Autonomous Society is a relatively new craft brewery, having only been around for about 3 years. But they’ve already gained notoriety around DFW, having won several awards for best brewery from local publications. It’s not hard to see why.
Located in the Cedars District just south of downtown Dallas sits an old strip of buildings from the 1940’s, and in one of them sits Autonomous Society, home of Deanitude craft beer. It’s in a fairly non-descript building and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll drive right by it. There’s a big gravel parking lot in the back shared by several businesses. Walking in the front, you’ll come into a large seating area with a decent amount of tables, but it’s not the biggest taproom. To the right are 4 huge brewing tanks, and you know we love sitting next to the equipment that makes the wonderful beer we’re sipping on. The 2 single use bathrooms are further back to the right, and not the nicest, but functional. To the left is a huge bar with a large digital menu behind. Left of the bar is a small to-go fridge, to the right is a small merch area. Further back to the left is an exit to the outdoor patio area that could really use a little bit of help. They do serve food in house, which is nice. It has kind of a dive bar type feel with random decor on the all brick walls. There’s a very relaxed vibe, which is great, and there’s a surprisingly large number of beers on tap for such a small brewery.
One type of beer I have never seen anywhere else is a Weizenbock, which is a combination of a hefeweizen and a bock, two of our favorites. Look for the bready, malty notes along with the banana flavor usually found in a hef. Combine that with the dark, toasty, caramel notes from a bock, it makes for a fantastic beer. And they nail it with Autumn Shade, a 7.5% ABV Weizenbock. It’s got a little bit more mouth feel than a hef, but the banana notes are there, and they blend so well with caramel notes of a bock. It’s such a smooth and tasty brew, and one I’ve never seen anywhere else.
A Czech dark lager is a rich, malty, easy drinking brew known for its caramel, toffee, and chocolate notes. And, again, they nailed it with The Big Rig, a 5.5% ABV Czech dark lager. It’s a super smooth and crisp dark beer, but it drinks much easier than a stout. This is an excellent example of this type of brew, and very, very tasty. They really know how to brew.
My favorite of the day was the Luminator, an 8.5% ABV doppelbock. My understanding is this is not always the easiest type of beer to brew. It’s essentially a stronger version of a bock with malty sweetness, and toasty and caramel notes. Something I didn’t know is that it was originally made by monks who needed a nutritious drink while fasting. I don’t know how nutritious current versions are, but this is a fantastic. It has heavy flavors, but it doesn’t drink heavy. And the flavor profile is unbelievable. Dean knocked this out of the park, one of my favorite beers I’ve ever tried.
Autonomous Society is very much a classic type of brewery. They don’t add flavors, or age anything on fruit. As much as I love some of the wild flavors that can be put into beer, sometimes it’s just as impressive to see classic beer styles done to perfection. Dean is absolutely the best brewer when it comes to classic beer styles in DFW. I wish the taproom was bigger, but the relaxed vibe is great. The ambiance is fantastic, especially having the brew tanks in the taproom. The only thing I can knock them for is some below par bathrooms. But the beer being brewed to perfection really puts this over the top. We’re giving Autonomous Society 10 🍺, only our 4th perfect rating. Definitely a spot not to miss, and Always Drink Local!
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