A New Legend of a Shepherd Boy, a Giant, and 5 Stones

This past weekend the folks at Run in Texas held an event at 5 Stones Artisan Brewery.  I was unfamiliar with 5 Stones, which is located southwest of New Braunfels, Texas on FM 1863.  If, like me, you use a navigation program to guide you to your destinations, a caution, for 5 Stones double check the address.  It seems Google and other devices are still listing the brewery's prior address in Cibolo, Texas. That caused some of our colleagues to take a bit of a detour to the closed location.

Traveling along FM 1863, it’s easy to miss 5 Stones, and believe me you do not want to miss this brewery.  For 5 Stones, 2017 was a big year. They opened at their new location in November of that year. Also, in 2017, 5 Stones started working with Garrett Crowell, best known for his tenure as head brewer at Jester King Brewery.

The brewery sits on 19 acres, about an eighth of a mile off the main road down a rough gravel path. The brewery is a picturesque limestone building that houses a taproom in the front and the brewing equipment in the back.  The brewery looks to have about a 15 barrel capacity.

Seth Weatherly was an avid homebrewer before starting 5 Stones in 2013 in Cibolo, TX about 20 minutes away from the current location.  The original brewery was located in a 1200 square foot industrial park.

According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News by David DeKunder (October 21, 2014) Seth and a buddy, while eating a pineapple and jalapeno pizza, hatched the idea to brew a beer with those two key ingredients.  In 2014, that creation, Aloha Pina, won a silver prize at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in the Herb and Spice category.  Seth also won the “Start-up Brewery Challenge” sponsored by Craft Brew Alliance in 2013, also with Aloha Pina.

Today when visiting 5 Stones, the beer selection is sophisticated.  We sampled several of the offerings. The beer selections on tap are generally available in either a 12oz or 4oz pour.  The beer is served in 12oz Kolsch glasses and the 4oz comes in a tulip style glass. For $10.00 you can purchase a full pour of the Braunfelser Kolsch in a larger Kolsch glass.  

I started with a Sheppard Boy’s, which is a Pale Ale aggressively dry hopped with Citra hops. This beer was light with a fresh clean citrus taste, but with the aggressive hopping, it’s not boring and will likely satisfy the IPA lovers.  It has a 6.3% ABV. Next, I had the Kolsch in the souvenir glass. This was an incredibly drinkable beer. It was flavorful and still light with just a 5.2% ABV. I finished the evening with a Camo, which is a Pale Stout with a 7.8 ABV. This flavorful brew contained hints of espresso and cocoa.  However, this was my least favorite of 5 Stones Stout offerings.

On our return to the brewery on race day, after wheezing through the 3.1 miles I was able to settle down outside on a comfortable chair and try the Fracking Black Strap a 9.2 ABV Stout brewed with Blackstrap Molasses, Cocoa, vanilla beans. This is an excellent, Imperial Stout, but was outdone by the Fracking Black Camo also a 9.2% ABV Stout with the same ingredients but conditioned with espresso beans, it was a keeper.  We bought a few bottles to go!

5 Stones is a unique brewery that does bring the artisan mindset to its offerings.  The brewery focuses on unique profiles, and a riffing on traditional recipes. They brew quality beers made from local ingredients and are developing their own ingredients including some local yeasts.  Besides the beer, the taproom and the grounds are accommodating. Most often a food truck is available on site. A visit to 5 Stones is worth the effort, enjoy!