Our first visit was to Stanley's Pizza, after the hour-long drive from Georgetown, we arrived with an appetite and were ready to eat. Everything is outdoors with "natural" air conditioning, with the seating in an open barn with room for several hundred people to sit. Despite the Texas heat, the seating was in the shade with a decent breeze blowing through, making us comfortable.
Looking at Stanley's indoor/outdoor seating from Jester Kings, with kids in the sandbox
We could tell right away that this place, despite being co-located with a brewery, was family friendly and knew that folks who made the trip were not going to get their pizza to go. There were at least two bars in the pizzeria serving a wide variety of beers, wines, and ciders in addition to the pizza counter. Our youngest made a beeline to the sandbox in the back of the barn while Kyla and I decided on the special of the day, which sounded awfully intriguing with teriyaki, pulled pork, pineapple slaw (with jalapeno and serranos), and pickled onions. We were not disappointed! The crust was thin and crispy, with the pork and teriyaki providing a smoky flavor balanced out by the sweetness of the pineapple slaw and tartness of the onions. Of course our youngest turned her nose at the exotic creation in favor of sharing a cheese pizza with a friend who joined us. Our oldest had to fight me for the last piece, with both of us fighting with our mouths full since the pizza disappeared so fast!
Don't let the sweetness fool you, she puts up a hell of a fight for good pizza
With our bellies full we were able to turn our attention to round two of our day, and head next door to the brewery. The short walk up the hill tells you that Jester King is all about the beer. There is no sandbox, no lemonade (which Stanley's sold), and very little in the way of covered seating. If you wanted to be cool while drinking your beer, you would need to find a table under a shade tree, which there were a number of. Otherwise, the space outside consisted of a couple of tents serving beer, a tent selling bottles, and some cornhole games keeping patrons busy.
If you decide to drink beer beer before going on the tour of the brewery, do yourself a favor and head to the indoor tasting room first, or stick with the 4 oz. servings to allow yourself the capability to taste more flavors. Some Army friends of ours hit the tasting room while we were waiting on pizza and had an enjoyable experience discussing their likes and dislikes with the knowledgeable staff that led to them thoroughly enjoying their beer. By the time Kyla and I made it to the brewery the line to the tasting room was well outside the door, resulting in us going to one of the beer tents and ordering off the menu.
Snapshot of the beer menu available
I was in the mood for a hefeweizen, while Kyla wanted a cider so I ordered the Foudreweizen and Kyla the 2013 Perennial (which is from Argus Cidery). To put it lightly we were surprised by the taste of our respective drinks. The Foudrweizen in particular was nothing like I expected from a standard hefeweizen. While the beer did have some of the malty sweetness of a hefe, there was a pronounced earthiness to it that took me by surprise. After a few sips I could only describe the earthy tastes as what I would imagine straw or hay to taste like. While not a fan at first, the beer grew on me the more I drank. Other friends that had the same beer didn't quite appreciate it though - which goes back to my earlier point of staying with the 4 oz servings. By the time I finished the Foudreweizen I didn't dare attempt anymore beer with the hour long drive home - which is a shame since I was very interested in seeing what other surprises Jester King had on tap.
One reason my interest was piqued was from taking a tour of the brewery. The tour was led by co-owner Ron Extract, who can't suppress his passion for farmhouse brewing. His discussion of the Jester King brewing process highlighted the reason behind the interesting flavored beer I was nursing during the tour. What makes Jester King unique is that it uses farmhouse brewing techniques that unlike most craft breweries which focus on consistency, farmhouse brews use local ingredients as they are at the point of the brewing process. For example, while other breweries carefully control the mineral content of their water to match the style of beer being brewed, Jester King uses their unaltered well water, which is unique to Texas hill country and has day-to-day variances in mineral content in addition to capitalizing on naturally occurring yeast instead of yeast purchased from a laboratory.
Ron educating his guest on farmhouse brewing
As a novice home brewer myself, I was intrigued by the farmhouse style since many of the techniques discussed, such as spontaneous fermentation, are things I actively try to avoid with my own beer - for fear of creating an off flavor. Consistency is not what Jester King strives for, instead letting the beer tell the brewers when it is ready. If you ask when a particular batch will be released, you won't get a specific date, since the brewers guide their decisions through careful quality control of each batch to determine readiness. This inconsistency in brewing creates adventurous tastes that aren't for everybody, but I don't think the brewers are trying to create a beer with mass appeal. Their production is too small to be widely distributed, and as Ron said during the brewery tour, "we brew what we please, drink what we want, and sell the rest."
