Tab | ||
| Vacancy Brewing | 10% Off Beer & Merch | $3.00 | $3.00 | Assuming $30 Beer Tab | ||
| Barrow Brewing Co. | $1 Off First Pint & 10% Off Beer-To-Go | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | ||
| Slackers Brewing Co. | $1 Off Beer & 10% Off Merch | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | ||
| Meanwhile Brewing Co. | 15% Off All Packaged Beer | $3.00 | $3.00 | |||
| The Brewtique | 10% Off Singles Mix & Match of 4 or More | $3.00 | $3.00 | Assuming $30 Mix | ||
| Nomadic Outpost | $5 Pour of Any Nomadic Beer | $2.50 | $2.50 | |||
| Acopon Brewing Co. | $1 Off First Pint & Free Sticker | $1.00 | $1.00 | $2.00 | ||
| Central District Brewing | $1 Off First Pint & Free Sticker | $1.00 | $1.00 | $2.00 | ||
| Ghost Note Brewing | Free Sticker & $1 Off First Beer with Stamp | $1.00 | $1.00 | $2.00 | ||
| Old Gregg Brewing Co. | $1 Off First Beer & Free Sticker | $1.00 | $1.00 | $2.00 | ||
| Obsidian Brewery | 10% Off Pizza with Stamp | $2.00 | $2.00 | Actual Price: $20 | ||
| Red Horn Brewing Co. (Parmer) | 10% Off Merch | $2.00 | $2.00 | |||
| Red Horn Brewing Co. (Scottsdale) | 10% Off Merch | $2.00 | $2.00 | |||
| Red Horn Brewing Co. (Georgetown) | 10% Off Merch | $2.00 | $2.00 | |||
| Whitestone Brewery | 10% Off Beer-To-Go & Merch | $2.00 | $2.00 | |||
| Batch Craft Beer & Kolaches | 50% Off Kolache with First Beer | $1.93 | $1.93 | Actual Price: $3.85 | ||
| Bear King Brewing Co. | Free Custom Sticker | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Cottonwood Creek Brewery | Free Customized Koozie | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Jester King Brewery | Free Sticker with Stamp | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Hi Sign Brewing | $1 Off First Beer | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Live Oak Brewing Co. | $1 Off First Beer with Stamp | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Pinthouse Brewing | $1 Off First Beer at Each Location | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Pinthouse Pizza (Burnet) | $1 Off First Beer at Each Location | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Pinthouse Pizza (Lamar) | $1 Off First Beer at Each Location | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Pinthouse Pizza (Round Rock) | $1 Off First Beer at Each Location | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Texas Beer Co. | $1 Off First Pint | $1.00 | $1.00 | |||
| Total | $149.19 | $23.00 | $52.00 | $224.19 |
