Rahr & Sons to celebrate Springfest with new year-round beer

Image courtesy of Rahr & Sons Brewing Co.

National Beer Day is celebrated on April 7, but locals can get a head start with Rahr & Sons by attending the Fort Worth brewery's upcoming Texas Light Springfest Social Run/Walk benefiting Rahr to the Rescue.

Kicking off on Saturday, April 5 at 8 a.m., Springfest is being billed as the "lighter, brighter cousin of Oktoberfest, packed with all the deliciousness you love from Rahr." Tickets for Springfest are $30 per person, with participants getting a spot in the 3-ish mile run/walk, bottled water, a custom Texas Light pint glass, three draft beers and breakfast.

As for Texas Light (3.5% ABV), it's a new beer described as a light, crisp refresher that's "guaranteed to add a bounce to your step" with only 3.6 carbs and 86 calories. Up to now it's been a draft only taproom exclusive, but Texas Light is coming soon to retail with availability in six-packs of 12-ounce cans.

For more information or to purchase Springfest tickets, visit https://rahroktoberfest5k.com/social-runs. Also note that canine companions are welcome to run/walk alongside their humans.

Grand Prairie brewpub to rebrand, add house beers

Image credit: Rios Brewing Co.

Change is coming to what was once the Grand Prairie franchise location of Voodoo Brewing Co., as the business has gone fully independent and is rebranding as Rios Brewing Co.

Owned by Roland Rios, the Grand Prairie brewpub originally opened in May 2023 using the footprint laid out to franchisees by the Pennsylvania-based parent company. According to Rios, that partnership is no longer active, and there are now plans to expand operations.

"We are doing a complete rebrand and will start brewing our own beer onsite," says Rios. "We will be applying for a federal producer permit in the next couple of weeks. We should be done with our complete rebrand in the next six weeks and tentatively have our first batch of beer around June 1st. We will have three small five-barrel fermenting tanks that will be able to produce two batches per tank each month. We have a 44 beer tap system, so we’ll continue to carry other local craft brewer’s beer at our site."

So far, three brewpubs bearing the Voodoo name have opened in North Texas. Counting the Grand Prairie news and the closure of a Fort Worth locale in November, that leaves Voodoo Brewing Co. - Plano as the only active franchise in the area. As for others, a proposed venture in Denton was apparently abandoned sometime last year, but there are still projects under construction in both Lewisville and Prosper.

Lakewood touts Irish Cream Temptress as the official beer of Texas St. Patrick's Day

Image courtesy of Lakewood Brewing Co.

Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland is staking its claim to having the official beer of Texas St. Patrick's Day with the seasonal release of Irish Cream Temptress.

Featuring the rich, creamy flavors of Irish Cream, and the velvety roasted malt and chocolate elements of The Temptress Imperial Milk Stout, the brewery's Irish Cream Temptress is said to be "the luckiest thing to have on-hand besides a four-leaf clover" for St. Patrick's Day.

“This year we’re toasting the luck of the Texan,” says Wim Bens, founder and president of Lakewood. “Temptress is the number one craft stout in Texas, so why shouldn’t Irish Cream Temptress be our number one St. Patrick’s Day stout?”

Naturally, Irish Cream Temptress will be on tap for St. Patrick's Day weekend festivities at the Lakewood Taproom, but other Temptress variants like Rye Barrel French Toast Temptress and S'mores Temptress will also be available for a limited time.

Parker County Brewing Co. now occupies new stable in Willow Park

Top center: Parker County's Spicy Chicken Sammie (Photos © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

Parker County Brewing Co. of Willow Park first appeared on the North Texas scene after opening in early 2018. Now, seven years later, the brewpub has traded-in its retail development digs for a standalone place of its own right across the highway from its original location.

Currently owned and operated by co-founder Ryan Stewart, the company began looking to expand to a larger facility in late 2022. At first, the plan was to pursue a new construction just down the way along I-20, but an alternative became available when a building once home to Parker County Ice House hit the market.

Located at 210 Willow Bend Dr., the existing building consisted of 4,500 square feet on 0.72 acres of land, but an additional 1,500 square feet was added during the renovation process. And to put it quite simply, the resulting venue is a bigger, better version of the Parker County brewpub.

Bigger being the operative word when talking about the kitchen, dining room and bar area. Add to that an outdoor wrap-around patio (with a covered stage) that has as much room or more than the interior, and patrons and crew members alike should have more than enough room to move around in Parker County's new surroundings.

With regards to other aspects of the upgraded experience, there's also something new on the drink menu. Beverage options begin with Parker County's portfolio of "Unbridled Brews," but now in addition to wine, cider and seltzer, a fully-stocked bar provides the spirits necessary to create a range of hand-crafted cocktails.

Really, just about the only thing standing pat, at least for now, is the brewpub's production setup. Trucked over as-is, the brewdeck and equipment array is manned by Mike Kraft, a longtime industry vet who got his start in North Texas during the brewpub boom of the 1990s. And he's got plenty of taps to play with, considering 30 handles are installed on each side of the service area.

On that note, these days the year-round beer lineup includes Side Pony Blonde, Southern Passion IPA, Just a Phaze IPA and Galactic Cowboy Double Hazy IPA. Then, seasonal selections like 1879 Prohibition Ale, Velvet Reaper Imperial Oatmeal Stout, Peach Blonde, Wild Cherry Sour and others rotate in regularly.

As for the food, Neapolitan pizzas are still the primary culinary attraction, with salads, sammies, wraps, and a kids menu set to fill out the daily offering sheet as well.

Parker County Brewing Co. is now open for lunch and dinner six days a week (closed on Tuesday). An official grand opening takes place on Saturday, March 1, with live music acts hitting the stage starting at 2:30 p.m.