October 2017-October 2018
From our first visit to Pinthouse, we were hooked – a top-quality pizza restaurant with an incredibly creative, eclectic menu with some of the most exciting seasonals I’ve ever had (and I’ve eaten a lot of pizza), and a fantastic, award-winning brewery specialising in none other than IPAs, only my favourite beer style. And there’s the vast quantity of guest taps from both in and out of state. All in one spot. Well, actually two spots – they have a second venue on the far end of South Lamar, but I’d recommend going up north, it’s their original spot with much more local ambience.
Pinthouse is a regular feature of our lives in Austin, and barely a fortnight goes by without us popping in for beers or food, but usually both. The simple fact that they have close to 40 beers on tap at any given time (approximately 10 of which are their own) is an easy pointer as to the frequency of our visits. Kind of a no-brainer. But they don’t just have any old guest beers. Pinthouse serves up out-of-state delicacies from the likes of Odell, Avery, Boulevard, Firestone Walker, Dogfish Head et all. Sure, there are other places to get these beers in ATX, but do they also have their own incredible beers and the oh-so-fine pizza? Not yet, not the full package.
And the beers, where to begin? With Hops and Grain and new kids Southern Heights, Pinthouse makes up the IPA-forward Austin triumvirate, and while I’m happy to concede that this is my opinion, the slew of awards they have won (admittedly not just for their IPAs), including a gold at this year’s GABF for their Green Battles IPA do back me up. It can be easy to get distracted by the shiny guest taps at Pinthouse, but don’t let them draw you away from tucking into Pinthouse’s own. Among the many fab beers I’ve had at Pinthouse, the Bailing Room, Double Fist Bump, Fully Adrift, I Heard The New Batch Sucks, This Is Juice! Training Bines and Warning Shot have all out-Cloudwater’d Cloudwater, not to mention the happily accessible Electric Jellyfish, if you find this around town, snap it up. Yes, Pinthouse do great beers in other styles (particularly their saisons and porters), but it’s hard to distract me from the IPA brilliance going on.
On the pizza front, these really are some of the best in the city. The Bahn Mi, Ooh La La and Honey Pear all kill it on the regular menu, and their ‘off the map’ pies are extraordinary – I’ll never forget the burger and fries, or the mac n cheese. Go now, just don’t blame me if you keep going back.
Craft Beer Amethyst 