After a 2017 filled with controversy for the Treadsack group, D&T remained as one of the three entities in the company’s portfolio, alongside Down House & Johnny’s Gold Brick. The closure of their Thai restaurant Foreign Correspondents (with attached Canard cocktail bar) on North Main was shortly followed by the shuttering of the Bernadines / Hunky Dory restaurant compound on Shepherd. In the wake of a spate of lawsuits and unflattering press reports about the turmoil swirling around the Treadsack group, many D&T fans were more than a little concerned for the future of the place. Fast forward a few months and D&T seemed to be staying the course, albeit with a great deal of staff turnover, including the departure of general manager Amber Miller and her husband Jason Moore – who together had been standard bearers for the craft pedigree of the little icehouse since it opened in 2013. Regardless of the change it seemed as though D&T seemed to be holding on through the tempest, keeping its status as a bulwark of Houston craft beer and a neighborhood focused watering hole, but apparently a sale was in the works.

New ownership will keep D&T open, but changes are evident. Gone are the ‘pay it forward’ chalkboard, the daily selection of happy hour specials served in pints or Mason jars, the jukebox, the kitchen and even the original sign (replaced, sadly, by a new black and white logo). I noticed that the specialty bottle beer selection and beer engines were gone, although the staff told me they still had the cask service equipment and would use it as they needed it, and there’s a new list of cans and bottles. Set-ups are no longer listed on the menu, but the staff confirmed they are not pursuing a liquor license, so those might still be available. The frozen shandies also remain as a popular holdover from the old menu.

The new sign at D&T Drive Inn | Photo: D&T Drive Inn via Twitter

Arrived are a nearly complete staff turnover, a tap wall aiming at being 100% Texas beers, and a set of specials that feels aimed at being a neighborhood stopover type place, with industry night, big-ass beers and such. Weekday happy hour is every day, 2-7pm, and includes 22 oz pours of lower ABV/low IBU brews at pint prices. I had ‘big ass’ pours of Saint Arnold Orange Show and Southern Star Spring Pilsner in the ~6-7 dollar range.

HopDrop is using D&T as a source for delivery for the area, so there is a crowler machine behind the bar to meet those needs, but it didn’t seem like crowlers were an option for takeaway from the bar – just branded full size glass growlers.

The old D&T food menu is gone and the notoriously small kitchen is literally shuttered. For the time being they are hosting a Venezuelan arepas vendor on Thursdays and food trucks on other nights. They told me they aim to build out a full kitchen into a shipping container inside the back patio area, and aim to serve a more full-featured menu than the tiny space in place would allow. Additional plans include adding coffee service, and opening in the mornings as a coffee shop with breakfast from the to-be-built kitchen. They also plan a regular Sunday brunch.

Big changes in progress for one of the best craft beer bars in the city. Here’s hoping the careful tap wall curation that had come to define D&T can carry on in some fashion.

The post D&T Drive Inn Is Moving in a New Direction first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post D&T Drive Inn Is Moving in a New Direction appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

There, I said it.

Just 6 months ago this wouldn’t have been even mildly controversial. Fast forward to today, and the parent of D&T (Treadsack) has shuttered 4 of its 7 restaurant and bar concepts amidst a great deal of controversy, and has retreated to doing business at Downhouse, D&T and Johnny’s Gold Brick. It would be easy to simply dismiss D&T as just another hapless victim of a failing corporate parent but the quality of the beers on tap and the knowledgeable staff fly in the face of that generalization. I just can’t help but hope for the best for everyone there.

This is not to make apologies for the sins of the father, but D&T’s 4th anniversary party this coming weekend is an event worth celebrating and enjoying. D&T has earned its place as one of Houston’s classics, and the tap list this weekend is reflective of that.

D&T has a selected list of beers to be tapped on their Facebook page. It’s not a long list, but highlights are:

• Founders KBS and 512 IPA w/Grapefruit paired with breakfast cereals (on tap at opening at noon)
• Gigantic/3 Floyds Axis of Evil
• Boulevard Rye on Rye on Rye
• Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel 16 and 17
• Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2014
• …and a number of others.

I also heard a rumor of a vintage barrel-aged Great Divide Yeti keg that’s been hanging around in the cold box just for this day.

The bar also plans on using a unique method to turn their taps over as the day proceeds – a common problem at anniversary parties. They’ve bought an air horn, and whenever it blows on Saturday everything on tap is $3.

They’re also holding a raffle for a mixed box of Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel bottles.

Regardless of the troubles of Treadsack, celebrating the success of D&T is a worthy exercise. Here’s hoping we can all toast them for years to come.

D&T Drive Inn 4th Anniversary Party

Saturday, May 27th & Sunday, May 28th
1307 Enid St, Houston, TX 77009

The post D&T Drive Inn Celebrates 4 Years first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post D&T Drive Inn Celebrates 4 Years appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

@GoodBeerHouston

These guys have been at it for a number of years, and just do a damn fine job of keeping up with the amazing diversity of beer events, releases, tappings, and general goings on across the vast geography that is Houston. If there’s one account to plug into on a visit to Houston, it’s this one. They’ll get you to a great spot with good beer and good people to talk to.

@FlyingSaucerHou, @SaucerSugarLand, @Petrol_Station, @HayMerchant, @Cottonwoodbar, @DandTIceHouse, @nobipub, @GrowlersMontros

Every craft beer bar in Houston has a social media presence, but these bars stand out to me for their interaction with customers, frequent tweeting of specials (and special tappings), and just overall participation in the social media fabric of H-town’s beer scene

@Specs_Beer_Dept, @TheBeerStation, @CornerFoodMart

Again, many supermarkets (especially the HEB locations around town) and the Whole Foods do a nice job of tweeting out special releases and allocations, but these 3 guys have been at it a long time and, like the bars I listed above, are interactive with their customers on Tha Twitterz.

So let’s say you’re at that craft beer bar or store, and you just scored an incredible pint/bottle of tasty Houston craft beer…but there’s no one to talk about it with! The HBG crew is a great place to start — they’ll always be willing to send a few @replies into your timeline …

@HoustonBeer, @astrosguy, @beernoulli, @beer_chris, @nathanmmiller, @beernerds, @LushtasticTX, @ehnovelty, @TheBeerGentlmn, @Jack_Around, @TimSpies, @codyhaskell, @ManuelTransmssn, @Lake_Speed

The post A (very) short guide to who to follow on Houston beer Twitter first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post A (very) short guide to who to follow on Houston beer Twitter appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.