Freetail Brewing Company

jforeman

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +15.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $

I visited Freetail about 4 times last year and have been so jealous DFW doesn't have a similar place. As packed as the pub might get there is always a spot in the huge parking lot they have. All of their beers are well crafted and I'm very impressed with the sour program they have. Ive had the pizza and its almost as good as the baked mac and cheese. The new iPhone app they released is very helpful to keep up with upcoming events and beer releases and well constructed and easy to use. They are pet friendly but watch out for the lines on the patio,we got scolded for having our dog cross the line.

01-06-2013 18:03:30 | More by jforeman

Paveltul

1.7/5  rDev -58.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 2 | food: 4 | $$

the food was good, but it took 40 minutes for my pizza to be ready and the server was not too attentive. She kept forgetting what beers we ordered and bringing us the wrong ones. It looked like she did not really care. most of the beers I tried was straight out nasty. all of their darker beers tasted like pickles and the raspberry stuff (yes, I refuse to call it a beer) was just horrible. The only IPA they had was better than anything else, but it too lacked that solid hoppy aroma that I would expect from an IPA.

09-16-2012 17:23:40 | More by Paveltul

hoponit

New York

4.28/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Made the trip from downtown by bus when visiting San Antonio. Not exactly convenient to reach without a car but possible. And well worth it.

The atmosphere is industrial minimalism, a good thing, in my opinion, for a working brewery. A bit of a sports bar vibe with multiple tv's and a large projection screen on one wall.

Sampled the Rye Wit, Primavera Prematura, Saison d'Schoppe, Tadarida IPA, and the Batlick Porter. All were quite tasty, especially the Primavera, Saison, and the IPA.
Freetail also features some guest taps. Normally I would say that was a bad sign (you may not like our beer so we also offer...) but there was no cause for concern.

For lunch I had the Mucho Mushroom pizza. Unexpectedly excellent - who expects good pizza in TX? Also very reasonably priced.

04-14-2012 20:21:43 | More by hoponit

texashammer

Texas

4.05/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Husband and I were in San Antonio for the weekend, and Freetail was near the top of our list. We just missed the tour but were happy sitting at the bar.

Our bartender was everything we needed him to be and answered all our questions knowledgeably. He was not overly friendly but not quite standoffish either. No criticisms here, just an observation of his style - not your chatty type.

We drank every beer they had on draft that day - 14 beers - mostly in taster versions, for obvious reasons. We were very glad to have the option to drink them all, so thumbs up on the tasters. I took very brief notes and it's been a few weeks, so I have not reviewed each beer, but I'll give you my quick notes here on each.

One-sentence beer reviews (* for favorites):
*Tadarida IPA: juicy, fruity hops, creamy head, yum.
Soul Doubt IPA: we found it skunkier, meh. (but props for the cute musical-reference name)
La Rubia blonde: faithful Mexican lager, which is to say a little skunky.
*Rye Wit: yum! light and refreshing, just a touch of rye spice.
Freetail Ale: I found it typical of the amber ale style, which is to say not to my personal taste.
4Shadow: smoked Belgian stout, which again is not to my taste because of the smoke; Husband who can handle a little more smoke than I can still found it overpowering.
Fairy Peril: sour wit with prickly pear (!) and another cute music-reference name, but wow PICKLES, maybe too sour (and this is a girl who loves her sour reds; but this was more vinegary) and also it's pink which Husband didn't really go for.
*Ate II: sour wit with champagne yeast. yum! creamy, not real sour, some champagne flavor, nice dryness.
eXXXtra pale ale: light but good balanced flavor.
Pirate Tail: brown - not bad but not super exciting. a little sweet.
Invierno Inexestante: chocolate saison (?!) had a nice lacy head but not quite as interesting as it sounds.
Old Bat Rastard: winter/old ale, but reminded me more of a British porter.
La Muerta: imperial stout, which again I found too smoky.
3: anniversary ale: oak aged imperial oatmeal stout, whew! my palate was probably shot by this time but I thought it was everything it claimed to be. full-bodied.

We had some nachos and they were good but needed a touch of salt (easily remedied).

All in all we spent a very pleasant afternoon in this inviting, well-lit brewpub and received everything we needed or asked for. I'm glad these guys are making good beer here! I'm not a local, so I defer to their superior knowledge, but I think this is the best thing going beer-wise in SA right now. If you're in town, don't miss them.

02-13-2012 22:33:11 | More by texashammer

elNopalero

Texas

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $

In the past year or so I’ve managed to visit Freetail a little more than half a dozen times. If they were closer to where I lived I’d definitely go that many times a month. The brewtenders have all been without fault top-notch. Not just friendly and more than willing to offer samples of their different taps, but also honest. If they’re pouring something that just isn’t working for them they’ll let you know—to each his or her own, of course, as more than once I’ve gladly disagreed. But that’s part of the fun.

When I first heard about FreeTail I’ll admit that I was skeptical. They located on the outskirts of town and seemingly came out of nowhere, so I feared the worse sorts of frat house-sports bar-light beer-strip mall combination (all the better to appeal to the masses). I am so happy to admit I was dead wrong on all accounts. Well, maybe not “sports bar,” as the owners are devoted soccer fans. And they have enough TVs on to catch any of the other games. But thankfully the ambiance is decidedly NOT sports bar.

Now, having had a few pints at a fair share of craft beer bars around the SF Bay area I can say (as some previous reviewer alluded to) that Freetail is not going to deliver the same sorts of experience as a brewpub in, say, SF. But why would it? This is San Antonio. It’s bound to be a different experience and that’s part of the joy of traveling around to different craft breweries. You get a sense of location through sharing conversation and a few good beers.

The food is solid, standard brewery fare. Their pizzas are good—but I felt like the mushroom pizza could stand on its own without the generous amount of cheese dumped atop it. (In general, I think that excellent pizza should adhere to the less-is-more philosophy, although I recognize this clashes with commonly-held perceptions.) Nachos are enough to feed an army, even an army of one. Salads are the healthy choice and I’d love to see Freetail experiment with some dressings made from their beers. A sour beer (Figgy Wood’n) as a vinaigrette base? Yes, please. Or maybe a mustard and IPA blend for some pretzel dipping? And spent grains in the dough? Mmmm….

Of course, the real draw here is the beer. In my experience Freetail is doing a lot of things right. They have their summer beers, their gateway beers, their seasonal releases, and a number of beers that are different, exciting, experimental and just plain out there. Most of the time these work. I’ve had a few misses, but I’ve also had a couple that just hit it out of the park. Not a bad track record for the newbies on the edge of town.

10-12-2011 19:53:32 | More by elNopalero

youbrewidrink

Vermont

4.33/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

We visited recently on a sunday evening. The football crowd was dying down, but the place was still hopping. Plenty of television's with all of the football games on. This is a large open space with plenty to gaze at.

Our waitress was prompt, friendly & helpful and our glasses never emptied.

We had a table full of appetizers that were made with quality ingredients and ample portions.

The beer selection was great, everyone at the table found something to their liking. I adore Ate.

Freetail Brewing Company is one of those must visits.

10-04-2011 17:08:46 | More by youbrewidrink

RedBeardBrewing

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +9.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Was in San Antonio recently for business and a short vacation. Based on the reviews on BA, this was a must see place and it didn't disappoint.

The atmosphere was great, very laid back with a lot of Texas beer stuff around and lots of flat screens around to watch. We went on a Tuesday, early afternoon so it wasn't very busy but the service and staff there were fantastic.

They had a wide selection of house brews and guest taps. Enjoyed the La Rubia (very good) and Buffalo Hump IPA. I was also pleased to see a (512) product (their IPA) on tap. Buffalo Hump was one of the more enjoyable IPAs I've had, I'm not typically a big fan of IPAs, but found it pretty good.

Food was great, I'd highly recommend the Brisket Sandwich. Food was simple, but very good.

Overall, Freetail was excellent and I will definitely make it a regular destination whenever I'm in the San Antonio area.

07-22-2011 13:21:43 | More by RedBeardBrewing

tjkinate

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -12.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

I was really excited to stop in and drink some beer from the "highest rated brewpub in Texas." I really hope that statement isn't true, because in my opinion Freetail has room for improvement.

The good: The location provides its customers with ample parking. I really hate it when a place rocks, but it takes 30 minutes to find a place to park when I'm thirsty for a brew. Here I don't think that ever will be an issue since the parking seemed to be able to fit more vehicles than the brewpub and its neighbor could fit people inside! The actual building itself is in great shape, inside and out, as well as provides a great selection of indoor and outdoor seating with a surprising scenic view. I also enjoyed their food, and the prices were nothing to be frightened of.

The bad: Maybe I've been spoiled with brewpubs from southern California, but 10 beers on tap was laughable. They had a few guest breweries like, Real Ale and Saint Arnold, but if you don't make that many beers at any one time, you need more breweries beer to be present. I can understand it's not that large of a location, but for example Pizza Port in San Diego easily has 15 of their own beers on tap and the remaining 30 are made up from other breweries around the country. I like a variety in my beer selection and even though it is summer a lot of people like dark beers, stouts/porters, and you offered zero of those styles.

At the end of my experience I left with a satisfied full stomach from good nachos and some pretty good beers, but I couldn't help feeling that Freetail was still a long way from being the caliber of place its California counterparts are known to be.

07-08-2011 15:20:26 | More by tjkinate

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

4/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

The Freetail brewery wasn't hard to find, and there was plenty of parking. I went inside to find a rather sparse, but pleasant sports-bar type atmosphere, with lots of TVs and reasonably leveled music playing (not too loud). The music was a bit humorous as I kept hearing 80's type stuff playing (human league 'don't you want me baby' etc). Still, the atmosphere was decent enough, no complaints.

They had a pretty good beer selection, with about 12 on taps from the Freetail brewery, and various other local microbrews too. They had a cask offering but it had just run out when I got there (doh!). Prices were reasonable for the type of establishment, I spent about $30 plus tip (that included lunch, several beers, and a hat). I tipped well as the bartender was very busy but still kept my glass full and got my food order fast.

Beer wise I thought the selections were quite tasty. Obviously they put some time and effort into creating good beer and not just pumping out whatever will sell. I talked to one of the brewers for a bit, and he was both chatty and up to speed on the heartbeat of craft beer and micro breweries in San Antonio. I was drinking a Cinco Pilz, a collaboration beer, and he pointed out that what I was drinking was their version, but also gave me a sampler glass of another version of the same beer brewed by a brewery across the street. Very classy, and the beer was downright delicious too.

The food menu was typical of the type of establishment, but they had plenty of selections, including pizzas (which looked great). I had the Freetail salad, which was very darn tasty.

Overall it's a nice establishment and I'd recommend anyone who has the time and inclination to give the place a try.

06-08-2011 19:06:32 | More by AlCaponeJunior

jamescain

Texas

4.2/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Having not yet made it to blue star, this is the one shining star we have in San Antonio (not counting Ranger Creek, as they are a brewery and can not sell beer or food).

The atmosphere is pretty laid back, low lighting, with TV and projectors on all the walls. If you ask them to play some sporting event, as long as they have the channel, they will happily change it for you. There is an outdoor patio with a garage style glass door that can be raised when the weather is nice and allow access to the bar.

The service that I have receive has always been good. Yes occasionally they will mess up your order, but that rarely happens. The waitress seem to have a good knowledge of the beers they serve, which is impressive because they change beers so frequently.

The selection is mostly house beers, but that changes often. They have 3 staples that are always on tap. They brew special one-off, such as barrel aged wild ales, RIS, and other barrel aged experiments. There is also a guest tap selection that usually rotates between different Texas breweries. The one objection I have is that they tend to serve their beers a little cold.

The food is excellent. There pizzas and sandwiches are fantastic and I have yet to try their other offerings, because I usually get one of those two.

It is no more expensive than any other bar, or restaurant. In fact on wednesdays they have a Date night special that for $16 includes pizza and a pitcher (price depends on the beer chosen). Tuesdays are $2.50 house pints and Mondays are $10 pitchers, so you have cheap options depending on the day.

I would recommend Freetail to anyone traveling though San Antonio and needs a place to grab a bite and a cold drink.

05-09-2011 17:51:54 | More by jamescain