We stumbled upon LWS Brewing in Amarillo, TX, while on a mini-vacation with some friends. Little did we know this is only one of two breweries in Amarillo! This hole-in-the-wall brewery was tucked back behind a storage facility at the outskirts of town where even the locals have troubles finding it. Being such a small and rare business in the area, we were able to meet and chat with the owners and one of the brewers during our process and got a good feel for their beer, the industry in Texas, and the overall beer scene in town.
Our flight consisted of six well-balanced beers served in 6oz plastic party cups:
Maximum Effort IRA
Amarillo Sunrise Kolsch
P3 Coffee Porter
6th Street Wheat
Heisen Weizen
501st Dunkelweizen
The Maximum Effort Irish Red Ale was very dark in color and smelled malty like an Irish red should. The taste was also malty and had a great caramel flavor to it, but was a little watery. It was a good red and a good way to start the flight.
The Amarillo Sunrise Kolsch was an unfiltered, golden, wheat beer that had a great lemony flavor to it. The citrus and lemon flavors accentuated the taste of the wheat and made for a delicious, summery beer that was very easy to drink.
The P3 Coffee Porter was a bit on the lighter side but not quite light enough to be categorized as a brown. The flavors consisted of coffee and nuts with a hint of smoke. This was a very smooth porter, still carbonated, but easy to drink and very malty.
The 6th Street Wheat was incredibly easy to drink and very smooth. There wasn't a whole lot of flavor to it, but there was definite citrus flavors if you pay attention to it. A very refreshing beer.
The Heisen Weizen, named after Breaking Bad's Heisenberg, was an excellent hefeweizen. This unfiltered wheat beer was a beautiful golden color and smelled very citrusy. The taste was just enough bubblegum and banana with a mix of citrus that made for a very true to style, well-balance, delicious beer.
The 501st Dunkelweizen also had very good flavor, but this beer was much darker and very smokey. It smelled much like a coffee stout, but the taste was primarily smoke and a smoke done well. Another very good beer that was smooth and easy to drink.
Megan's overall opinion: I like this brewery, not just because of the beer, but because LWS is pioneering craft beer in Texas. Amarillo is a small town, so for these locals to take that big leap from home brewing to making a career out of beer, that's true dedication. The venue was rather small, but for the number of clientele at any given time, it seems to fit. It felt more like a hipster coffee shop than a brewery, but they made it work. I really enjoyed the Heisen Weizen and the 501st Dunkelweizen, but I think all six beers had merit. I would say the 6th Street Wheat was my least favorite, but only because the rest of the beers had such great flavor, they left the 6th Street in the dust.
Randy's overall opinion: Surprisingly, this brewery was able to hold its own amongst the multitude we have tried so far. I was more shocked at how little the brewery scene was in Amarillo, not because I thought it was a booming beer town but because the craft brew scene is taking off everywhere and left this little town behind. The beers were above average as a whole but the Irish Red Ale is the mystery beer to me. I enjoy the maltiness of the Irish Reds but this one left me with no taste. I had to try it a few times to figure out what I was really drinking. My favorites were the 501st Dunkleweizen and the 6th St. Wheat; They were refreshing beers. I had the Heizen Weizen last but that is because the bubblegum taste was more than what I was looking for at the time. The venue was strange from the outside but friendly on the inside. If you can find it, stop in!
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