Serving up delicious craft beer to the 956…
During the summer of 2017 we moved from Ohio back to the great state of Texas. I (@knrottet) accepted a position at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and we moved about as far south in Texas as you can without crossing over the southern border. This move brought excitement, as we were able to experience true Mexican food again, and Mexican Fusion (more on the topic of fusion cuisine in future posts) that the Midwest dares to call authentic. One of the sad parts (for me) about moving out of Ohio was leaving a rather enjoyable craft brew scene. But then one day, on a drive home from the UTRGV Brownsville campus I came across Big River Brewery on Nolana Avenue in Pharr just off the freeway.
With my spouse in San Antonio as a part of our move back (we weren’t lucky enough to be in the exact location just yet), and having a completely free evening, I decided to stop in just before their evening rush started. Sitting at the bar I made conversation with the server, who I later learned was the wife of the head brewer. As I understand it, Big River is a family business with the father and son brewing in the back, and the mother and daughter running the front of the house.
I probably should have removed my work badge prior to going in to a brewery to have a beverage, but I forgot. But it was my work badge that stirred up conversation. If I remember correctly, the kids attended UTRGV when it was still UTPA, so prior to 2015 before the UTPA/UTB merger to create UTRGV. The server asked what I did, and we got to talking about how I was new to the area – having just moved back to Texas from Ohio. As it turns out, she and her husband were familiar with Ohio, and the beer scene there. Her husband, and head brewer at Big River, went to school in Eastern Pennsylvania. I believe she said Gannon University, and that is where he earned his doctorate. As conversation continued I learned that one of the beers, the Amber Ale I believe, was made as a reminder of the Yuengling that he drank while at Gannon.
Despite still being new to the RGV area, it seems to me that in a country where there are over 6,300 craft breweries and more than 2,252 brew pubs that Big River Brewery is leading the way in terms of putting delicious craft brew beverages on the map in the 956. If you pay attention to craft beer related news, then you also know that Big River gets out of the RGV to attend beer festivals in the great state of Texas as well as representing the region at events like the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado annually. Big River seems to be doing the small things right, and doing things right in a big way to grow the craft beer scene in south Texas. If you have not already done so, and are any kind of a craft beer fan or you just like something beyond Miller, Bud, Coors or any of those large names that feud at each other during the superbowl, you should get out to Big River Brewery on Nolana.
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