Food & Beer Culture

What beer pairs with Texas barbecue? Best is a lager or a mild dunkel. Brisket, the beef cut, smokes for many hours over oak in Central Texas, developing a dark crust. The smoke meets the bread-crust character of the malt, while carbonation cuts through the fat. Many of the meat markets selling this brisket were founded by German and Czech immigrants.

The sausage of this region, often called klobása, comes from Czech tradition. It's typically served with sauerkraut and potato salad, dishes also found throughout the Hill Country. Chicken-fried steak—the breaded beef cutlet served with white gravy—is considered a descendant of Wiener schnitzel.

Kolaches are sweet yeast pastries filled with fruit or sweet cheese, brought over by Czech families. In Texas, they're mainly a breakfast food and therefore rarely paired with beer. Still, they're a clear sign of just how strong the Czech influence remains here.

Fredericksburg keeps its German heritage alive with beer gardens and an Oktoberfest. New Braunfels celebrates Wurstfest for ten days, while Shiner honors its brewery with tours and festivals. The dance halls of the region are a remnant of Czech-German club culture, where polka is still played today. Order a beer there, and you'll usually get a cold lager from the cooler, rarely from the tap.

In Texas, beer is often drunk from the 473-milliliter pint glass, the tallboy can of the same size, or the 355-milliliter longneck bottle. The traditional stein is rare here, except at Oktoberfest. For dancing or barbecue, the bottle is simply more practical—easy to hold in hand.