Circle Brewing Co. - Austin Beer Guide

THE WTF DIVE
C. Hunt’s Ice House
9611 Mcneil Road
Owner Chester Hunt operated a meat packing plant on
this North Austin property for over 50 years when suddenly
one day he said, “Fuck it, I’m ready to make the
most fucking bizarre, awesome bar this side of Mexico.”
And he did. Boasting Texas’ largest grapevine shading
their 45 plus picnic table-d bier garten, C. Hunt’s
has something for everyone. Whether your vice be dominos, too large pickup trucks, an affinity
for every fucking Budweiser swimsuit model ad since 1992, live possums, or a bar top with an
ice trough, plus a decent bottle selection to boot, C. Hunt’s gots what you need to fill your C. Hunt
shaped hole you didn’t know you had until reading this. Bring cash and no expectations, ‘cause
they don’t do credit cards or anything else any other bar you’ve ever been to does.
Mr. Tramps
8565 Research Boulevard
Looking for futbol, a convenient view of 183, and
plenty of great taps? Look no further, Mr. Tramps is
where it’s at. This place probably qualifies more as a
sports bar than a dive, but we liked it enough to get
it a spot on the list. It definitely has that “my dive”
feel to it, with plenty of regulars, near-sitcom-ish
banter between the bartenders, and if you showed
up wearing the wrong team colors during a fierce
match there’s a good chance you could find yourself in a decent brawl beneath Research’s Boulevard’s
ever present gaze. Among their peers on this list, Mr. Tramps has the greatest selection of
national breweries alongside their local taps.
THE FAMILY DIVE
Billy’s on Burnet
2105 Hancock Drive
THE FOREIGN DIVE
Billy Forrester is a legend in Texas beer history,
and his name’s sake is nothing less. Billy’s on
Burnet rides the line between the “dive” and “my
dive” camps with all the best things from both.
Painted in black and red, Billy’s is home to the
famous Cobra jalapeño bacon cheeseburger, the
best Wednesday evening trivia, a killer selection
of local and craft rotating taps, and this journalist’s
favorite Galaga/Ms Pac Man machine in town. Not a beer fan? Have a saki shot. Not so much
into meat? They have a vegetarian menu that rivals most vegetarian places. And of all the bars we
researched for this list, Billy’s was the only one to meet several criteria, while still being a place
you would take your wife and kid to for a burger and beer on a pleasant Saturday afternoon.
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