New Beer Roundup

Check out these 5 new local craft beers before you order another round

A handful of new local beers are hitting the market right about now, so it seemed like a good time to round them up. We’ve got two different coffee beers, a fruity twist on a Dallas favorite, a beer made for outdoor activities and one you won’t find anywhere but at the brewery that makes it.

Happy drinking.

Community Beer Company Ascension Coffee Porter
Community kept it in the Design District family and teamed up with Ascension to create a coffee porter. Brewery owner Kevin Carr says the inspiration for the beer came from head brewer Jamie Fulton’s award-winning history with the style from his pre-Community days.

The 6.8 percent ABV brew uses fresh-roasted Sumatra beans from Ascension to create a deep Baltic porter with a little kick of caffeine. It’s one of 15 beers available at Community’s birthday bash on January 18.

Deep Ellum Brewing Company Oak Cliff Coffee Ale
Deep Ellum Brewing has also decided to go the coffee route, combining an oatmeal brown ale that has a bit of milk sugar with a Panamanian coffee from Oak Cliff Coffee called Carmen. Head brewer Jeremy Hunt calls it “the best beer that I have ever had a hand in making. Seriously.”

The ale is 7.5 percent ABV with 33 IBUs and is currently making its debut tour beginning with a preview party at Davis Street Espresso in Bishop Arts on January 16.

Lakewood Brewing Company Raspberry Temptress
The Temptress at Lakewood is one of Dallas’ most popular beers — and with good reason. Now the brewery is bringing one of its variations on the imperial milk stout to full production with a raspberry Temptress. Lakewood takes a completed batch of Temptress and throws it in a fermenter with raspberry puree for a drink that contains notes of chocolate and the tartness of raspberries.

It’s still at Temptress’ original 9.1 percent ABV, and the beer debuts February 10 at bars that typically carry the regular Temptress, such as Common Table, Goodfriend and Holy Grail Pub.

Martin House Brewing Company Gateway XPA
Although most breweries embrace rich and dark beers during the colder months, Martin House has gone the opposite direction and created Gateway XPA, an extra pale ale designed for “session” drinking. At 5 percent ABV and 19 IBUs, Gateway, which draws its name from Fort Worth’s Gateway Park Trail, is an easygoing beer designed for drinking during a post-mountain bike adventure or in the backyard with some friends playing cornhole.

It officially launches on January 17 at the Bearded Lady in Fort Worth.

Peticolas Brewing Company Black Curtains Stout
The new Black Curtains stout from Peticolas is arguably the hardest beer to get on this list. Michael Peticolas and company only pour the beer during tours on the first and third Saturday of each month, and they have no plans to let it leave the nest.

The stout blends the roasted malt bitterness with relatively high levels of citrusy and floral hops and boasts an 11 percent ABV. Peticolas drew inspiration for the beer from Cream’s song “White Curtains,” which is, just maybe, a hint for the future.

unspecified

BBQ News

Ferah Smokehouse & Cantina to bring Wylie 2 top cuisines: BBQ & Tex-Mex

dallas.culturemap.com

Tacos from the Ferah Smokehouse & Cantina team.

A Mediterranean concept in Dallas-Fort Worth that dabbles in Texan is about to get a new sibling with an even stronger Texan focus. Called Ferah Smokehouse and Cantina, it's an offshoot of Ferah Tex-Med Kitchen, and will open in Wylie in early 2024.

Ferah is from husband-and-wife Burak and Stephanie Ozcan, known for the innovative fusion of Mediterranean and Texas cuisines they've created at Ferah Tex-Med Kitchen, which debuted in 2019.

The Smokehouse, located on the west side of Wylie at 960 S. Westgate Way, represents a chance to dig more deeply in to Texas cuisine, namely smoked meats and Tex-Mex, with signatures like brisket enchiladas.

“It gives us an opportunity to make this space our own and give homage to Texas," Stephanie says. "I'm a born-and-bred Texan, and Burak has been in Texas since 2009. He has a passion for Texas and the cuisine that we offer."

A native of Turkey, where he attended the world-famous Mengen Anatolian Culinary School, Burak has worked in gourmet kitchens around the world, including a stint as sous chef at Samar By Stephan Pyles, and has worked at numerous hotel restaurants both in Dallas and Istanbul, including Westin, Renaissance, and Marriott.

The couple opened the first Ferah Tex-Med in Garland in June 2019, months before the onset of pandemic; Southlake followed in 2022.

During the pandemic, they witnessed ardent support from communities like Wylie, which further fueled their choice of location. They also live in Sachse, nearby.

For the new smokehouse, they've partnered with husband-and-wife Jeremy and Heidi Berlin, who will lend their business expertise in operating the restaurant. Jeremy previously worked in the hotel industry, and Heidi runs a hair styling and design business.

The structure where they're opening is a 3500-square-foot barn-like space that was built in 2019 adjacent to the Seventy8 And Westgate Apartments development. Getting it restaurant-ready will require a complete interior buildout.

Stephanie says the interior will feature a full bar, semi-private dining space, and covered patio.

"I’ve designed a groovy Southwestern interior featuring cognac-toned leather, with terracotta, black and gold accents," she says. "Our goal is to provide an elevated yet comfortable ambiance for our foodies."

They'll be sharing behind-the-scenes updates of the buildout and design journey on their Instagram.

As a prelude to opening, they've tested out some of the Smokehouse dishes with customers at Ferah Tex-Med, including brisket enchiladas served on a cast-iron skillet, and a charcuterie-like "butcherblock" featuring assorted smoked meats.

"Barbecue and Tex-Mex are the two favorite cuisines of people in Texas," Stephanie says. "We wanted to try something that was familiar to people but approach it in a new way."

barbecue