Freetail Brewing Co. opened its doors for the first time on Black Friday, hoping shoppers would make a stop for Texas beer and brick-oven pizza.
Owner Scott Metzger teaches macroeconomics to college students, but is ready for his own microeconomics lesson in the world of beer. Freetail is San Antonio’s second brewpub — a brewery and restaurant — and Metzger hopes it’s a catalyst for a thriving craft-brewing industry in the city.
“Let’s promote Texas beer and not some brewing company based in Belgium or in Canada,” Metzger told an assembly of North Side businesspeople at a ceremony before the opening.
For opening weekend, 15 different beers from five Texas breweries will rotate on eight guest taps. By mid-December, Freetail will begin serving its own beer made in large tanks behind the bar.
An hour after opening in the Hill Country Plaza shopping center at Loop 1604 and Northwest Military Highway, Freetail was about half full of people ordering eclectic gourmet pizzas and beer made in Blanco, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and Shiner.
Word of mouth among beer enthusiasts brought some patrons in, while heavy radio advertising on JACK FM 102.7 brought in those curious about the beer and the food from a place named after the Mexican freetail bat, the official flying mammal of Texas.
Metzger said he wanted a communal restaurant and bar that would bring in craft beer lovers or folks who just want to come in for food and a game on one of the nine televisions.
“Unlike the English-styled pub, which seems to favor intimacy, I prefer a German-style biergarten approach that lends itself to interaction with your neighbors. Beer is a great way to make a new friend,” Metzger said.
Carlos Perales was one of the first customers, and he headed straight for the bar for a craft brew.
“I’m glad they’re opening up more breweries in San Antonio, especially in this area,” said Perales, who lives in Northwest San Antonio. “It’s OK to be a franchise, but I like the guys who make their own. We just have to support them.”
Since the 2003 closing of The Laboratory Brewing Co. in The Quarry, Blue Star Brewing Co. near downtown has been the only brewpub in the city.
“San Antonio has had only one brewery — and with 1.7 million people?” said Stan Hester, a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry who is serving as temporary floor manager until Freetail is on its feet.
Because the niche is still underserved in San Antonio and the Northwest Side is booming, financiers saw the U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loan as a good bet even in a recession.
“This is our first brewery loan,” said Yvonne Fernandez, assistant vice president for commercial services at Security Service Federal Credit Union. “We’d like to see more.”
Jason Davis, formerly assistant brewer at Blue Star and a veteran of Austin’s Waterloo Brewing Co. and Celis Brewing Co., is running the show in the brewhouse and has plans for a porter, extra pale ale, rye wit and La Rubia blonde ale for the house beers during the first month of operation.
