Manhattan Project Beer Co.’s courtyard in West Dallas. the area’s ability to develop into a nationally recognized craſt beer destination.” At Celestial Beerworks, a steady fl ow of new beers is part of their identity. In addition to fi eld day, science fair projects, space and art (and all of those mixed together), part of the experience they off er is a continually fresh menu beer. Peticolas is more optimistic and com- pares the growth over the past decade to ships that rise together at high tide. “Dallas has a beer identity now,” Peticolas says. “And the quality of beer we have here is really, really good. We have some breweries that are making outstanding beers.” It’s hard to say if the industry has reached a high-level mark. New breweries continue to open while others close, although open- ings far outpace closings. BeerinBigD. com lists almost two-dozen variations of brewhouses, pubs and breweries on its “In Development” page. Even during COVID-19 shutdowns, new breweries continued to open at a decent clip. Th ere were a total of 341 craſt breweries statewide in 2019, 364 in 2020 and 406 in 2021, representing 20% growth over almost two years of a pandemic. Loyalty might not be for a style of beer, but for the community and engagement found in Celestial’s fi eld day and in Commu- nity’s large new courtyard. Vector Brewing is a family-owned brewery in Lake Highlands that opened in 2020. It’s regularly packed with families; the brewery has even had to set a curfew for kids. For new brewery Siren Rock Brewing in Rockwall, community was the mission. Eva Cannon is the founder and vice president of marketing. “When we sold our technology company in 2017, we wanted to be part of the craſt beer industry not only because of our love of craſt beer but because the industry as a whole was unique in that it was a true com- munity,” she says. She says the vision for Siren Rock Brew- ing was a cross between Napa Valley and a modern production brewery. A chef-driven kitchen and open dining room that spills out into a courtyard, where they host morning yoga sessions and live music on weekends, help achieve that. “Our vision included an elevated yet comfortable place that the community could hang out and tell their out-of-town friends to visit when they come in,” Cannon says. If North Texans are looking for a locally made beer or a community space, they win either way. While the craſt scene might loose some technical points for lack of classic style brews to sail it through good and bad times, it gains points for ingenuity. While there’s no sign of this ship slow- ing down, that doesn’t mean the sailing is always smooth. Armadillo Ale Works had been operating since 2010 in a large brewery in Denton but closed this year, as did Legal Draſt Brewing in Arlington, even aſt er receiving hundreds of thousands in pandemic assistance. “I know one thing from being in the beer industry for 10 years: It’s that you don’t know anything,” says Wim Bens, co-founder and co-owner of Lakewood Brewing Co. “You just don’t. No one knew there were going to be 90 craſt breweries in North Texas, no one expected seltzers to be a thing, no one expected slushies to be a thing, no one expected hazy IPAs to be a thing.” Despite it being a tough business to pre- dict, Bens says people get into craſt beer not for the fi nancial rewards, but rather because of a passion for the craſt and community, “and that’s what keeps people going as small, independent craſt beer producers.” Th at and birthday parties, doodles, bier- garten yoga and the whole family packing up to head to the brewery on a Saturday aſt ernoon. Or getting sweaty at fi eld day while sipping a beer that was made a stone’s throw away. ■ 17 dallasobserver.com CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS DALLAS OBSERVER SEPTEMBER 8-14, 2022 NATHAN HUNSINGER
