Texas Corners Brewing Company – Kalamazoo

January 28, 2016 · by Jonathan Katje · in Breweries

Kalamazoo Beer Week 2016 took place from January 16 – 23, and we made a trip down to check out a few breweries we had not yet been to. Earlier this week we shared our experience at Latitude 42 Brewing Company in Portage, and today we turn our attention to our second stop: Texas Corners Brewing Company. This brewery hasn’t even been open for a full year yet, but from what we saw and tasted they have everything set up for success.

While Texas Corners Brewing Company has only been open since 2015, the family that started it has a rich history of farming at Schultz Fruitridge Farms in Mattawan, MI. They focus on farm-to-table food, and locally sourced ingredients – apples for their ciders and bison for burgers are sourced from the family farm. The brewery is located in an old church building at the intersection of Texas Dr. and S 8th Ave. in Texas Township, and the interior has been beautifully redone to create a comfortable, friendly setting.

There were eight beers and four ciders on tap when we arrived. We sat down at the bar and looked over our choices before ordering up a flight of three beers and three ciders. We got things started with the P-51 Porter, a balanced porter with hints of cocoa that gets its name from the World War II planes that the owners’ grandfather flew. We also tried two IPAs: The 5th Division (black IPA) and 3 Brothers IPA (made with Michigan malt and Chinook hops) – both were delicious and packed with hops. The three ciders (Sweet, Apple Cherry, Hoppy) we tried were fantastic, and we were pretty happy to find out we could take bottles home for just $6. Years of experience with cider show through with these, and I would say they stack up well against any craft cider we’ve had in Michigan.

We decided to try out three more beers in another flight, trying the Belgian Orange Wheat, Double Brown, and Molasses Imperial Stout. We enjoyed all three, but the Molasses Imperial Stout was hands down the best beer we had here. It packs an ABV of 12% and comes on strong but it is full of flavor. Other beers on tap that we didn’t get around to trying were the Farmer’s Tan Lager, Pickers Pale Ale, and Dry Cider.

We didn’t try any of the food here since we had eaten at our previous stop, but looking over the menu and seeing the options I was reminded a lot of Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids – a frequently changing menu of locally-sourced food that might run a bit on the pricey side. The focus here is clearly on quality over speed and the reviews so far seem to be pretty positive. You can check out the menu online at http://www.texascornersbrewingcompany.com/menu.html.

Texas Corners Brewing Company was a great stop for us, and our service at the bar was friendly, attentive, and incredibly helpful. Don’t forget to take along your Kalamazoo “Give a Craft” Beer Passport when you visit!