Vista Brewing
Eric Puga's favorite beer in Austin is a black pilsner made 25 miles out of town: Dark Skies, bronze at the 2024 U.S. Open and gold in 2018.1
Why go
Puga put Vista ninth in the Austin Chronicle's 2024 brewery power rankings, five places up from where the brewery started six years earlier.1 He calls Dark Skies light, roasted and refreshing. The farmhouse side is where the brewery spends its imagination: Zenith is a petit saison aged in oak, Hive Mind is built on honey. Stonewall with peaches is a lambic-style ale that took a Texas Craft Brewers Cup silver.1 The site is 21 acres in Driftwood with a farm, a restaurant, a beer garden and event spaces, at the point where the Hill Country wine trail starts.2
Order this / avoid
- Dark Skies, the black pilsner. It took bronze for American-Style Dark Lagers at the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship, gold in the same category in 2018, and a Good Food Award on top.1
- Stonewall with peaches, the lambic-style ale that took the Texas Craft Brewers Cup silver.1
- Zenith, the oak-aged petit saison, if you want the version of this brewery that is not a lager.1
- Avoid: rolling up in the last hour. The kitchen closes one hour before the property does.2
What locals & experts say
- Eric Puga, Austin Chronicle, October 2024:
my favorite beer in town is Dark Skies black pilsner, a light, roasted, and refreshing dark lager that goes mach 5 on my tastebuds.
1 - The same ranking, on the room: he calls the taproom
the Austin brewery antidote for the same-old, same-old taproom fatigue.
1
Good to know
- Open Wednesday through Sunday, afternoons and evenings, with a longer weekend day. Closed Monday and Tuesday.2
- Getting there: 13551 FM 150 W in Driftwood, on the same road as Duchman Family Winery, about half an hour southwest of Austin.2
- Bookings: walk in for the taproom. The event spaces are booked separately through the brewery.2
Verdict
should-visit — Walk in. The beer earns the drive.