Barks for Beers Returns for 2026!

Popular fundraising event Barks for Beers, operated by local charity Divine Canines, is returning to Central Texas for their 12th year.  Starting on May 1st, visit any of the 30 breweries listed below to pick up a pint glass and Pawsport for $30 + tax.  Then, you can use that Pawsport at all 30 breweries throughout the month of May to receive one pour at each.

Divine Canines provides free therapy dog services to various populations including older adults, hospitalized patients, school reading programs and more. Our mission is: Partnering with our dogs to enhance the well-being of those in need. Barks for Beers helps us keep our training costs affordable and helps us keep our volunteers, human and canine, equipped to provide the best possible free services.

As always, don’t forget to tip the taproom staff!

The History of Barks for Beers

We’ll specifically go through this year’s list below, but let’s start with some charts.  The first one is brewery participation among all breweries that are currently open (and have participated at least once).  The second chart is all breweries, even closed ones.  (Note: If you’re on a computer you can right click -> “Open image in new tab” for a larger image that can be zoomed in.  If you’re on a phone, pinch to zoom as usual.)

Important note: The event did not occur in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the brewery list was already available – as such, the 2020 year is colored white in the below chart to recognize the breweries that signed on to participate.  With that in mind, it’s actually been 13 years since Barks for Beers began, but excluding 2020 means there’s been 12 years of operation.

2026 Brewery List

Below is this year’s list of breweries.  Here are a few notes compared to last year:

• The big omission this year is Infamous Brewing, who have participated nearly every year since inception.  They would have set a new record at 11 years to finally pass Circle Brewing, but instead, previously second place brewery Red Horn (OG Location) has now caught up and tied Infamous at 10 years each.  Will they both be back next year to keep the tie going, or will one pull ahead?  Maybe they’ll both opt out and the tie will keep growing?  Tune in next year to find out.
• Following right behind are Live Oak, Southern Heights, and The Brewtorium, which you’ll notice all have identically colored bars above.  The three all joined in 2018 and have been on board every year without fail.
• Following that, we have Vista who joined just a year later in 2019 and has been a participant ever since.  They’re tied with Real Ale, who has a bit of a rockier grid as they missed 2023, but came right back after.
• Okay, let’s switch gears and talk new breweries.  We have five newcomers this year:
  • Cottonwood Creek Brewery, Highway 71 Brewing, and Red Horn – Georgetown have all opened within the last year or so, and seemed to be itching to get signed on to B4B.
    • Cottonwood Creek opened just a few weeks before the event last year, so naturally they didn’t have enough time; but they’re here this year to fill in for Rockabilly Brewing who are currently closed.
    • About 40 miles to the other side of Austin, Highway 71 Brewing opened in the fall, just down the road from Frontyard.  I’d wager this is the first time many of you have heard of them, so signing on to this event was a great move.
    • Finally, it’s no surprise that Red Horn’s third location gets a slot alongside their other two.  I would like to see them combine the locations into a single stamp next year to open up two spots for other breweries; hopefully that happens.
  • The other two newcomers are not new breweries, but they’re offbeat ones that I’m going to guess many people have not heard of.
    • Spirit of Texas Brewstillery is in Pflugerville, not far from Prost Alehouse.  It’s in a small industrial district alongside the highway, and is known more for the distillery part of the name than the brewery.  But don’t be misled, they make a mean vanilla porter.
    • Finally, Slot-T Beer Co marks the first time B4B participants will be traveling past Leander into Liberty Hill.  And when you get to Slot-T you might notice something familiar, as it’s the new name for the brewery formerly known as Hell or High Water Brewing, and later Float the River Brewing.  They’ve been around for quite a few years now, with a prime location downtown, so if you’ve been to Liberty Hill you’ve at least seen them if not had dinner there.
• Rounding out the rest of the list:
  • I’ve already mentioned Highway 71, which is near Frontyard, who are back for their 6th straight year.  Curving around Lake Travis brings us to Oasis Texas Brewing who are returning, and then on the north side is Lago Vista Brewing back for their second year.  It would be really nice if there was a bridge somewhere in Spicewood, but alas.
  • Heading to Liberty Hill is no big deal, as 5th Element in Leander is returning for their third year, as are Red Horn 1 and 2.  Unfortunately, Obsidian is another weird omission after being on the card for the last two years.  You’re probably going to stop there anyway, though.
  • I mentioned Cottonwood Creek is on, and good news: the other brewery in Hutto, Power Brewing Project, is back for year two.  Hutto is really quite close to Pflugerville, so once you’ve also hit Spirit of Texas, you can check out Prost Alehouse and Old Gregg Brewing who have both been on board since they opened.
  • Before getting to the Austin core, a quick trip south to Vista, Lone Man Mountain, and Roughhouse who are all back again, though unfortunately not Middleton this time.  But you know who is?  Thirsty Planet San Marcos.  That’s right, now in their third location, something about Barks for Beers seems to be the primary motivator for that team to get their taprooms open, as the second location also opened just weeks before the event in 2023.
  • Finally, the easy ones:
    • Celis and Hopsquad are back in the north
    • The Brewtorium and Oddwood to the center
    • Blue Owl and Hi Sign to the east
    • Southern Heights and Live Oak to the east-er
    • And Nomadic, Vacancy, and Fast Friends to the south.

Here it is in table form:

For an interactive map and spreadsheet with detailed brewery information, please check out their website: https://divinecanines.org/barksforbeers/

Additionally, there will be special prizes and a bingo contest on their socials: https://www.facebook.com/divinecaninestexas and https://instagram.com/barksforbeers

And of course Divine Canines will be bringing their pups to the breweries, and giving pets is approved and encouraged!

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