We have a special review today as we went out of town for a mini vacation and found one hell of a brewery! Sitting one street off the beach, which is one of its only downfalls, is Galveston Island Brewing. The owner is a true success story as he started winning home beer brewing competitions, and 11 years later, opened what we see today.
I’ll give them credit as they secured a parking lot just a 100ft or so from the actual building for overflow, because parking has been a major downfall for a lot of our previous reviews. Once you see the massive tower outside the building, you know you’ve made it to Galveston Island Brewing. There’s a large seating area outside with a gazebo and a nice wooden deck that leads you to the taproom. Inside is a way too small bar with the menu behind. There is a large merch area in the back, and they have a large variety of to-go beers available, which is unusual but much appreciated. The bathrooms are on the left, and apparently the women’s bathroom has grains and hops in the wall decor, which is cool, and they are definitely wife approved. You can go out a door to the right and walk right into the brewing area to find another seating area. There’s even a second level to sit and catch a glimpse of the waves while you sip some brews. I love that they had the foresight to provide seating right next to the tanks, because I love that. But the taproom itself leaves a little to be desired. They have a pretty decent food menu as well, but we did not sample anything. There are not a ton of TV’s either so catching a game is difficult. I still overall love the aesthetic.
First up is their flagship beer, and the official beer of Galveston, the Tiki wheat. It’s a 5.8% ABV wheat beer made with German hallertau hops. It definitely has the rich wheat flavor it’s described to, but it has a lighter mouth feel and goes down smooth. It’s makes for a great beer to sip on while you’re sitting on the beach.
Next up is a 4.4% ABV brown ale called Brown Chicken Brown Cow. There are 2 types of brown ales, English and American. The American is drier and a bit more bitter, leading me to believe this is more of an English brown ale because it was lighter-bodied and had a malty sweetness to it. It was toasty, malty, and had some caramel notes, it was absolutely fantastic, and it might have been the best brown ale I’ve ever tried.
My wife’s favorite was the Tiki Colada, a 5.8% ABV fruited wheat lager. The main benefit to doing a fruited lager, as opposed to a fruited ale, is the clean fermentation process allows the fruit to infuse itself into the brew. They made this one with pineapple, coconut, and banana and you can absolutely taste all three flavors. It is absolutely delicious, exactly what a fruited lager is supposed to be, slightly fruity but still has the taste of a beer.
My favorite brew was something I’ve been looking for and waiting on a brewery to make for a while. I’ve talked about it before but a Hefeweizen is a personal favorite brew of mine, and it’s known for a slight banana flavor because of the yeast used. A flavor that goes extremely well with banana is coconut, and that’s exactly what they did with Coconut Hefen-A. It’s a 5.4% ABV Coconut Hefeweizen and it’s incredible! You get the banana and the coconut, but it’s not as strong of a fruit flavor like a fruited lager would be. It still tastes like a Hefeweizen beer is supposed to taste, just with a coconut and banana undertone. We absolutely loved this brew!
Galveston Island Brewing may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is definitely my kind of brewery. Aside from the taproom size/setup just being too small and not being right on the beach(I know), it’s a great place to grab some local craft. They absolutely know how to brew, and it’s a must visit for anyone who comes down to Galveston. They checked every box for us except the taproom design, so Galveston Island Brewing is getting 9 🍺. Absolutely stop in if you’re down here and Always Drink Local!
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