PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
JUNE 2016
the logo sporting a guitar pick in
its center and the location’s décor
including a wall full of vintage album
covers. “Since Ryan’s background
of music, there are touches of music
everywhere,” Operations Manager
David Pico said. Other decoration in
the warehouse/bar area is up-cycled
packing crates fashioned into the Fort
Worth skyline, tables are made from
giant cable spools. Cocktail tables
are made from more packing crates
where you might see a tennis ball
hiding from Luna the German shepherd who serves as mascot/doorbell/
alarm system and has the run of the
place.
Part manufacturing facility, part
industrial-feeling cool Austin bar,
Panther Island Brewing is open to the
public on Friday and Sunday with
live music both nights. “We always
try to support local artists,” continued
Pico.
“Our bigger local acts are on
Friday, and then newer artists who
are coming on the scene play on
Sundays. We have a pretty decent
range on our music,” McWhorter
said. On Friday, they open at 5 p.m.
and the tour begins at 7:30 p.m. They
close at 9 p.m. On Sunday they are
open from 2-6 p.m.
They host many different kinds
of special events ranging from a
wedding to a 1-year-old’s birthday
party, according to partner Saxon
Skidmore. They can accommodate
parties of up to 600 people, including
the patio area on Saturdays.
“We do all sorts of events,” she
said. “All of the other breweries are
open on Saturday, so that is a great
time for us to host private parties,”
Skidmore said. On Fridays, food
trucks are on hand, as are an assortment of games and a huge TV to
watch sporting events. The patio has
a wonderful view of downtown Fort
Worth. And the patio is pet friendly,
“as long as your pet is friendly and
must stay on a leash,” according to
their website. There is no admission
to visit the taproom, but if you’d like
to take a tour and have a tasting there
is a $10 charge. It includes three
beers plus a souvenir pint glass to
take home. “What really sets us apart
from other breweries in the area is
the experience you get here is a lot
82
different. We are small and familyoriented, and you get that feeling
when you are here,” Skidmore said.
Panther Island Brewing is growing with the entire microbrewery
industry. According to brewersassociation.com, there are 189 craft
breweries in Texas producing a
whopping 1,135,043 barrels of craft
beer per year. Texas ranks sixth in
the nation based on barrels produced
and seventh with the number of
breweries. A craft brewer is small,
independently owned and uses
traditional methods of brewing beer.
“Consumers are getting more educated and interested in tasty craft beers,”
McWhorter said. “I think people are
demanding tasty and handcrafted
beer. They also want to support
local.” They must be doing something right— Panther Island earned a
silver medal at the Great American
Beer Festival in October 2015.
Across the street from the brewery is a variety of heavy equipment
and workers moving mounds of dirt
as part of the project dubbed by
the Trinity River Vision Authority as
“Panther Island.” The project will first
and foremost address flood concerns,
outdated infrastructure and environmental issues. But more important to
business owners who have invested
in North Side real estate, it will open
up the development of 800 acres
connecting Downtown, the Cultural
District and the Stockyards. Public
improvements will virtually double
the size of downtown and generate
more than $600 million in economic
development activity during the
first decade alone, according to the
TRVA. With the coming development
and their riverside location, Panther
Island Brewing seems perfectly
poised to take advantage of the
coming growth across the street. The
project is expected to be completed
by 2023.
Expansion plans for Panther Island
Brewing over the next year include
adding the 6,000-square-foot building just behind their current facility
to increase the ability to host special
events as well as the group’s plans
to begin canning their product based
on customer demand. They recently
inked a deal to begin distribution of
their product to Northwest Texas,
including the Wichita Falls area.
To sample Panther Island Brewing’s
beers at home in Parker County, they
can be found at Vintage Grill & Car
Museum, Justice Burger, Antebellum
Ale House and Boo-Ray’s of New
Orleans.
You can also fill a growler, a reusable container that can be refilled
with your choice of craft beer, with
David Pico, Ryan McWhorter, Saxon Skidmore, Daniel Nobile, Tammi Parada
Not pictured: Joe Chapa, Joe Marone