Bradley McBride
- Dec 23, 2021
- 2 min read

Armadillo Ale Works - A Visit

A Brewery In The Heart of Denton

At First Glance

When you first walk into Armadillo Ale Works, you're met with an energetic atmosphere; pinball machines and classic arcade games line the wall while picnic benches filled with fellow revelers take up the center. The tap wall runs the length of the main sitting area with their merch aisle located conveniently beside the register. A covered patio where patrons can enjoy their beverage of choice regardless of the weather and a separate sitting area with couches and coffee tables make up the remainder of the tasting room.

The brewery incorporates a coffee bar featuring selections from Cultivar Coffee Roasters and the guests reflect the diversity of drink choice, students drinking coffee while trying to study were sprinkled throughout the crowd of hipsters enjoying the local brews.

Armadillo Ale Works hosts events fairly regularly, ranging from board game nights to early morning yoga to learning how to make paper and macrame; there’s probably something for everyone to enjoy.

The Libations

With drinks ranging from soda to coffee to hard seltzer to beer, Armadillo Ale Works has a toe in just about every body of water out there. Being the coffee addict that I am, I immediately gravitated towards a pour over coffee which was great, not sippin’ early morning espresso with Adi Badenhorst in his winery in the Swartlands of South Africa great but still really good.

On to the beer, which let’s face it, is the reason I visited Armadillo Ale Works in the first place. Honey Please, a Mesquite Bean Blonde is touted as a blend of Honey Malt, Mesquite Beans, and Texas Honey. Light, easy drinking, with a great flavor profile, this is a beer that can easily get you in trouble.

The Scrappy Boy proclaims itself as a beer that tastes like beer and, to be honest, that's a spot on description. Unlike the big names that dominate the beer world who are short on any flavor, this beer actually tastes like what I would imagine those beers tasted like long ago, when they were actually small production instead of mass produced science projects.

The Odd Dodder was the beer I was most excited to try. Billed as a sour ale aged in Bourbon barrels for 30 months, I'll admit, it sent my heart racing. The color was a deep, gorgeous chestnut brown and the nose went straight to your head with notes of caramel and those sour beer aromas of malt, barnyard, and rhubarb. On the palate, the beer was a little too bold for me, it overpowered everything else and left little chance for tasting much of anything else.

Take Away

Tucked away in an otherwise inconspicuous part of Denton, Armadillo Ale Works is a great brewery in my own back yard. Not afraid of tackling just about any beverage that can be brewed, there’s always something new and delicious to try every time you go in.