July 2019
Weathered Souls has been part of the San Antonio beer scene since 2016, after owner Mike Holt took a rather dramatic leap of faith, selling his home and moving into an RV to finance the brewery’s infrastructure. One heck of a gamble for sure, but it certainly seems to have paid off – the Weathered Souls taproom was packed during our visit, and they have wide distribution around the San Antonio area – sadly not as far afield as Austin, but that just gives us more reason to return!
Situated north of the city in the huge expanse of Embassy Oaks Mall (interestingly, just a hop, skip and jump from the Pabst head office!), Weathered Souls make good use of their space and the clean, airy taproom and sheltered beer garden have more character than the location would suggest. Weathered Souls is a full-service brewpub, with home-made pizzas, burgers and beer snacks and a little glimpse of the brewhouse visible from the taproom. Sunday is trivia day at Weathered Souls and we were lucky to get a table. The bar was bustling and there was a fun, friendly community vibe to match the easy-going quiz (too many US sports questions for us to stand a chance though!).
Pricing is a little varied at Weathered Souls – their core list (regardless of ABV) weigh in at a most reasonable $2 per 5oz flight pour, but their seasonals varied between $3.50 and $5, dependent on ABV, which did somewhat limit our ordering, being closer to London than Texas prices! That said, up to a point you do get what you pay for, and the two $5 seasonals that we chose were both exceptional beers. The Double Oak Jet Setting was lush, velvety, indulgent Impy Stout heaven, weighing in at a massive 15% which didn’t show at all through the layers of chocolate, coffee and smooth bourbon barrel-aging in local distillers (and brewers) Treaty Oak’s barrels. This was an absolute joy to consume, as was the brilliantly named When Hops Cry TIPA which was a full, resinous hoppy monster. The Who’s Got The Juice Now NEIPA had a nice light touch to it, but I preferred the West Coast IPA with Amarillo – so clean you could see right through it! Weathered Souls can deliver on the lighter side too, with both their flagship Dale Shine Mexican Lager and Duel In The Sun American Lager going down nicely on a hot Texas afternoon.
Weathered Souls have a wide range of social and community events in their calendar, including a school supplies drive, Art Garage crafternoon, community drum circle (no, I’m not sure exactly what that is either!) and of course live music – this is Texas! It’s always great to see breweries being community-aware and catering to different audiences, and there’s no doubt that Weathered Souls have all bases covered as a go-to local hangout, as well as putting out some really excellent beers. Being located just around the corner from Big Hops, another great San Antonio craft beer spot, is an added incentive for a visit should you need one, and there’s also mini golf in the same lot – win!
Craft Beer Amethyst 