Drinking Diaries

How Dallas drinkers get craft beer beyond the bar

I am afraid that I’m being spoiled as a beer drinker in Dallas. My move back to Dallas last year from Austin was right in step with the local craft explosion, and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, hopping from one brewery to the next, trying to absorb every new beer that comes out.

Although I’ve been drinking for a while now, most of that was spent on Keystone and Miller Lite (because, you know, college). When I came to Dallas, it was as though I was wandering in out of the wilderness to find that the world I knew had passed me by.

And bars are great, for so many more reasons than there is room here to discuss, but at some point, it gets exhausting and expensive to chase the newest local or latest out-of-state import from bar to bar. Sometimes it’s necessary to kick back and enjoy a brew in your own atmosphere.

Sometimes it’s necessary to kick back and enjoy a brew in your own atmosphere.

Fortunately for beer appreciators, Craft and Growler and Bottle Shop provide two parts of the equation, leaving it up to you to decide where and when you want to enjoy your craft beers.

Both offer a wide, wide array of beers, but as their names suggest, Craft and Growler and Bottle Shop specialize in particular areas of craft brew delivery.

Literally across the street from the entrance to Fair Park, Craft and Growler has a strong focus on Texas beers, ranging from Franconia in McKinney to Adelbert’s in Austin or Pflugerville’s Rogness.

Their filling stations accommodate the range of growlers they offer, from the $7 glass variety to the $150 ceramic ones that are as much works of art as they are beer containers.

Valuing a bit more function, my C&G growler is the $50 double-walled stainless steel “hydroflask” version. It’s the kind of investment that made me realize that I’ve gone further down the rabbit hole than I even knew. But the fact that it sat on a boat without ice for six hours and was as cold and fresh as a pour from a tap helped me feel like I didn’t spend foolishly.

The next goal is to take it floating on the river and not lose it.

It’s worth noting that Craft and Growler sells a handful of high-end bottled crafts that are hard to come by at places like Spec’s, but it’s not a priority. That is why the Bottle Shop on Lower Greenville forms such a nice pair.

Across from the Libertine, the Bottle Shop has taps of local and well-known national craft beers and growlers, which you can fill with those taps. But, well, it’s called the Bottle Shop for a reason.

Where the physical limitation of tap space keeps Craft and Growler to 30-plus beers on any given night, the Bottle Shop’s walls and fridges are stocked with an assortment that reaches nearly 500 hundred bottles.

You’ll find staples like Stone IPA, but the volume encourages exploration. Never had a Wisconsin beer? You can at the Bottle Shop. Wondering what an apricot ale from Tadcaster, England, tastes like compared to one from Seattle? You are at the right place.

The two joints allow for enjoying a fresh pint on the premises, and I can’t dissuade anyone from following up on the offer. They’re both fun and relaxed beer meccas, offering more reflection and a slower pace than even the Ginger Man or the Common Table.

They’ll also take the time to help you out if you’re new to a type of beer or just craft beer in general.

It’s an increasingly dense world approaching wine-snob levels of pretentiousness in some corners, but Craft and Growler and the Bottle Shop, in particular, can help you navigate.

Of course, there’s no better way to learn than by drinking, whether it’s at a bar, on a balcony or in a boat.

Some of the growlers at Craft and Growler are works of art.

Photo by Teresa Gubbins

Some of the growlers at Craft and Growler are works of art.

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Greenville Ave News

Dallas steakhouse chef to open his own restaurant on Greenville Ave

Aubrey Murphy

Steak by Aubrey Murphy

An acclaimed Dallas chef is striking out on his own. Aubrey Murphy, who most recently was executive chef at SER Steak + Spirits, is opening his own restaurant on Greenville Avenue. Called Brute, it'll be a contemporary American spot located at 1802 Greenville Ave. #110, in the cute storefront previously occupied by Swizzle, the tiki bar which closed in 2025.

Murphy will partner with James La Mar, a hospitality professional and sommelier, who will oversee the front of the house. They're working on the menu and renovation of the space and hope to be open in November.

Murphy's resume includes hotels and high-end restaurants alongside chefs such as John Tesar and Dean Fearing. Prior to SER, the steakhouse at the Hilton Anatole where he served as chef for three years, he was culinary director at Trinity Groves, and also worked at Fearing's, Knife, Spoon Bar & Kitchen, and the Waldorf Astoria in Hawaii.

During his time at SER, he was part of the team that received the "Best Food and Beverage Team of the Year," and was also nominated for Chef of the Year in CultureMap's 2026 Tastemaker Awards.

Opening a smaller restaurant on Lower Greenville is a major shift, one that Murphy welcomes. Landing the Swizzle space, next door to Wabi House and on a prime block on Greenville Avenue, is the culmination of a lengthy search.

"I feel like a lot of restaurants are way too big, and this will be more personal," he says. "I've been trying to open a restaurant for two years, but finding the right location was key. This space is the right size and it has character. I didn't want a glass box."

Their vision is a neighborhood restaurant where the food is both creative yet approachable.

"James and I are channeling restaurants that deeply inspire us, the kind you'd find in places like Chicago, California, and east Austin, where you don't feel weird going once a month," he says.

Brute will feature a main dining room with a regular menu, plus a separate lounge area in front where diners can come in for small bites and cocktails. The cuisine will be based on their travels and personal experiences.

"The food I like to cook combines my Dallas roots with Asian, a little Tex-Mex, and my experience of having lived in Hawaii for five years, where they mix up Americana with Thai, Filipino, and Japanese," he says.

They'll print a fresh menu every day, depending on what's in season and available. Murphy is already lining up local purveyors, including eggs from a small farm north of Fort Worth, and beef from Longhill Wagyu in Luling.

The bar program will include craft cocktails, a thoughtful wine list, and lots of AF.

"So many wine lists seem to have the same usual suspects, but we'd like to be more intentional," he says. "We're also going to have a bomb cocktail program and take the non-alcoholic selection seriously."

The main dining room will also offer a special program called "Let Us Feed You," inspired by something Murphy has seen done in some restaurants in California.

"It's our take on a tasting menu, with highlights of rare and cool dishes or something we might have in limited supply," he says.

While there will not be a "signature dish," Murphy is taking on a bold challenge.

"I'm going to do my best to have the best chicken dish in the state," he says. "I see all these restaurants these days doing duck and none of them can do chicken. It feels like running before learning to walk. I've learned to appreciate the complexities of doing a chicken dish well that celebrates the bird."

As for the name Brute, it's meant to be a double entendre, which gives a nod to both their food and wine goals.

"It's a play on 'brut' dry wine, and also the idea of raw and direct, with the same energy as restaurants like Animal on the West Coast," he says.

chefs greenville-avenue openings