USA, TX: Longtab Brewing opens in San Antonio with three beers

The idea is to start the morning hours with a selection from the coffee program, but if patrons choose to have a beer for breakfast, they can do that, too, at San Antonio’s newest brewery, Longtab Brewing, the San Antonio Express-News reported on January 14.

Located just inside Loop 410 off Bandera Road on the Northwest Side, Longtab opened on January 13 with coffee service and three beers: an American pale ale, an India pale ale and a Belgian honey blonde

“I love coffee and beer, so my idea was to create the kind of place that I would want to hang out at, all hours of the day,” owner David Holland said.

Longtab is operating a seven-barrel brewing system that’s in open view of the tasting room. Head brewmaster Mike Brown was in the process of brewing an oatmeal stout Tuesday, and he plans to introduce a Scotch ale and a dark rye India pale ale in the next 10 days.

“Our approach to beer is to use 100 percent ingredients that are sourced here in the U.S.A.,” Holland said. “That leads to some imposed challenges when your focus is on German and Belgian-style beers, but we’re up to it.”

The coffee program is hardly an afterthought. With beans sourced in Guatemala, Longtab features a full lineup of espresso, cappuccinos, lattes (hot and iced), pour-overs and flavor infusions. A selection of pastries also is available daily.

Longtab’s kitchen also serves pretzels, bratwursts and a variety of panini.

Both Holland and Brown are Army veterans, serving in the special forces as Green Berets. A special patch that is awarded to those soldiers is called a “longtab,” providing the inspiration for the brewery name.

Holland said that a special beer will be dedicated to one of the tap handles, and a portion of the sales of the beer will be donated to charity or the family members of fallen Green Berets.

Longtab Brewing, 4700 Timco, Suite 105, 210-947-4766. Hours: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

19 January, 2020