Around the World in Beers: San Antonio

San Antonio’s history is mostly known for its Spanish colonial period and the Texas Revolution, but woven into the city’s rich history and culture is the art of brewing, an art which has seen a recent rejuvenation with the appearance of new craft breweries.

German immigrant William Menger opened the city’s first brewery on the battlegrounds of the Alamo in 1855. The brewery’s success would lead Menger to open a hotel at the site. While the brewery is long gone, you can still stay in the historic Menger Hotel located on Alamo Plaza just steps from the iconic Alamo mission.

San Antonio was once home to the largest brewery in the state of Texas, the Lone Star Brewery. The castle-like building that once housed the brewery still stands and is home to the San Antonio Museum of Art. Further up the road is the Witte Museum, where you can see a display of memorabilia dedicated to the city’s first breweries.

A Lone Star sign at the Witte Museum

An old Pearl beer bottle at the Witte Museum

Another early brewery was Pearl Brewing Company located just north of Lone Star. While Pearl beer is no longer brewed here, the facility is now a mixed-use space housing restaurants, boutique shops, apartments, and more. There are two craft brewers housed in the complex: The Granary ‘Cue & Brew, and Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery.

The Granary was not open the day that I visited the Pearl, but I immensely enjoyed my meal and flight at Southerleigh. Most memorable was a stout brewed with oysters – yup, you heard me. Oysters. I didn’t know what to expect from it, and took a chance considering I am not a huge oyster or seafood fan to begin with. While it did have a bit of salinity to it, it really just tasted like a good stout!

On the other end of town, wedged between the Historic King William District and trendy Southtown neighborhood, is another modern craft brewery named Blue Star Brewing Company. Located in an extremely bike- and pedestrian-friendly area, this one makes for a perfect stop on your way to or from the historic San Antonio Missions.

I thoroughly enjoyed pairing beer with my indulgence in Texas history while I was in San Antonio (both figuratively and literally – fun fact: you can walk around San Antonio’s Buckhorn Museum with a beer in hand!). What’s unique about San Antonio is that you really get a sense of the city’s brewing history. The breweries of yesteryear are still very much alive in the heritage of this lively city, even amidst an emerging craft beer scene that is writing the next chapter.