Local Craft Breweries in Comal County, TX (7)

5 Stones Artisan Brewery was founded in 2012 by Seth Weatherly. Currently based in New Braunfels, 2017 was a big year for 5 Stones. Starting out as a hobby homebrewer until the company’s founding, Seth now works with Garrett Crowell, a former head brewer at another company. Seth also moved the brewery to its present-day 19-acre location from its previous 1200 square feet space in a Cibolo industrial park. With his first brew, the award-winning Aloha Piña, and dozens of other handcrafted recipes, the company continues to brew seasonal artisan beers at the new location. The place is “a little hidden… with abundant outdoor seating and space for dogs to play and kids to run”. Complementing the indoor setup is an outdoor seating area. It's a “beautiful and relaxing atmosphere” with fire pits, food trucks on occasion, and live music. In case you’re wondering, “5 Stones” refers to the little-known bible trivia that David carefully chose 5 stones to beat Goliath.

Faust Brewing Company opened in 1998 in New Braunfels. Initially intended as a full bar and dining outlet housed within the historic Faust Hotel, the brewery expanded its operations in 2016 and now includes a separate brewpub. The new brewpub is just about a block away from the hotel. New Braunfels is a town rich in German heritage, and both the hotel and the brewery honor the past and the German tradition of beer making. The hotel and brewery is named after Walter Faust Sr., who spearheaded the initial development of the hotel. Opened just before The Great Depression, Faust’s determination also helped keep the hotel open during the difficult period. Today, the brewery creates a selection of year-round beers, seasonal varieties, and small batch creations. They also serve wine and a variety of local guest beers on tap.

Guadalupe Brewing Company uses honey as a key ingredient in several of their craft beers. Concern for the honeybee population, therefore, is just one of the many passions by its owners. To this end, the company contributes a portion of the proceeds from the sales of their flagship Texas Honey Ale to support Texas A&M University’s bee research program. The brewery opened its doors in 2012. Owners Keith and Anna Kilker focus on “full-flavored, well-balanced, and approachable” beers using only natural ingredients. Their lineup of award-winning beers includes the Pumpkin Style Texas Honey Ale and their Belgian Style Tripel. Both are medal winners at the U.S. Open Beer Championships, among other creations. Interestingly, head brewer Keith was not your typical experienced homebrewer. He had never brewed beer before. Instead, he studied brewing science at the Siebel Institute just prior to opening his dream brewery.

LaFunke Brewing was founded by “Steve LaFlam and Jen Bunke,” a husband and wife team that love craft beer as much as they love each other. It is the fulfillment of their dream to bring people together in the shared enjoyment of craft beer. For Steve and Jen, it’s all about “Brewthenticity,” brewing beer authentically and creating an environment where every person can be themselves. They are passionate about making beer that you want to drink, not making the trendy beer of the day. Their beer offerings are created based on your tastes and preferences and they thrive on the feedback of others to make the best beer possible.

New Braunfels Brewing was founded in early 2011 by the Meyer family. They are brewing locally hand-crafted beer “inspired by old-world German recipes” with a Texan disregard for the rules. They goes beyond traditional beer styles and brews what they like, using unique ingredients, unique recipes and a fierce ingenuity. All of the beer they offer is dry with a balanced acidity. Their base beers are “Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen Weizenbock and Oktoberfest.” Their medium is grains, hops, fruit, spices and their local blend of wild yeast and bacteria. They also barrel-age and secondarily ferment these releases to create unique and new beers. They got a bar at the brewery with 8 taps and a stool for you to enjoy them all. What goes in the beer they make is as much local wheat, local water and local passion as they can get their hands on.

Located in the Texas Hill Country, Rough Diamond Brewery is a microbrewery with a unique story, and a name that tips its hat to their founder’s past of working in international diamond mines and the serendipity of forging a craft brewery that is a Diamond in the Rough. They take only the best “premium quality ingredients from around the world” and combine them with their unparalleled dynamic brewing process. When all is said and done, they are left with a line of products that are genuinely a cut above the best. At Rough Diamond Brewery, they take extra step and it makes all the difference. They use only the finest quality ingredients found in local and international markets and refuse to serve anything that doesn’t meet their exemplary benchmark standards.

Conveniently located in San Antonio, Shade Tree Saloon & Grill has remained true to its goal of being one of the best stops in the Hill Country. It is one of the favorite stops and hangouts for locals, vacationers, bikers, riders or even shoppers in the community. They are proud to offer an eclectic wine and beer selection including our own line of “Shade Tree home brew drafts,” brewed right here at the Tree! They also have an awesome selection of IPA, farmhouse, lager, wildflower, coffee stout, American ale, and Scottish ale. Stop in for a great meal, a cold beverage, a game of pool, shuffle board or pitch some washers out back, and enjoy lots of regular live local music.