These beers were made by walking

Colorado beer and nature festival brews Southwestern debut in Texas Hill Country

Beerburg Brewing participated in a program to learn about nature and create a custom beer to represent its Hill Country findings.

Photo courtesy of Beerburg Brewing

We all know the Hill Country has good wine. But what else? Good views, cool architecture, and, many may not realize, great beer.

Austin-based Beerburg Brewing is making sure the area gets its brewing laurels at Texas' inaugural Beers Made by Walking Festival on November 11. The event, expanded from an existing festival in Colorado Springs, brings together 13 Central Texas breweries and four local nonprofits that will benefit from ticket sales, bringing both beers and environmental consciousness to the table — or the bar top.

As part of the festival's development program, Beerburg has been working for nearly a year with the nonprofits to figure out how beer and local environmentalism can fit together. Brewers went on guided nature walks, learned about native and plants, and dove into the area's environmental issues like "water scarcity, protecting wildlife habitats, and land preservation," according to a release.

The result of all this study is a new beer to be launched at the festival. Beerburg has not released a name or description of the beer, so for now it's an eco-friendly mystery.

Beerburg Brewing Beers Made by Walking hike A participant makes a discovery on the Hill Country walk.Photo by Lisa Hause

"I’ve always been inspired by what [festival founder Eric Steen] created, and the intention behind Beers Made by Walking was one of the drivers behind our ethos at Beerburg,” said Beerburg founder Trevor Nearburg in the release.

“We’re excited and honored to bring this truly important program to Texas for the first time," he added. "The goal is to not only learn about native plants growing around us, but [to] gain a real understanding and respect for these ingredients, and an awareness for how we can engage and give back to our natural environment to ensure it thrives for the future.”

Other breweries participating in the festival include:

Back Unturned Brewing (San Antonio)
Batch Brewing
Black Star Co-Op
Brewtorium
Central Machine Works
Frontyard Brewing
Ghost Note
Hold Out
Middleton (San Marcos)
Red Horn
Roughhouse
Vector Brewing (Dallas)
Vista Brewing

In Colorado, Beers Made by Walking intended to get people more involved in their natural surroundings, and since 2011, it has engaged more 200 breweries nationally. For its Austin debut — which is also its first time being hosted in the Southwest — it adds the Shield Ranch Foundation, the Watershed Association, Colorado River Land Trust, and the Nature Conservancy to its rolodex of benefactors.

All four nonprofits and the festival founder will be onsite to share information and opportunities to get involved. That also includes presentations by Sacred Journey School of Herbalism, Community Cultures, and Mike the Beekeeper, as well as a local craft market and food vendors.

Tickets ($40-65) to the inaugural Beers Made by Walking at Beerburg Brewing (13476 Fitzhugh Rd.) are available at beerburgbrewing.com. The festival will be held on November 11 from 1-5 pm. All tickets include a 12-sample pour tasting card and a commemorative glass; VIP tickets tack on early entry at noon and a festival T-shirt. Attendees must be at least 21 years old.

beer breweries central texas hill country festivals

WHOM THE BELL SOTOLS

Poolside sotol bar splashes into high-end downtown Austin hotel

Photo by Jade Hammer

Cantero Austin.

Austin's thirst for desert spirits may not be precisely quantifiable, but there's no doubt it is on the rise. Over the last decade, several mezcal and tequila bars have popped up throughout the city. No wonder the Line Austin is eager to enter the game with its newest nightlife offering, Cantero.

Officially open as of November 12, it's the Capital City's first bar emphasizing sotol, a sibling spirit of mezcal made with the desert spoon plant instead of agave. The chic space, decorated with Mexican modernist neutrals, opens up to the downtown property's pool.

"When planning Cantero, we knew we wanted to highlight local ingredients and Texas spirits," explained Line head of creative Stefan Merriweather in a release. "Sotol, a regional gem, stood out as something we hadn't yet encountered in a dedicated bar, and we saw an opportunity to introduce our guests to something fresh and unexpected."

Although the bar stocks other spirits, it has one of the broadest sotol collections in the region. While Mexican brands like Flor del Desierto are featured, Cantero stocks Texan trailblazers like Desert Door and Marfa Spirit Co.

Guests can enjoy sotol via standalone tastings or mixed in signature cocktails like the Yucca with Aperol, lemon cordial, habanero bitters, and soda; or the Strelitzia with ginger, lemon, and lavender-honey soda. Other liquors anchor more sippers, like the Dahlia with mezcal, green pepper, sweet corn, and smoked chili bitters.

The lounge also enjoys proximity to the Line's outpost of Veracruz All Natural. Guests can soak up the booze with the entire taco and appetizer menu from the Austin favorite, located adjacent to Cantero.

Cantero is now open from noon to 10 pm Monday through Thursday, 10 am to midnight Friday through Saturday, and 10 am to 10 pm on Sunday.

Photo by Jade Hammer

Cantero is dedicated specifically to sotol.

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