SXSW Austin Craft Beer Guide
Downtown for unofficial #SXSW events and looking for something more than PBR? Well, maybe I can help. I put together a list of breweries and bars that are easily accessible to the unofficial SXSW action.
I will start off by saying that 6th Street is generally NOT where many of the Austin beer drinkers hang out. Luckily, that does not mean there are not some good beers to be had. Even the most “get drunk” bars these days have at least a tap or can of something local.
Some of the more common ones you will see at everyday bars will be (512) Brewing, Live Oak, Real Ale, Austin Beerworks, and Thirsty Planet. All of them are really good choices and most are offered in cans or bottles (but likely some bars will have it on tap). With that said, this guide is mainly to help you find a bar with a little more than 3-6 taps while you are on your SXSW experience.
If you want to visit any other breweries while in Austin, click here to view our Austin Brewery Brewpub Listings for all of the taprooms. Another brewery not listed on the SXSW map, but may be useful, is Live Oak Brewing. It is located right near the airport and can easily be hit up if you need to have a beer before you even make it into downtown Austin, or on your way to the airport.
Also, be sure to check out our Weekly Beer Events posts to see what top Beer events are happening for the week.
On the map below, I have separated it out by craft beer bars (places that focus more on beer and tend to have more specialty things), Bars with solid beers (meaning they have good beer, but they likely won’t have anything rare), and Breweries. Please note, some bars have been known to water down their beer selection and raise prices for SXSW.
SXSW Austin Craft Beer Guide
Craft Beer Bars:
Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden | 79 Rainey Street
Wright Brothers Brew & Brew | 500 San Marcos Street #105
Easy Tiger | 1501 East 7th Street
Mort Subite Belgian Beer Bar | 308 Congress Ave
Bars w/ Solid Beers (but not focused solely on beer):
Better Half Coffee & Cocktails | 406 Walsh St
Cuvee Coffee | 2000 East 6th Street
Little Woodrow’s | 520 West 6th Street
Violet Crown Social Club | 1111 East 6th Street
Eureka | 200 E 6th St
Grackle | 1700 East 6th Street
Violet Crown Cinema (yes, there is a bar in there) | 434 West 2nd Street
Star Bar | 600 West 6th Street
Breweries/Brewpubs:
Zilker Brewing | 1701 E 6th St
The Stay Put | 73 Rainey St
Blue Owl Brewing | 2400 East Cesar Chavez #300
Lazarus Brewing | 1902 E 6th St, Austin, TX
Central District Brewing | 417 Red River St
Koko’s Bavarian | 4715 E 5th St
Central Machine Works Brewery and Beer Hall | 4824 E Cesar Chavez St
Hi Sign Brewing | 730 Shady Ln
Hold Out Brewing | 1208 W 4th St
ABGB | 1305 W Oltorf St
Friends & Allies | 979 Springdale Rd
Austin Eastciders | 1530 Barton Springs Rd / 979 Springdale Rd
Cidercade | 600 E Riverside Dr
Not on Map:
Bottleshops (close to downtown):
East 1st Grocery | 1811 East Cesar Chavez Street
Whole Foods | 525 N Lamar Blvd
Looking to take a brewery tour while in town? Check out our The Definitive Guide to Central Texas Brewery Tours
This is a good craft beer guide. I am very thankful to you for sharing this.
ABGB needs to be on this list. GABF award winners and supporting local music.
Thanks for writing this up, Andrew.