Caleb Hoffman

I like beer, data, and beer data. Have a comment or complaint about one of my articles? Please reach out to caleb@craftbeeraustin.com, and I'll probably respond within 3 minutes.

Best Beers of the Year 2025

The Best Beers of 2025 (By the Numbers)

The Best Beers of 2025 (By the Numbers) Welcome to the end of 2025.  There was a lot of movement in the Central Texas craft beer industry this year, and it’s looking pretty good – our comprehensive openings and closings list counts fifteen brewery openings (plus one cidery, two meaderies), and six brewery closings.  Compare that to 2024’s seven openings, and the closings to 2024’s twelve.  That’s a pretty sizable increase!  Most of the new

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Austin Beer News | Six Things You Need to Know | December 2025

Published 12/24/2025 Barking Armadillo Brewing Opens Second Location A Christmas gift to all: Barking Armadillo Brewing out of Georgetown has successfully opened their second location in… still Georgetown, but closer to Round Rock.  The new spot, dubbed Barking Armadillo Social, is sharing a space with Bahler Street Pizza, which previously operated a popular food truck often seen at breweries in North Central Texas.  The brewpub is the first expansion for Barking Armadillo, who opened their

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Alt Trail Passport 2026

Austin Ale Trail Passport Review (2026): The Best Brewery Perks to Collect This Year

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

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Austin Weekly Beer Releases and Events Nov. 28th

Austin Weekly Beer Releases and Events  Check out Austin craft beer releases and events that are happening around town this week. Austin Area Brewery Map New offerings from breweries that are releasing this week, or offerings that are now returning to the menu after a hiatus. We cannot promise they will still be in stock by the time the weekend comes around. https://www.instagram.com/p/DRdUSJmjTQb/ New Releases: 3rd Level Brewing Infinitely Improbable IPA | Citra, Galaxy, and El

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Location Spotlight: Round Rock

Location Spotlight: Round Rock

Location Spotlight: Round Rock Originally published 11/26/25. Please fill out our survey! It can be difficult to capture a location in writing, with businesses coming and going all the time.  Last month, I went through the older location spotlight articles and had to remove a number of closed venues, but thankfully was able to fill a few of the empty spots with newer openings.  As you’ll soon read, this article may also need an update…

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TCBF 2025

The Best Beers at Texas Craft Brewers Festival 2025

The Best Beers (Maybe?) at Texas Craft Brewers Festival 2025 We’re back for the third year of TCBF beers by the numbers.  Last year, we saw thousands* of attendees walking around the festival with this article on their phone, using it as a guide to target the most sought after beers.  Will you join their ranks this year, or will you be normal? Disclaimer: just like TBBofT(SF) and Style Breakdown series, this article is based

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Texas Craft Brewers Festival Logo 2025

Texas Craft Brewers Festival 2025 – Beer List Out Now!

Texas Craft Brewers Festival Returns To Austin on November 15, 2025 Tickets On Sale Now! Tickets are on sale for the Texas Craft Brewers Festival, the state’s largest beer event focused exclusively on Texas-brewed craft beer, returning to East Austin’s Fiesta Gardens on November 15, 2025. This year’s event will feature more than 80 Texas craft breweries serving samples of approximately 200 independent craft beers, as well as live music and onsite food options. The

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The Best Beers of the Year (So Far): Quarter 3, 2025

The Best Beers of the Year (So Far): Quarter 3, 2025 As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been putting a lot of work into the Location Spotlight series recently – but I also know that it’s time for the quad-annual best beers rankings.  There’s a consistent theme between the two series though: the breweries in the greater Central Texas area are making some fantastic beer.  You’re going to see a lot of breweries outside of Austin

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Location Spotlight: Fredericksburg

Location Spotlight: Fredericksburg

Location Spotlight: Fredericksburg Originally published 10/12/25. Please fill out our survey! Guten Tag!  That’s all the German I know.  Oh, and Prost!  Nein? I imagine that nearly everyone reading this article has been to Fredericksburg at least once, as it’s a popular destination for culture, food, wine, and granite mountains.  But did you know, beer??  Yes, as we often do at Craft Beer Austin (dot com), we’re here to inform and enlighten you about all

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Location Spotlight: Taylor + Hutto

Location Spotlight: Taylor + Hutto 10/9/25: Refreshed article for 2025.  Please fill out our survey! If you last visited Taylor and Hutto a few years ago, it’s time to return, because everything’s changed.  What used to be one brewery is now four, plus there’s now a great bottle shoppe, and quite possibly the coolest beer bar in all of Central Texas.  This article has been awaiting publication since October 2023 – there was always something

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Location Spotlight: Liberty Hill

Location Spotlight: Liberty Hill

Location Spotlight: Liberty Hill 10/9/25: Refreshed article for 2025.  Though, I’m keeping the eclipse framing for fun.  Please fill out our survey! I have a secret for you – I’m not driving out towards Dripping Springs for the eclipse next month.  I’m staying far away from 71 and 290. Instead, as you can tell by the title of this article, I’m planning to head northwest towards Liberty Hill, which is actually slightly closer to the

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Location Spotlight: Blanco + Johnson City

Location Spotlight: Blanco + Johnson City

Location Spotlight: Blanco + Johnson City Originally published 10/2/25. Please fill out our survey! Welcome to a brand new edition of Location Spotlight, where we fill you in on the top beer destinations in Central Texas, outside of the Austin city limits.  While an article on Dripping Springs might seem like an easy pick, we’re assuming that Craft Beer Austin readers are probably already familiar with the area; rather, we’d like to invite you to

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